Women take the Helm
Women at Drummoyne Sailing Club form a very important part of the Club and whilst there is strong representation in the dinghy and skiff classes and on the administration side of the club the gender bias is firmly tilted towards men when looking at the number of women helming or owning yachts racing with DSC.
At the recent AGM of the Yachts, a proposal was put forward and adopted to run a mentoring program to address this imbalance - Women take the Helm
The aim of the program is to offer female sailors at DSC a pathway into helming a yacht in the club twilights, with the long term goal of women owning their own yachts and racing the twilights and with the Combined West harbour fleet.
Target Groups
Helmswomen. Women who already have some sailing experience who would like to learn to helm or develop their helming skills. The program is aimed at current, financial DSC members.
Mentors. Men or women who are either full or crew members of DSC. Mentors must be confident sailors experienced at helming in DSC twilight races and willing to share their knowledge. If the Mentor is not the boat owner, they will need to obtain the boat owner’s permission and support.
Crew. By supporting this initiative, crew on participating boats and all sailors in Twilights are critical to the success of the Women take the Helm program.
Women take the Helm is focused on supporting current women DSC club members. It is NOT aimed at bringing
in guest helmswomen.
• If you’re an experienced Skipper and would like to share your knowledge, please nominate as a Mentor
• If you’re a woman with some sailing experience who would like to helm, please nominate as a Helmswoman.
• If you’re interested but not sure, please get in touch to discuss.
A briefing and practice evening and then four race days thru the 2026-2027 Twilight season have been scheduled.
Friday 28th August @ 18:00 Sailors Safety Briefing and Commodore's Drinks (for all club sailors)
Tuesday 6th October Women take the Helm briefing and practice race
Thursday November 5th - Race 1
Tuesday December 1st - Race 2
Tuesday February 2nd - Race 3
Tuesday March 2nd -Race 4
Please support this program and register your interest in participating in the Women take the Helm here
For more information or any questions please contact Andrew Glassock - Sailing Manager - sailing@dsc.org.au