A hull of their own: On board the first all-female Sydney to Hobart crew in seven years

2 months ago 6

Upon arrival at Middle Harbour Yacht Club on a midweek afternoon in early December, only one other yacht is still full of sailors.

Moored at the head of the walkway, the vessel is occupied by a group of men, and the only way to get to First Light is to pass them. It is more common to see a crew composed entirely of men than one entirely of women, and so the sight isn’t a surprising one.

Elizabeth Tucker, Malin Ludwig and Annie Stevenson on board First Light at Middle Harbour Yacht Club.

The men aren’t acting unpleasantly. And still, it is easy to notice them. Whether it is a train carriage, a meeting room or an elevator, if you are the only woman, you notice.

First Light is owned by Elizabeth Tucker, who will skipper the yacht in the 80th Sydney to Hobart race with an all-female crew selected from more than 100 applications as part of Tucker’s sailing program for women. The program, launched in March, is entirely crowdfunded. It is a passion project for Tucker, who wanted this space for herself as much as she wanted to create it for her crew of five.

Twelve female-only yachts have competed in the Sydney to Hobart since Barbarian became the first in 1975, prompted by the non-inclusive culture in sailing at the time. The crew were ridiculed in the press and even told by one official that if they went missing, no one would be sympathetic.

Still, they finished the race and one member, Lesley Brydon wrote in Modern Boating: “After four days alone at sea the girls were all in agreement. There was no time whatever that any of us had wished we had a man on board.”

Katie O’Mara, Annie Stevenson, Bayley Taylor, Elizabeth Tucker, Malin Ludwig and Maddie Lyons.

First Light will be the first Sydney-Hobart yacht crewed solely by women for seven years.

Each member is an experienced sailor, and all but one – 26-year-old Annie Stevenson – has entered the race previously. Each arrives at the marina after their day jobs in marketing, naturopathy, finance, software engineering. One, Bailey Taylor (21), is a full-time student. We sit in the interior cabin, where the noise of the wind is hushed, and I ask if anyone has any experiences aboard on other boats.

Taylor begins, telling a story about trimming sails on larger yachts. She explains that when you trim, you also call instructions like “grind” or “hold”. In this particular story, it didn’t matter how loudly she called the word; another sailor at the back of the boat would yell the same thing over the top of her.

“I literally just said that, you’re speaking over me. Like, give me a second to just say it myself – and I find that happens every single time,” she says.

Crew member Katie O’Mara adds, “I’ve had someone physically come over the back of me and take something out of my hands.”

On other boats, women can be restricted to certain roles, such as trimming the sail. Tucker says women are frequently cast as “wing defence”, to borrow a netball term. Important, but never the playmaker.

“I guess on this boat we have a few more centres,” she says. “Every woman on the crew is a critical member.”

Even learning about the engines, batteries and solar panels are new for Maddie Lyons. “Most of us have grown up where boys would be shown mechanical stuff, and girls are shown how the stove works,” Tucker says.

On this boat, the crew are encouraged to speak up, ask questions and try different ways of doing things.

“I like the idea that you’re not put in a box or in a role,” Malin Ludwig, 32, says.

The crew are also quick to pay tribute to the men who have supported them. Their fathers, brothers, partners, friends, former crewmates, and financial and equipment sponsors, without whom they wouldn’t have been able to sail.

“Considering it’s such a male-heavy sport, I’d say most of the stuff we all know has actually come from a lot of really good guys,” Stevenson says. “They are the ones who have taught us.”

You assume these women have shared these stories with each other before – but, in fact, this is the first time, they say.

This is what women have always done. They collect experiences and wait until the right time to share them. They wait until they get to the end of the marina, disembark from the train, leave the meeting room or walk out of the elevator.

As much as they notice men when they are alone, they notice when a space has been created just for them.

Tucker has made that space aboard this yacht out on the ocean, and has done so for women who assumed they’d never have it.

“I think that’s very distinctive from the boats that I’ve been on,” O’Mara says. “I think everyone feels that they can have a voice.”