Volvo Ladies Helm 2025 at Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club
by Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club 10 Mar 2025 00:27 PDT
8 March 2025
On the International Women's Day on Saturday 8 March, the Club hosted the annual Volvo Ladies Helm Day on Saturday with female skippers aboard the 47 boats across seven classes (Big Boats ATI, Big Boats PHS, Etchells, Flying Fifteen, Impala, Ruffian and Pandora) joining forces to celebrate and recognise women's achievements worldwide.
The beginning of March marks a transitional period in the weather and so sailors encountered varying conditions throughout the day. There was no wind at all in the harbour for the original scheduled starting time. After an hour the wind gradually picked up and the first race began in 4 to 5kts of south-easterly breeze at Hung Hom. By the end of the first race, the day turned out to be splendid with blue skies and the wind gods returning to normal service, providing an 8 to 10kts easterly breeze. This allowed Race Officer Barry Truhol to set longer courses for all participants for the second race of the day.
The Ladies Helm is a noteworthy event that showcases the talent and skills of female sailors in a competitive environment. Deputy Race Officer Elberti Uiterwaal Postma said "We gather for the Ladies Helm sailing event, we embrace the theme of this year's International Women's Day: "Accelerate Action." This theme resonates deeply with our mission here, as we celebrate the strength, skill, and determination of women in sailing and beyond." It encourages female sailors of all experience levels to participate, with no restrictions on the gender of the rest of the crew - the only requirement being that the helm must be female. At least two boats formed all-female teams for Saturday's event which is the first day of a two-day celebration of women.
This year, the Big Boats PHS class joined with six boats taking part. Each class of boats completed two races. All fleets sailed between Hung Hom and Tai Koo Shing or Shau Kei Wan, with similar courses for the second starts. Everyone enjoyed the excellent weather and racing conditions. Race Officer Barry Truhol commented on the Saturday's racing, saying, "The day started with zero wind, but it ended up being 10kts by the end of the second race. So, even though we lost an hour waiting for wind, we managed to have two really good races, and I think the sailors are going to be a bit tired but happy. We'll have a good time at the bar."
Dragons and Sportsboat hosted their Ladies Helm at Shelter Cove on 9 March, benefiting from excellent racing conditions, with a 6 to 15kts south-easterly breeze allowing ladies onboard 16 boats to demonstrate their strength and skill in sailing.
The youngest ladies helm in the entire race were Margaux Nguyen-Minh and Alessia Houghton, both12-year old joining their father on the boat. They faced fierce competition in their class finally lifting the trophy with count-back win.
Congratulations to all the female helms who took part in the racing with a special mention to the winning helms - Kalina King/Deborah Berkley/ Redeye on ATI Big Boats, Miriam Yee / Generations on PHS Big Boats, Jacqueline Truhol / Incoming in the Etchells, Gina Chen / Ffolly in the Flying Fifteens, Joyce Wong / Impala 1 in the Impalas, Patrizia Lee / Panache in the Pandoras and Jennifer So / Victory 9 in the Ruffians, Margaux Nguyen-Minh/Zephyr in the Dragons and Alessia Houghton/Serendipity in the Sportsboats.