July 9, 2025
2 minutes reading time
Ceylon Motor Yacht Club makes a splash with impressive Steering the Course debut
Hosting the first Steering the Course activities in Sri Lanka, the Ceylon Motor Yacht Club held a full week of events designed to encourage more women into sailing and demonstrate the opportunities available within the sport.
Festivities kicked off on 24 May with a Try Sailing session where sailors at the club brought their friends and family along to sail for the first time. Further north, the Port City Colombo club also hosted free sailing taster sessions.
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The following day, the Women’s Regatta Festival, the first all-female fleet race to be held in Sri Lanka which brought together 14 sailors of all ages for an event run entirely by female officials. Inexperienced sailors had the opportunity to team with those more experienced to make the most of the event and show the future of sailing in the region.
“It was my first time. I truly enjoyed it and I was super happy to see 14 ladies on the water. Big shout out to Fergus, Alex and the commodore for making this a reality,” said Race Officer Taanya Tranchell.
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Sailors also shared their story in sailing, achievements to date and how to get into the sport in the hope of encouraging more young girls from across Sri Lanka to take to the water.
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Fergus Whiteside, Sailing Convener at Ceylon Motor Yacht Club, said, “We are very proud of all of our members and visitors to the club during Steering the Course.
“To be able to showcase the experiences of so many female members – some who had sailed at international events, some who have been sailing for a year or so and one mum who has been taking her kids sailing for 15 years and finally learned to sail last year.
“The all-female fleet race is a historic moment for our club, as well as the country, and hopefully the first of many female-led activities. We want to get more people into sailing here in Colombo and Sri Lanka. Steering the Course gave us an opportunity to focus on just women. It was great to see ladies who haven’t sailed in years taking to the water again with our youth members.”