Women in Wind

Read more about COVID-19 protocols at KYC

Women in Wind is a program for women who wish to improve their sailing skills, enjoy friendship and socialize through a variety of activities. 

Wednesday Night Sailing

The regular Wednesday night program is open to people who own or have access to a boat or, if without a boat, have reasonable sailing skills. This is not a learn to sail program but a time to improve your sailing skills and get on-water experience under a variety of conditions. It is a great confidence builder as you sail on a variety of boats with different skippers and crew members. An added benefit is the chance to get to know other members of KYC while having fun. From June through September, WinW sails every Wednesday night at 5:30 for approximately 2 hours followed by an on-shore social time.

Skills Building

The Skills Building program is designed for women who want to improve their ability to sail their own boats. Non-boat owners can participate as crew. The program is geared to the individual needs of the women. Instruction time can be flexible, daytime or evenings, to meet your needs. This will be available if interest is shown.

Racing

Women in Wind will be organizing races for its members who want to experience the thrill of yacht racing. This will provide an opportunity to experience racing in a fun setting. We use the same format used by the offshore fleet with a race committee, proper racing rules and timed finishes. Dates will be scheduled early in the season and will be posted on the website. Please register two weeks prior to the races. Prizes will be awarded

Dinghy Sailing

Dinghy sailing will be an option for adventurous women. Instruction will be provided by the junior sailing staff. You will learn rigging and sailing on KYC’s 420 Dinghies.

A small fee is necessary to cover costs.

History 

During the winter of 1982 a group of KYC sailors discussed the idea of having a seamanship course for female members. The ideas put forward to help more women become actively and competently involved in all aspects of sailing their own boats culminated in a program which was offered the following June. A total of 16 women registered and four volunteer instructors conducted 8 on-the-water sessions. They covered a wide variety of topics and the result was a keen group of ladies who had gained a huge amount of knowledge and confidence in their boat handling skills. In the summer of 1984 a similar program was offered for another 15 women.

Most of these women wanted to continue sailing as a group one night a week to keep up their skills, their confidence, and the social aspect. Thus began our Wednesday night sailing activity in July, 1984 which continues to this day. The number of women joining this group has increased to over 50 today.

In 2006 a steering committee was formed to explore more activities for our female sailors and to set up a more formal committee structure with a name. And so K.Y.C. “Women in Wind” was born! We continue to offer several activities as outlined in this brochure and welcome new sailors to our group.

Women In Wind Contacts