Giving Women the Tools They Need to Get Out On the Water

Captain Kira Maixner and her panel of presenters at the 2019 Pacific Sail & Power Boat Show are all women who love to sail and want to get more women out on the San Francisco Bay. They have pooled together resources for women who already sail, would like to learn to sail and those who want to improve their skills or learn to race.

This Thursday, April 4, the 1pm panel discussion is designed to give women the tools they need to be active in the boating community in the Bay Area.

Representatives from women’s only organizations and events will share their best advice and resources for getting out on the water. According to Kira, “Women learn differently than men and there are tons of programs for women, including female only seminars, female only sailing groups and female only sailing lessons.” Kira hopes that after this panel discussion, women attendees will feel that they can embrace a welcoming and social sailing community here in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Panelists include Nichole Ortiz, sailing since 2001, is a champion of women’s sailing at Modern Sailing Club and their first female Skipper; Captain Darci Shea Bogdan, first Woman Captain of the Santa Cruz 70’ Chardonnay II and Director of Operations for Pacific Sail Sailing School, has been sailing since she was very young; Laura Levy, lifetime sailor and co-founder of Somand, an emerging brand for women’s performance sailwear, raced lasers as a junior sailor, became a sailing instructor for youth in college and has been sailing and racing in SF Bay since 2016; and, Joan Byrne, accomplished sailor has participated in local regattas for the past 20 years and has worked for the past 8 years to successfully develop the Red Bra Regatta, the largest all-women regatta in the Bay.

In this free seminar you will learn about all the different female only sailing events, yacht club resources for women and some interesting statistics.  For example, did you know that the 2018 U.S. Olympic Sailing Teams were comprised of 244 athletes (135 men, 109 women) and in the 2016 Rio Olympics, the US Sailing Team had 15 athletes, 7 of which were women? Check the Pacific Sail & Power Boat Show Guide for locations of seminars.

Kira Maixner, panel moderator, an instructor at Modern Sailing School & Club and an avid sailor in the San Francisco Bay, is passionate about teaching women to sail.

Cover Photo: courtesy Island Yacht Club