Transitioning and women’s sailing

The International Olympic Committee will soon have its presidential election, and gender eligibility for women’s events is an issue among the candidates. To navigate the issue, World Sailing now has a transgender and non-binary eligibility policy, though only for elite events under its control.

When Scuttlebutt published the story, Gender identification in the USA, it focused on a local California sailing event in which a women’s perpetual trophy winner was male at birth. Jennifer DesCombes is that winner who provides the following details on the situation:

I started sailing the Naples Sabot in Newport Bay, CA, in 1970 when I was eleven. This popular Southern California 8-foot pram class is governed by the International Naples Sabot Association (INSA) with racing for youth and adults from Long Beach to San Diego.

Since the Sabot sailing days of my youth, I have sailed on both coasts in numerous vessel types, but I resumed Sabot sailing in August of 2022 after more than a 50-year hiatus. Since then, I have sailed in many local and regional INSA-sanctioned regattas. The Sabot sailing community is fun and I have made many friends up and down the southern California coast.

This story should be completely unremarkable – a former youth sailor looking for an activity returns to sailing as they approach retirement age. The only thing that might make this of interest, is that in early 2024, at the age of 65, I transitioned from male to female.

In 2023, before my transition, I won the Mixed-Gender C (novice) Class of the Southern California Women’s Sailing Association (SCWSA) five regatta series. Under SCWSA rules, I had to move up to the ‘B’ Class in 2024.

After my transition in early 2024, I sailed in the same events as before, with the same group of female friends. I have never sailed in an INSA-sanctioned male-only class. When it was time to sign up for the 2024 SCWSA regatta series, I signed up for the Woman’s B Class along with many of these same friends.

The Woman’s B Class is a fun group. We raced together, celebrated our victories together, discussed our mistakes together, and sat together during awards.

So, what’s not to admire about our group? We support each other, we help each other, we have fun – isn’t that what community sailing is about? Well, it seems that some would like to turn this into something else.

In the SCWSA Men’s and Women’s B Class events, some sailors only participate in the regatta at their home Club, while others travel to all five Clubs within the series. As is common, the SCWSA scoring system benefits those sailors who race in all five regattas.

Of the five SCWSA regattas for the Women’s B Class, only two sailors competed in all five regattas. One woman, likely the best sailor in the Class, competed in the first three regattas and had a significant overall lead, but couldn’t compete in the final two regattas. The other four entrants only sailed in a single regatta.

Third place for the series went to the sailor who completed three of the five regattas. Second place went to my best sailing-friend, and I ended up in first place by three points – so, a close competition; certainly no one swept the Class.

Was anyone unhappy with this? Not my best friend who finished second, not the third-place finisher, who is also a good friend. Were people from the other Clubs in the series upset? I don’t know of any – many, both female and male, including experienced sailors and novices, congratulated me on my sailing.

Well, I guess one person was upset – a good friend, at least until I transitioned. She has her personal beliefs, and although I don’t agree with them, she is entitled to them.

Unfortunately, she has gone to great lengths to prevent me from sailing in the gender class that matches the life I live. The recent article by the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) is her most recent attempt to scuttle my sailing.

In the article, my sailing skills are exaggerated to support her views, and she somehow infers that my 6’2” height and 170-pound weight, almost 40 pounds more than any other competitor, are an advantage in a sailboat that weighs 95 pounds fully rigged.

This is the same sailboat that kids compete in under all weather conditions – so strength and hand size are not a factor! And, as you might have guessed, those kids are the fastest Sabot sailors around – yes, low weight is an advantage.

And of course, false statements are in almost every paragraph of the IWF article. For example, did I decline to comment? No, they never attempted to contact me. As you can see, I have lots to say!

There was a purpose for this story – but it had nothing to do with sailing or fair competition. Community sailing is about fun, and can be both fun and inclusive.

Editor’s note: Jennifer refers to the story published by IW Features which is a project of Independent Women’s Forum, a 501c3 non-profit organization that, according to its website, celebrates women’s accomplishments and fights to expand women’s options and opportunities.