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The look of jealousy on the faces of some women as their children went sailing went some way to prompting the Waiuku Yacht Club to offer a two-day dinghy course for women.
The club recently hosted 10 women for a learn to sail course, introducing them to the basics of dinghy boat sailing.
"At ordinary learn to sail days, there were plenty of mums who you could tell by their body language that they would rather be out on the water than rigging or washing boats for their kids," said Justin Hurst, who is a Yachting New Zealand Volvo Sailing... Have a Go! instructor and member of Waiuku. "There was an idea that women learning from women might be attractive to them and it turned out it was."
Three coaches put the group through their paces on Lasers, Sunbursts and a Weta and, by the end, most were confident enough to sail by themselves. Hurst said two had already joined the club and one was trying to buy a Zephyr.
Charlotte Saunders, who has had limited sailing experience, was on the course and is already looking forward to getting back on the water.
"My main takeaway is probably that going fast in a boat is fun," she said. "It was great to get the basics of sailing under my belt as it has given me the confidence to get out there and give it another go in the future.
"I wasn't sure what to expect from the course so did feel a little apprehensive. As it was, we didn't have much time to think about being nervous because after a quick briefing on the basics we were out on the water. It was great having Justin and his team of female sailors there to drip feed us information so we didn't feel overwhelmed and were able to move at our own pace.
"It was good on the second day to start challenging ourselves with sailing around a course to really exercise our brains. Having an all female group of beginning sailors also meant that there was a great camaraderie. Everybody was able to have a laugh and there was lots of encouragement."
Hurst said the club would now look to offer an annual women's-only course.
