Women’s Schooner Delivery A Breeze
Reprinted with permission by Boat U.S.
Photo credit: Drew Myron

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Women’s Schooner Delivery A Breeze

Kay Miller, 82, has been a sailor for decades but admits that she took the massive wheel of the Mystic Whaler with some trepidation. As Miller approached the helm looming before her, a quick glance at the boom and rigging was a reminder of the vessel’s size. “Steering that 97,000 pound Mystic Whaler, after years of sailing my beloved Catalina 39, was like trying to drive a truck after driving a sports car,” Miller said.

She was one of 28 women who took part in a unique, hands-on, learn-to-sail cruise sponsored by the National Women’s Sailing Association (NWSA) aboard the Mystic Whaler, a 100-goot schooner patterned after a historic sailing vessel. For eight years, the captain and crew of the Mystic Whaler have partnered with NWSA to offer two-day coastal navigation courses. However, for the first time last fall, the Mystic invited women passengers along for an extended, hands-on delivery passage to move the ship from Virginia up to New York City.

“This was an unbelievable experience,” said Judith Clark, 57, an experienced sailor and a retired nurse living on Long Island, New York. “Not just because we were on a 100-foot schooner in the ocean but because the crew were made up of two dozen women from all walks of life – from a lawyer to a vet, to a dental hygienist. I think we had all the professions represented except a hairdresser, which we really could have used. I am in awe of the way women can work together.”

As one of the women taking part in the six-day trip, sailing a tall ship – or and sailboat, for that matter – was a completely new experience. Hailing from land-locked Denver, CO, my time on water had been limited to the local swimming pool and waterskiing on mountain lakes. Seeing the article about the trip in the September issue of Boat U.S. Magazine, I recognized a chance to expand upon my love of water, visit the Chesapeake Bay for the first time, and get a practical look at life “at sea.” I imagined the next chapter in my life: perhaps it was sailing.

The first leg blended casual cruising with relaxed learning opportunities. Departing from Portsmouth, VA, the schooner made its way north to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor with stops at the scenic harbor towns of Reedville, Galesville, Annapolis, St. Michaels, and Harness Creek off Maryland’s South River.

The second leg was all business; a passage to New York City’s 79th Street Harbor with round-the-clock watches and the added challenge of deteriorating weather off-shore.

Docked most of the season in Mystic, CT, the Mystic Whaler was built in 1967 and rebuilt in 1993 as a tribute to the coastal trading schooners that plied New England waters a century ago. The vessel measures 83-feet on deck, with an overall length of 110 feet, and carries 3,000 feet of sail. For most of the year, she carries as many as 65 for dinner cruises and can hold 34 on overnight charter trips.

With owner and captain John Eginton at the helm, the Mystic combines scenic cruising with opportunities to hone sailing skills under the tutelage of an encouraging crew of five. Passengers haul lines, take turns at the wheel, plot the course, scout buoys, or just kick back and soak up the sea fairing groove. Some are able to overcome their fear of heights, as I did with another woman on my trip, and actually climb up the rigging for a breathtaking view.

Diversity is the hallmark of the NWSA-sponsored trip sin that they draw women of all ages, from all over the country and from a variety of backgrounds. First-time sailors from land-locked states become shipmates with experienced sailors. Offering sailing opportunities to women and girls since 1990, NWSA is also a Boat U.S. Cooperating Group.

Building Skills, Confidence
“This was my first night passage and I was feeling a bit uncomfortable with my navigational skills,” said Pam Harding, of Schooleys Mountain, NJ, who has been sailing the Chesapeake for five summers.

On a 2-6 a.m. watch, she learned how to take compass readings and do anchor checks. “The whole experience helped me to gain self confidence,” she said.

When she first took the helm, she said, the boat was under power and hard to control. “I seemed to overcompensate each time I turned the wheel. The next time I was at the helm we were under sail and the boat was much easier to handle.”

For Marion Tavenner, 40, an experienced sailor who lives in San Francisco Bay area, the top thrill was sailing a large vessel into New York Harbor.

“Being on that big of a boat is just a totally different bag. The rigging is different, the gear is different. And to be at the wheel as we went past the Statue of Liberty was just amazing,” she said.

Tavenner, who has sailed with NWSA on its more traditional charter trips to the British Virgin Islands, said even a few days out is enough to get into the rhythms of shipboard life and forget about the everyday routine on land.

The all-women’s format of these trips creates a different atmosphere on board, many of the Mystic sailors said. Jeane Poole, 52, said sailing with other women is part of the adventure. “These women are exciting, take control, adventurous, self confident and friendly,” she said, “just the kind of people you want to be around.”

Each crewmate stretched her skills, whether steering, charting wind speed or checking the bilge.
For Keely Devlin, a complete novice who has sailed only once before, being out on the Chesapeake Bay in autumn was just as good as learning to tie knots and chart a course.
“Seeing two dolphins at dawn was incredible,” says Devlin, 42 of Idaho Springs, CO. “When we were leaving Portsmouth Harbor they were just 20 feet off the boat.”

Rough Passage
Mystic Capt. Eginton, a sailor for 27 years, said the October outing “was really a two-part trip: the relaxing six-day trip and then the hardcore transit.”

On the passage to New York “we had some challenging conditions,” he says, noting a rush of 45-knot winds, five-foot seas, bouts of zero visibility and driving rain. IN fact, the rain delayed the trip, with a stop at Atlantic City turning the three-day trip into a four-day transit.

“We had really rotten weather,” said Poole, who sails a 22-foot boat on the central Jersey shore. “We ran into a squall. It was raining hard with heavy winds, but later the sun came up as we were coming up the coast. I saw the Empire State Building and I steered by that.”

The wet three-day transit may have been a study in contrasts, compared to the leisurely six-day sail that preceded it. For the participants, it was all part of the experience and they took it in stride.
“I would sail with any one of those women again, “ Mystic owner Eginton said.

- By Drew Myron Drew Myron is a freelance writer based in Denver, CO.

Reprinted with the permission of Boat U.S.