July 16, 2025
4 minutes reading time
Curtain comes down on the most comprehensive edition of Steering the Course to date
Events held as part of the first 2025 edition of Steering the Course have finally come to a close. After four months of activity across seven continents, thousands of female sailors, race officials, and volunteers of all ages have been able to experience the excitement of sailing, discover a new sport, take the next step in their career and #AccelerateAction.
The festival kicked off on 8 March at the West Vancouver Yacht Club in Canada with the International Women’s Day Brunch with Annie Haeger where the strategist with Canada’s NorthStar team offered an inside view of the cutting edge of competitive sailing today.
Both the Yacht Club Uruguayo in Montevideo and Ceylon Motor Yacht Club in Sri Lanka, one of the most active clubs during the festival, organised dedicated Women’s Regattas as part of a diverse calendar of events.
The Rio Yacht Club in Brazil organised the 4th Regata D’Elas which featured 151 women – including a crew of a four-year-old and 83-year-old – the youngest and oldest sailors taking part as part of a 28-strong fleet. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Andes in Chile, the fourth edition of the Festival Nautico Femenino at the Club de Yates Higuerillas in Concón welcomed more than 150 women – from two years-old to over 75 – took part.
Read more about just some of the activities in Sri Lanka here, and more about events in Brazil and Chile here.
Sailability HKG, another of the most active organisations during Steering the Course, held an entire week of events devoted to all levels of the sport, community outreach and empowering sailors of all ages. Read more about their achievements here.
Sail Africa Youth Development Foundation in Durban, South Africa, organised an All Schools Racing event with 12 teams from nine schools taking part, while the Troféu Marina Prada – Snipe Women’s Cup in São Paulo, Brazil, featured 11 boat teams with 22 female sailors and an all-female team of officials.
In Slovakia, the YC Slovan Bratislava and JK Tatran clubs joined forces to organise a special day of activities in Senec which included an insight into the opportunities available, racing, training opportunities and a chance for the mums (and dads) to join their children out on the water.
The Istanbul Yelken Kulubu in Istanbul, Türkiye, organised the Optimist & ILCA Girl’s Cup where the next generation of female sailors took to the water.
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Port City Colombo in Sri Lanka also hosted free sailing taster sessions on Wednesday 28 May, and Enoshima Harbour in Japan – site of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Sailing Competitio hosted a Hansaa trial day on Saturday 31 May.
In Cape Town, South Africa, the first event in the Ullman Sails Women’s Series was held, organised by the Royal Cape Yacht Club.
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The National Sailing Academy in Caribbean nation of Antigua held a Women Try Sail open day where more than 95 women participated. This was the first Steering the Course activity held on the island for several years and underlined the popularity of the sport within the community.
The final event of Steering the Course took place in Boston, United States, on 13 July, where the Boston Harbour Ladies Challenge organised by the Savin Hill Yacht Club where a fleet of four Thunderbirds took to the waters.
World Sailing also awarded several training courses to clubs around the world, helping to expand the global network of coaches, instructors and officials.
From 3–9 May, Algeria hosted a Level 2 Technical Course for Coaches, four women completed the course which develops race coaches with sailors to a national level.
From 23–29 June, Egypt hosted a Level 1 Technical Course for Coaches, with nine female coaches completing the course.
The final Technical Course for Coaches will take place in Chinese Taipei in September, again developing race coaches.
A National Race Management Level 1 programme is set to be held in Algeria in September, an Umpire Clinic will be held in Hong Kong, China, in September. The courses introduce race management, umpiring, judging and measurement to countries where there is no formal certification which will support the personal and professional development of female officials and enable them to be selected for regional and international events. Brazil successfully completed a National Judging Clinic on 15 July, where it is hoped judges will go on to support the 2027 World Sailing Championships in Fortaleza.
The programme has been successful in supporting the growth of women in sailing with courses and activities have been held in Bolivia, Barbados, Brazil, Bahamas, Greece, Grenada, Japan, St Vincent & the Grenadines, UAE and Uruguay over the past two years.
A second Steering the Course festival will be held between Friday 26 September and Sunday 5 October 2025. For more information about the planned events please visit Steering the Course on the World Sailing website.