Bayview in Detroit
Bayview (BYC) www.byc.com is running several Women's events this year. The Women's Invitational Clinics & Regatta will be in August. Last year we had on shore clinics to explain the rules, and on the water demonstrations about boat handling and tactics, then the next day everyone raced. They mixed the crews up so there were beginners with experienced sailors. This year, they've expanded the clinics to run over several weeks, with two days of racing in August. We have one woman from Australia coming, and some from Canada, New York, and California, as well as a bunch of local women who've never been on a boat before. A reporter came to do a story on it last year, got hooked, and now has a permanent position on a 40-footer. There's the Area E qualifier for match racing in July, then the Women's Match Racing Championship in September. It's good to see more people, especially women, get into sailing. My wife heard from several women at the clinics last year, that they were interested, but didn't want to jump on a boat with a bunch of yelling guys, and that the women's only format encouraged them to try it. How does Olcott run their program? Are there some women-only boats in the regular fleet? Kevin
