Nothing succeeds like success

by Mary Kay Dessoffy
When compared to its four larger siblings in the Great Lakes family, Lake Erie looks more like a pond than a particularly Great Lake. Yet its 850-mile Ohio shoreline stretches east from Toledo, Ohio, to Buffalo, New York, offering many ports in the storms that rile up these shallow waters.

Along that shoreline is Edgewater Yacht Club (EYC) in Cleveland which hosts the North Coast Women’s Sailing Association (NCWSA), a unique organization intent on promoting sailing exclusively to women, who appear to be an underserved part of sailing world. Underserved in most parts of the world, but not at EYC.

Nadja Hutchins, Education Director for NCWSA, smiles when she says, “You can’t throw a stone around here and not find a woman who is or was an NCWSA racer.” In fact, 50% of the racing community at EYC are women. They are professional race officers, judges, crew, owners, virtually all aspects of racing. And most, if not all, came through the NCWSA program.

Hutchins was a rookie when her dad asked her to sail with his friend, an NCWSA skipper who needed race crew. Never one to resist a challenge, she handled the mainsail of the aptly named Kamikaze Again, following orders to “pull that line!” without knowing what “that line” did.

That small favor to her dad got her hooked on sailing and later, another challenge: How to give other women the opportunity as skippers and as full-on competitors with men.

Founded in 1996, NCWSA directors encountered many women who wanted to race as crew and skipper but simply did not have the opportunity. Others had the goal of being able to charter and captain in the Caribbean or learn to cruise for the sheer pleasure of it. NCWSA embraced the task of bringing the ladies on board, with a focus on racing as the goal for many.

The persuasive Board of Directors easily convinced boat owners to volunteer their time to teach the basics of sailing and then racing They also procured speakers from the race committee professionals and other sailing veterans; recommended a textbook (Fast Track to Sailing by Steve and Doris Colgate); and chaired “chalk board” talks detailing that day’s plan for hands-on practice.

This can’t go without saying: Most of the boats were owned by men, and they stepped up eagerly to get women qualified to be on board. The women are gaining in on the sport, but the men are still, and will always be, appreciated. For the students, the guaranteed “no yelling” learning environment takes the trepidation out of making a mistake at the helm or while sail handling and encourages success.

Prior to going out on the lake, the ladies have class time with an instructor before they don a PFD and head to their assigned boat. First stop: the prep boat, where beginners go for a season or two to learn the basics of sailing. These could be cruising boats not intended to race, but to gently teach the basics of correct sailing. Next stop: a racing boat, where skills are polished and racing techniques come into play.

After graduating from their prep boats, their mettle is tested when they join racing boats, or cruisers rigged to race. This is where is where a sharp tack is non-negotiable, sail trim is precise, tactician methods learned and implemented, and nerves of steel tempered at the starting point when other boats invade one’s personal space. To cap off those thrills, knowledge of racing rules is imperative.

As Maya Angelou penned, “Nothing succeeds like success. Get a little success and then just get a little more.” Prep boat student, Geena Volpe, is proof that the poet’s words are true when she spoke enthusiastically about her prep boat experience.

“I came into the program curious and eager to learn how to sail. I had some trepidations: failure, screwing something up—the usual neuroses. My prep boat teachers were extremely apt at sailing. With lots of patience and grace, they taught us not just how to sail, but how to be sailors.”

Fears aside, Geena breezed through prep training and now crews on racing boats every chance she gets. “I’m so excited to see how I’ll grow as a sailor and racer, and what the next season will entail.”
Tyler R. Parsons, a racing boat owner and coach shares Volpe’s enthusiasm. “NCWSA is bringing new players into the game by empowering women sailors and giving them opportunities they wouldn’t normally have. Yacht clubs across the country should look to NCWSA’s example and promote similar programs and groups.”

Sherrie Desmond, Ensign skipper of the Blue Meanie, has been racing for 44 years and has been an NCWSA member for the past 10 years as a prep boat teacher. She credits NCWSA for honing her skills as a skipper and for “allowing me to talk with other women sailors who are equally crazy about this sport.”

Her enthusiasm shines when talking about her students. “Sailing has long been a man’s sport,” she said “and I am thrilled that NCWSA has given women the opportunity to participate equally. I am so proud of the women who I have coached and who continue to expand their sailing knowledge.” With a glint in her eye, the tenured skipper couldn’t help but to add, “I do like a tall man aboard for extra strength and long reach.”

NCWSA is comprised entirely of volunteers from the board of directors to the teachers, speakers, boat owners, and the hospitality of EYC, by its own admission, the friendliest club on the lake.

Years ago, NCWSA was perceived as a social club whose members sail. But this cadre of volunteers effected a necessary growth spurt making it the serious teaching organization it is today, and one that stands behind its mission statement: NCWSA empowers women to become more actively involved in sailboat racing through regattas and clinics, and to create a spirit of good fellowship among members

Today it has 172 members who are actively sailing on eight prep boats and 21 racing boats. And, yes, friendships were forged because of sailing, and sometimes the celebrations over a cold one and pizza added that spark of social bonding. But the determination of these sailors, these remarkable, strong women, is unsinkable and serious stuff.