On this forum, we share the experience and journey of 4 women Solo sailors, that was on an earlier edition of SoloInteractive this year... hope you enjoy reading these stories, and please use them as a starting point to encourage women sailors at your club to join our Solo fleet, and please let them know they can get in touch with any of us!   Anna, Justine, Maria, and Sal. Maria Solo 5675, Littleton SC. Last year, at the February 2023 edition of the Solo Interactive, as a newbie to the Solo class I was given the opportunity to share a little bit about myself and my journey into sailing and into the Solo fleet (Link here).  Another year has gone by, and I can say, my enthusiasm about being part of the Solo fleet continues to grow. There is one thing that I would really love to see and is more ladies taking part in the regional and national events. There are a lot of things that make it a great class to join, as we know, it is a very popular singlehanded dinghy, affordable thanks to an active second-hand market. It’s an ideal option for anyone wanting to develop their sailing skills, since most clubs will have a fleet, and with a good number of big regional and national racing circuits.  As a woman, there are things that I do still struggle with, like putting my mast up and down, handling the boat on very windy conditions but thanks to being surrounded by a very friendly group of fellow sailors I feel like to any challenge I’ve had they will offer a hand with the mast or ready with advice about how to best rig my boat for the different conditions so I can manage. 😊  So, what can we do to increase the numbers of women taking part? I hope that each one of you supports and encourage more women to embrace this wonderful sport and to join our Solo fleet. We hope the stories below and the one I shared last year can help you start the conversation to encourage other women sailors at your club.   Justine Davenport – Solo 4715, Burwain SC. So why would a woman want to sail a Solo?  That’s a good question, and here’s my story… I’m Justine Davenport, I started sailing at the age of about 7 at Burwain Sailing Club.  I learnt in a Mirror and crewed for my friend for a few years.  Then I moved on to being a “rent-a crew” mainly in Merlin Rockets (occasionally GP’s) for whom ever needed a crew at our club and then the university years put a stop to this.  I tried out for the Leeds University Sailing Team and they turned me down!  I was just too quiet and shy and on the day of the trial you couldn’t really tell if I could sail or not - I was so knotted up with nerves!  So what to do?  I couldn’t let being turned down put an end to sailing for three years.  I was knocking around with friends who sailed OK’s at the time, so with new-found bravado I bought a knackered old OK.  I never spent a weekend in Leeds, I toured the country and Europe with the OK fleet and had a ball, often at the back, but what the heck, I was out there and doing it!  I sailed the OK for about 9 years and you’ll find my name on the Nationals Lady’s trophy and the Inlands Lady’s Trophy, but that all came to an end when I moved out to France for career reasons.  I spent 14 years living in France and did next to no dinghy sailing the whole time I lived there.  Fast-forward to 2019 and I moved back home near to Burwain SC.  I re-connected with old friends and thought that sailing at my old club again would fit well in my life once more.  I looked at what boats were sailed there and who I could sail with.  My partner Innes had a GP and a Solo, never being keen on crewing a GP, and with my love of helming I opted for the Solo, there was a good Winder Mk1 for sail at the club, good condition, competitive and affordable, so the decision was made, I bought Solo 4715, re-joined Burwain SC, started sailing against the home fleet and on the national circuit. I’m nowhere near the ideal height or weight for a Solo but it’s still possible to be competitive in certain conditions, and obviously there are times when being lighter than the average Solo sailor is an advantage.  The boat is so easy to care for, easy to rig, easy to tow.  There are great circuits available across the country and even some international sailing – unusual for a national class boat.  What’s not to love?  There are of course challenges, I have to actively work out to keep fit and strong enough to manage the boat, I have never (I hate to admit) put my mast in myself, and I have to have someone to help me with the trolley.  99% of the time it’s Innes that helps me, but the Solo sailors are a friendly bunch and there’s generally someone willing to offer a helping hand. Competing in a male-dominated fleet can be difficult, as a woman I’m often sailing in conditions that overpower me, but there are things you can do; softer mast, flatter sail, and a good survival technique are essential.  I often benefit from sailing safe when others are falling in, I think I was credited as the only boat that didn’t capsize at the WPNSA Nationals in 2019!  Normally, you’d say – if you’re not pushing to the limits you’re not trying hard enough, but in this case staying upright gains places and it becomes one of a few tricks in my arsenal that has its advantages. Being a woman in a male-dominated fleet certainly isn’t for every female, you definitely need physical strength, determination and guts.  It would be great to just sail when the conditions are right, but that’s near-on impossible.  How often would you want to spend hours travelling to an event and pay the entry fee just to have to sit it out and watch everyone else enjoy the top end of a force 3 and above.  It would soon become something you’d lose enthusiasm for.  No, you’ve got to be able to cope with the conditions, and you need to equip yourself with knowledge of the rules and the tactics to feel confident out there. This wasn’t meant to put anyone off, I hope it hasn’t! I would encourage any women out there who are tempted to give it a go!  If I can do it, anyone can, and I have an enormous amount of fun doing it.  There is nothing like the buzz after a good day on the water.  