Anna has been kind enough to share her experience as an experienced female sailor with us:
What do you enjoy the most about sailing the Santana 22?
"The Santana 22 sails really well in the windy conditions of the San Francisco Bay, I always feel happy and confident on the helm, even in some pretty crazy conditions.
My husband and I sail together as much as possible; sailing together as a couple is wonderful!"
What do you feel is your greatest challenge as the captain of a fleet?
"We have a very diverse fleet, with young & old, experienced & novice, competitive & laid-back skippers and we are trying to keep everyone involved and happy. The other thing is that the boats hail from all over the San Francisco Bay and we barely see each other after the races so it is hard to set up a social structure. We organize some events, including an awards dinner, to each least see each other every now and then."
Has your involvement in the Santana fleet influenced you as a person?
"I have made many friends among the other Santana 22 skippers, we are a very friendly and supportive fleet. Also,
skippering a small boat in windy conditions successfully gives a lot of self-confidence."
How do you feel your personality is reflected in your racing style?
"I guess I am a pretty competitive person and racer. I like to come to the race with a plan and then go for that and that also reflects my personality. And I try to stay calm and relaxed during the races and usually fail miserably and get all intense, which I do a lot in real life, too, haha! It is improving in the races, so maybe also in my life."
What is the toughest part about sailing/racing a Santana 22?
"For a lot of people it is keeping your 40-something-year-old boat in a race ready shape for the windy conditions on the San Francisco Bay. We figured that out when we were sailing our previous Santana 22 from 1977. When "Byte Size", a 2001 Santana 22, came up for sale we scraped all our money together and bought her. We are still very happy with that decision."
What would you tell another woman who was considering getting a Santana 22?
"Go for it!"
7. What would you tell someone who believed that sailing wasn't a "feminine sport"?
"Haha! Sailing is such a diverse sport that that is nonsense! On a Santana 22 there really is no difference between men and women. Sometimes, however, you have to be a little bit smart about it, since women are in general less physically strong. So I have sailed on boats where main trim was not my thing, but being foredeck worked great. Sometimes it also works to do things with two women, which may take a little bit more practice, but then works better than doing it with one person. I guess that is what the SCA women in the Volvo Ocean Race are trying to do since they have 2 more crew members than the guys. We usually sail our Santana with 4 smaller people rather than 3 bigger people, which works great if you practice moving around the boat a bit. Finally, sometimes, the boat can be adapted a bit to work better, e.g. we have big winches for our jib sheets that are a bit overkill but make life a lot easier."
9. Is there anything that you feel sailing teaches people?
"Sailboat racing teaches many great life skills in planning & preparing, communications with your crew & competitors, and looking around you before you make a decision."
10. Have you ever encountered any preconceptions /discrimination /stereotypes as a female sailor?
"Not that I recall. Of course there are always other skippers that are just not very nice, whether you are a male or a female."
11. Your fleet has a pretty high female membership, do you feel that is average, or is there something about your fleet that draws more women to it?
"I think it helps that we are a friendly fleet with a lot of women in it already.I also noticed that the Cal 20s that are also small boats have a lot of women skippers. Last year in the Big Boat Series there were only two female skippers out of 90+ boats, so our high female membership is certainly not average."
