Southampton celebrated its first all-female sailing competition yesterday (September 18) as TheYachtMarket.com Regatta got into full swing.
The three-day sailing event has been taking place alongside TheYachtMarket.com Southampton Boat Show and yesterday saw The Women’s Cup take place despite challenging weather conditions.
As high winds whipped up the Solent, around 40 women kitted up and hit the water for a day of competitive sailing on board a fleet of Sunsail Match F40s. They included corporate teams from ABP Port of Southampton, Rees Leisure and accountancy firm Wilkins Kennedy.
The day saw a hotly-fought day of racing but in the end, it was the team from Rees Leisure who sailed their way into first place and were presented with prizes from Tessa Reid, director of sales at TheYachtMarket.com. The victory marked a double win for Rees Leisure, which fielded a team in yesterday’s City Cup and also came first.
Richard W. Roberts, founder and CEO of TheYachtMarket.com, said: “The sailing world is lucky to have some hugely inspiring female role models. Dee Caffari MBE and Dame Ellen MacArthur are just a few of the names that spring to mind and of course Shelley Jory Leigh on the powerboat side. We would love to see more women taking up the sport of sailing and that’s exactly what today’s been about.
“We were pleased to see many newcomers to the sport and from their feedback we’re happy to hear they’d like to give it a go again.”
Masterminded by the show’s Title Sponsor, TheYachtMarket.com, the regatta aims to get more people on the water. The event features four cups:
- The City Cup (Sep 17) – pitting teams from the city of Southampton against one another for victory on the water
- The Women’s Cup (Sep 18) – a day dedicated to all-female crews
- The Community Cup (Sep 18) – young people from Southampton trying a day of sailing
- The Property Cup (Sep 19) – bringing businesses from the property industry together to race on Southampton Water
Other partners include Rees Leisure, Sunsail, providing a fleet of Sunsail Match First 40s, complete with skippers, and British Marine.
TheYachtMarket.com Regatta also aims to support worthy causes. A percentage of entry fees will be split between Geoff Holt’s Wetwheels and Sail 4 Cancer.