Women's Involvement
Women first participated in the race in 1946. The first woman to take part was Jane Tate, whose boat Active was the only one to reach Hobart in 1946. Dagmar O'Brien, with boat Connella, also took part in that year but retired from the race before finishing. Thus, the Jane Tate Memorial Trophy is awarded each year to the first female skipper to complete the race. In 1975, the first all-women crew sailed, with boat Barbarian. In 1982 or 1983, Sue Bowly put another all-female crew together, but the sails ripped. They repaired the sails on the Navy's sewing machine at Jervis Bay, and carried on to Hobart, but no longer in competition.
In 2005, 24 women took part, including Adrienne Cahalan, who is famed for her around-the-world sailing, has been nominated several times for World Yachtswoman of the Year and was Australian Yachtswoman of the Year for 2004–05. In 2005 she was part of the crew for the winning Wild Oats.
In 2011, Jessica Watson, known for her solo unassisted sail around the world at age 16, skippered the Sydney Hobart yacht race with a crew of six other young Australians and three Britons all aged 21 or under, making them the youngest ever to compete in the blue water classic.
In total, over a thousand women have taken part in the race.
Read more about this topic: Sydney To Hobart Yacht Race
Famous quotes containing the words women and/or involvement:
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—Sojourner Truth (1797–1883)
“Not only do our wives need support, but our children need our deep involvement in their lives. If this period [the early years] of primitive needs and primitive caretaking passes without us, it is lost forever. We can be involved in other ways, but never again on this profoundly intimate level.”
—Augustus Y. Napier (20th century)