You get to meet amazing people, travel to some fantastic venues, and challenge yourself physically and mentally each time.   As I mentioned before, the Solo fleet is a friendly bunch, and the Solo is an excellent boat to sail.  Any questions you’ve got, just ask!  More women in the Solo fleet would definitely be a good thing 😊   Sal Erskine-Furniss – Solo 5262, Torpoint Mosquito SC . When I started sailing a solo, it was the first time I had sailed and raced a dinghy - I joined the fleet in 2020. For me, the solo has enabled my husband and I to both compete at the same events, and the choice of masts and sails for different weight people is in my view a real strength of the class.  Initially, I did find open meetings and larger events nerve wracking and disorientating. I remember getting completely distracted by the number of trains passing by at Starcross. Looking back to shore at another meeting and not being able to work out where we had launched from. Between races at one event, I thought I’d sail over to where it appeared a group were waiting for the warning signal only to find it was all men having a wee! Yes, men with those convenient zips - how lovely that must be when you have a long day on the water. So, it has been all a bit of a steep learning curve. I’m happy to step my mast on flat ground at the start of the day, after a long day on the water I do find it a challenge to un-step it on my own, but the fleet is friendly on the whole and there are always people around who will help or offer advice. In a very short time, I have acquired a whole herd of new friends, as well as joining the Torpoint Mosquitoes and gaining a bright yellow t-shirt. The most memorable solo sailing I have done so far includes racing at Carnac which was just so much fun. Looking across at a fleet of 100 or so solos sailing in front of St Michael’s Mount and wishing I had a camera onboard. Pulling my own number out of the hat to win a North sail voucher and sailing alongside Barbara on that last exhilarating reach of the Hayling Nationals in 2023.   Anna Nankervis – Solo 3969, Shropshire SC. Sailing has always been a part of my life. One of my earliest memories is standing at the water’s edge with my Mum waving to my Dad as he sailed off in his Fireball at Midland Sailing Club.  Fast forward a number of years and at age eight, we join Telford Sailing Club and I start racing regularly with my Dad, Tony.  My brother never took to the sport like I did so I was Dad’s principal crew for many years, with Mum joining in from time to time.  South Staffs became my home club aged twelve where I gained valuable experience crewing in different boats for various helms both at the club and other events around the country.  I spent a lot of time competing in the Lark Class during and after university and amongst life-long friends this is also where I met my husband, Lee. We decided to stop sailing and watch our family grow for a number of years, before gradually introducing our children to the sport little by little.  We joined Shropshire Sailing Club in 2016 (I think!) and slowly but surely encouraged our offspring into sailing, building them up to learning with other youths their own age.  There was obviously a selfish side to this as Lee and I wanted to get back to racing!  At this time, we had a Lark so every now and then we’d compete in a couple of races to satisfy our need to sail.  The Solo came into our lives quite by chance.  Lee had been saying to me that he was looking for a single-handed boat to sailing when I didn’t want to crew (I questioned when didn’t I want to sail!) and he found an old wooden Solo needing a lot of TLC.  As a skilled carpenter he relished this challenge, and we soon had a restored Solo ready to launch.  He was going to test it out after the morning’s races in the Lark, but he had forgotten the Lark rudder and had to return home to retrieve it. Before he left, he suggested I take the Solo out myself.  I’m not sure what happened, as I don’t feel I actually decided, but before I knew it, my fellow sailors had rigged the Solo, put it on the water, encouraged me to hop in and I was off… helming!!  It was a beautiful sunny day with a gentle wind – perfect conditions.  I questioned if I actually knew what I was doing as I had only helmed a handful of times and joined in a couple of Crews races over the years. My helms had always offered me the chance to helm but I just enjoyed the crewing side and besides, helming looked like a lot of hard work! To say I enjoyed myself that day is an understatement.  The freedom on the water, in control of what I was doing and where I was going in the race was something I had never considered.  I loved it.  Finding a new side to a sport I love in my 40’s is something that I hadn’t counted on and something that I am grateful that came my way.  Yes, it was always there but sometimes a push in the right direction is what is needed!   That boat fondly named ‘Patch’ following my husband’s handiwork, became my first Solo.  I have since competed weekly at the club, gaining confidence week on week with encouragement from the other sailors, then progressing to my very first Solo Open Meeting at Chelmarsh.  What a wonderful welcoming group of sailors! And there were a couple ladies competing as well.  It shouldn’t have surprised me as I have never really looked at the sailing world as being male dominated as I have always been surrounded by female sailors, both friends and family (my aunt also sailed!) and I have been accepted as an equal competitor at events. I hope that’s the case for all girls and women. It would be wonderful to welcome more ladies into the Solo fleet and also encourage juniors. Our son has also become a keen sailor and tried out a Solo a year or two ago. He has now taken this on as his new boat. He even competed at South Staffs Solo Open last year amidst much encouragement from the fleet. As with all Open meetings, this was a great event to attend, but particularly as my Dad, husband, our son and myself were all competing. We're all looking forward to what this year will bring!