Queens of Buckingham Skiff Team
by Adam Lucius 4 Nov 21:38 PST
(l-r) Mitch, Annika, Fiona, Emily & Teira © Michael Chittenden / SailMedia / Manly 16s
Many a great idea has been hatched over a long lunch.
And just as many disappear by the next mornings’ coffee.
But thanks to a group of forward-thinking ladies with connections to Manly 16ft Skiff Club, a proposal mapped out over a few bottles of wine, seafood and a cheese plate at Peats Bite on the Hawkesbury morphed into one of the great initiatives of recent times.
The idea was to register an “all-ladies” boat in this season’s 16ft fleet with a view to introducing more females to the class – all done in a supportive and educational environment with just enough traces of competitiveness.
A boat was donated (courtesy of Hugh Stodart), a sponsor found (thanks to Mitch at Buckingham Marine Services) and a skipper named (Fiona Harris) before the pink-coloured Queens of Buckingham was christened.
Using a rotating crew of sailors, results have understandably been modest but there is no doubting the enthusiasm levels.
“The idea to sail a 16 was really born out of watching many hours of my children and husband sailing and a huge involvement in volunteering around sailing,” crew member Teira Jansen explained.
“We planned it over a long lunch with a few like-minded sailors and our husbands looked at us and probably thought this is a phase that will pass.
“But the next day we congratulated ourselves on our brilliant and audacious idea and started planning. “We knew that if we were going to do it, we were going to go all out – hence the pink.”
The planning part was easy compared to the challenge of actually jumping on a skiff and competing with such a talented fleet of sailors. But any early apprehension has quickly melted away.
“It can be quite daunting stepping onto a 16 and mixing with all these incredibly talented sailors but we hope that by getting out there and having fun on our boat and increasing our skills as we go, we might encourage a few more ladies to step up to the challenge,” Teira continued.
“The absolute thrill of sailing the 16 is addictive and I can totally understand now why people love this boat.
“We are all buzzing whenever we finish a session, despite our swims, and are so grateful for this opportunity.
“The Manly 16 sailing community has been so supportive of us – answering our questions, offering advice, helping lift the boat and just giving us a high five when we need one.
“We have felt incredibly supported and lucky.”
Harris, who was part of the now famous long lunch, is the fulltime skipper with Jansen in the bow.
Emily Fewster and Annika Mountstephens share sheethand duties and two other female sailors are on standby should any of the main crew be unavailable.
Harris is the most experienced of the lot, having sailed skiffs before stepping back 12-14 years ago after becoming a mother to two daughters.
At the other end of the scale, Jansen is a novice but is quickly getting up to speed on the intricacies of skiff sailing.
Queens of Buckingham has sported a little rig to allow the crew to become accustomed to handling the boat while they are in talks with sailmakers about creating sails more suited to their lighter frames.
Harris said: “It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster but we are having so much fun and learning so much every week.
“I basically haven’t sailed since my girls were born – they’re 14 and 12 – and I’d lost some of my confidence, but this has been so empowering.
“The other girls have been so supportive as has the whole club. Even days after a race I am still smiling about it.”
The concept is proving such a hit Jansen hopes to have a second “all-ladies” boat on the harbour next year.
Saturday’s eighth short course pointscore race of the season was abandoned due to a lack of wind.
