Weekend number two working on our boat was a beautiful day. It actually was a perfect sailing day but you can’t go anywhere when all the deck hardware is stripped and the holes are half filled with epoxy. So we forge on. I crawled under the cockpit all the way to the stern in our J/22. The drain pipe fitting had come loose from the the clamp and water was leaking into the boat. Not to worry! I undid the clamp, pulled the pipe over the opening and reclamped it down. It’s good to go now. The water in the cockpit above will drain out the stern, not into the boat! I was proud of myself. We’ve only sailed our new boat two times. I will really enjoy our next sail after helping to get her in shape. My husband did a great job with the epoxy and the filled holes look great. We have new winches and I can’t wait to get them on. I’m going to be middle crew this season so I will enjoy the sound of the new clicking. We will be new to the J/22 southwest circuit racing scene. I’m a little intimidated since I’ve never done anything like this. I’m excited though to try something new and take a risk. My husband is a good skipper so I know we will have a good time and we’ll improve as we increase our experience. I love sailing. I can’t wait to actually do more of it!

January 7 was our first big day to work on the boat! Yeah! It was about 55 degrees and winds around 15 to 20 mph. Not the best of conditions but it was still a fun, productive day. The boat is on the trailer so we used our 10′ ladder to climb on and off the boat. My husband decided to strip all the hardware off the deck, redrill all the holes and fill them epoxy. I had the privilege of working on the underside with an adjustable wrench holding the nuts so he could unbolt them from the top. He’s a lucky man that he married a small woman. Crawling around under the cockpit and bow of a J/22 can be an acrobatic event. He only had to Dremel off two rusted screws that I was unable to hold. Ladies, Dremel is an exceptional little hand tool that has precipitated the development of a new verb. Anyway, I’m really enjoying being part of the boat repairs. The best part of all was in the evening he told me he couldn’t have done it without me. That’s what a wife loves to hear!

Ok ladies, and gents if you’re visiting, first I’m going to give you everybody’s name I can think of. If there are others, please let me know in the comments and I’ll add them. In future posts I’ll identify which manufacturers sell specific gear you may be looking for and which etailers have the best selection and prices. I’ve put together this quick list to get you up and running on your sailing shopping journey.

Tip: If you’re looking for something on the internet, just Google the manufacturer’s name and the item you seek, e.g. “Henri Lloyd spray top.” That’s a good way to find E-tailers that sell what you’re looking for.

Clothing

• Camet
• Columbia
• Gill
• Gul
• Helly Hansen
• Henri Lloyd
• Mustang Survival
• Musto
• Patagonia
• Rail Riders
• Ronstan
• Sailing Angles
• Slam
• West Marine

Foul Weather Gear

• Gill
• Gull
• Helly Hansen
• Henri Lloyd
• Mustang Survival
• Musto
• Slam
• West Marine

Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs or Lifejackets)

• Astral
• Extrasport
• Kokatat
• Mustang Survival
• NRS
• Patagonia
• Stohlquist Water Wear
• Stearns
• Complete list of PFD Manufacturers

Footwear

• Gill
• Gul
• Harken
• Helly Hansen
• Henri Lloyd
• Mion
• Musto
• Ronstan
• Slam
• Sperry Top-Sider
• Teva
• Timberland
• West Marine

My passion is to bring more women into the sport of sailing. I started late. I’m not revealing my age but trust me, it’s late. I want to get as many women involved in racing and cruising as possible. There’s lots of room for women in this sport so maybe this article will inspire you as it did me.

This great article is about Steve Foster who discovered sailing at 52. If your husband has been sailing and you’ve been the widow at home, this should help inspire you to get out there with him! There’s only so many great sailing days for us, let’s not waste anymore. Like Steve, I too am glad that I finally found this great sport and regret the many years I could have been out on the water. I hope you enjoy his story.

From Sea to Sky

Welcome to the first post on Lady Sailor, a blog about women and girls involved in the sport of sailing. I’m a newbie but I’m crazy about sailing. In my quest to absorb everything I can, I want to share some of my findings with you. I’ve been researching all manner of gear for women sailors. The products are spread around various sites and I hope to make your shopping for women’s sailing gear easier. I have also spent my spare time learning about other women sailors who have gone before. Their stories are inspiring and I’m inspired to share with you.

I’m coming late to the party regarding sailing and I have a lot of ground to make up. How did I miss this wonderful sport for so long? I grew up on Spring Lake, located in the Winter Haven, Florida Chain of Lakes. On the map, Spring Lake is just east of Lake Mirror. It’s so small they didn’t even put a name on it. Can you imagine that many lakes in one city and no organized sailing at all? Most of the lakes are connected by a canal so we could traverse seven lakes and watch the Cypress Gardens skii show on Lake Eloise from our boat. We had a boathouse, dock and a nice beach area with a seawall just 100′ from our backdoor. We water skiied, fished and swam in the lake. I spent many hours watching the wind and the rain move across the water. Now, with sailing, I feel like I’m home again.

My husband introduced me to sailing. He grew up racing and also spent five years making sails in a sail loft. He left the sport in his twenties. He’s back and I’m right there with him. It’s so wonderful being able to learn and sail with someone with his experience. We recently purchased a J/22 and will be sailing in Texas and Oklahama this season. I look forward to sharing my journey with you. We’re having fun and I hope this enthusiasm never dies!