Issue date
One of the best things that happened to us was getting caught in a big squall while racing in the harbour one day.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see some boats laid out on their side, others kicking and bucking and ripping sails. We were in horizontal rain and couldn't really see where we were going.
As quickly as the storm had arrived, the girls had got the gennaker down without any drama and hoisted the headsail. From being near the back of the field we finished second on line that day and it was a huge confidence booster.
We're now very excited about tackling next week's Coastal Classic on Activator as the only all-women's crew. It's a shame there aren't any other all-female boats but hopefully that will change over time because I couldn't encourage people more to do something like this.
I'm lucky enough to have some pretty experienced sailors on board, like Sally Garrett and Jenny Price, and we'd love to get on the podium in the 1B division. But the race is more than just the result for us; it's an adventure with a great group of friends.
I've been sailing with all-female crews for about three years now. It all started when we put a team together to race in the women's MRX series out of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and we'd also been sailing a Young 11 with the Ponsonby ladies.
It was after the last women's keelboat national championships that the idea was floated that we should do the Coastal Classic on Activator, a Loomes 45 I own with my husband.
I was a bit dubious because Activator is a big boat with a lot of big gear compared to an MRX but my husband encouraged me to take the step and the girls were dead-keen.
I suggested we commit to a winter series and see how we go. The drama hit during the second race, which had started out pretty light, and it was a huge confidence booster. We proved we could handle all the big gear and big loading and we ended up winning the Richmond series on both line and handicap.
This will be my fifth Coastal Classic but first as a boat owner and first with an all-female crew. We always go out saying we'll take it easy, be safe, but the competitiveness soon kicks in and we go hard.
We also have a lot of fun and it's the noisiest boat I've ever sailed on. We like to have a good chat but we are also very focused.
I love the ocean and love being a part of a team where everyone is doing their bit and has one goal. I also really enjoy long-distance racing, although I've never been offshore.
My father got me into the sport when I was young - he was always tinkering with boats and built a Lidguard 37 in our backyard - but I took a break of about 15 years to have a family.
I noticed a big change in the sport when I got back into it, for the better. Previously women hadn't been allowed into the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron but attitudes were changing and so many opportunities were cropping up for females.
I never had those opportunities when I was young and I would just encourage anyone to get out there and make the most of it.
It's going to be exciting to see where we come in the Coastal Classic. I really hope the weather is kind - Activator is a cruiser-racer and heavy at 9.5 tonnes - so we'd love to have a 15-20 knot south-westerly to send us to the Bay of Islands.
But as we've seen many times before, that's something we can't control.
