Are women’s regattas still relevant?

A recent post regarding female-only sailing events caused a stir online. After sailing in the 2026 Boston Harbor Ladies Challenge, Sail Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Lydia Mullan weighed in with a different perspective…

This past weekend, July 11-12, 150 female sailors gathered at Savin Hill Yacht Club in Dorchester, Massachusetts for the annual Boston Harbor Ladies Challenge. The weather was spectacular, and though the breeze was a little light, the racing was lively, spurred on by cheerful camaraderie across the fleet.

The first boat checked with their name and “seven souls aboard.” That was shortly followed by the next boat who had “nine ladies aboard.” Then, “eight lovely ladies aboard!” “Six sirens aboard.” “Eight sailors aboard.” From one somewhat aggrieved-sounding skipper, “Eight passengers aboard.” In many ways, it was like any other day on the race course. It wasn’t until the afterparty that I really looked around and thought “wow, who knew there were so many of us?” – Full story