Women's Sailing

PYC Women’s Sailing

Welcome to PYC Women’s Sailing. We are all about enjoying time with friends, both on the water and off. We welcome beginners through experienced sailors, as there are opportunities for all!

WOW

WOW (Women on the Water) is an organization formed by women sailors from several Long Island Sound yacht clubs. Pequot is one of the founding clubs and WOW’s signature activity is the WOW Supper Series. Each club hosts an evening of casual Ideal sailing followed by dinner. PYC hosts the WOW East Supper Series kick-off. Please see the PYC calendar for dates and to sign up.
Contacts: Lisa Borter | [email protected] and Katie Montgomery | [email protected]

PYC Cruising

PYC Cruising welcomes all members, men and women, on our afternoon and evening cruises. Our goal is to give members an opportunity to either actively participate or to just simply enjoy an afternoon or evening on the water. Dates will be on the PYC website calendar as they become available for registration.
Contacts: Gaylord Meyer | [email protected], Katie Priest Cyr | [email protected] and Pam Toner | [email protected]

Ideal 18 Racing/Sailing

Experienced skippers are paired up with novices or beginners. We start off with some teaching and drills before setting off on a race experience. Those who skipper must be registered Ideal 18 One-Design Program members. We meet on the Senior Clubhouse porch on Monday evenings. See the PYC calendar for dates and to sign up.
Contacts: Betsy Perry | [email protected] and Suzanne Simmonds | [email protected]

Seamanship Course

Learn basic seamanship skills on a big boat (typically 35 – 45 feet). Subjects will include sail trim, navigation, mooring, anchoring, safety and much more. Previous sailing experience is recommended, but not required. PEARL will once again serve as our learning vessel with Sarah Stephan returning as our coach. Sarah is a former head instructor for PYC’s junior program. Register for this 4-session course on the PYC calendar.

Kayaking

Kayak season begins May 19th at 10:00 with a brief introduction to the club kayaks and how to access and care for them; and a paddle to the Outer Beacon.Kayakers can sign up on the PYC calendar for once a month group kayaks at high tide, June 2, July 7, and August 18. (10:00). There will also be a sign up for one full-moon kayak at 7:00 p.m. on August 18th.
Contacts: Barbara Harman [email protected] Judy Proctor [email protected]

Women's Travel Program

Introducing Pequot Women’s Sailing Adventures travel program.
Program’s Objectives: Create a women’s community bringing everyone together to build lasting relationships, have fun, memorable journeys, and share the love of sailing. All levels of sailing are welcome.

Wine & Cheese Socials

Sunday evening gatherings on the upper deck are a favorite among PYC women. Strictly a “social gathering” where the format has been for people to bring a refreshment, or a bottle of wine or appetizers to share. Please see the PYC calendar for dates and to sign up.
Contacts: Emily Blair | [email protected] Belinda Shepard | [email protected]

Race Committee

Volunteer and learn all about how races are run.
Contact: Betsy Hulme | [email protected]

Big Boat Racing

Interested in Crewing on a big boat this season?
Contact: Victoria Ross | [email protected] | 203-520-6305

WOW

Wow

WOW (Women on the Water) is an organization formed by women sailors from several Long Island Sound yacht clubs. Pequot is one of the founding clubs and WOW’s signature activity is the WOW Supper Series. Each club hosts an evening of casual Ideal sailing followed by dinner. PYC will be hosting WOW East Supper Series on 5/23. Other Supper Series hosts include: Noroton YC 6/13, Norwalk YC 6/20, Stamford YC 6/22, and Black Rock YC TBD. WOW Supper Series Finale on Wednesday, 7/12 at Indian Harbor YC. Other regatta dates: Queens Cup hosted by Noroton YC on 6/18. Gillespie Cup hosted by Norwalk YC on 7/23. Please sign up on the PYC website calendar.

Lisa Borter

Katie Montgomery

PYC Cruising

New in 2022: Women’s Cruising Emerges from COVID as PYC Cruising. The Women’s Cruising Program welcomes all members, men and women, on the cruises and the program is re-branded as “PYC Cruising”. Endurance, skippered by Hugh Smith, will launch the 2022 season with the first cruise in June. Reservations can be made on the calendar under PYC Cruising. All skippers and members are invited to a cocktail party on Sunday, May 15th, on the upper deck to learn about the season. The skippers are invited to sign up for the cruises, members are invited to sign up to sail, and past cruising stories will be shared. Our goal is to give members an opportunity to either actively participate on members’ boats or to just simply come along for the ride. It is one thing to enjoy our members’ boats from the Upper Deck and quite another to be on the boats’ decks. Come and enjoy our skippers and their boats! Dates will be on the PYC website calendar as they become available for registration.

There is a one time fee of $15 per person for this program. This fee goes towards the end of season "Toast your Host" get together.

Gaylord Meyer

Katie Priest Cyr

Pam Toner

Informal Ideal 18 Racing/sailing

Casual and “lightly competitive” racing on Monday evenings. Experienced skippers are paired up with novice or beginner sailors looking for practice. The evening starts off with some teaching and drills to gain confidence for the less experienced sailors before setting off on a race experience. Those who skipper must be registered Ideal 18 One-Design Program members. We will meet on the Junior Clubhouse porch Monday evenings at 5:30-5:45pm. Dates: 7/11, 7/18, 7/25, 8/1 8/8. Please sign up on the PYC website calendar.

Betsy Perry

Suzanne Simmonds

Seamanship Course

The goal of this program is to teach women basic skills on a big boat (typically 35 – 45 feet). Subjects will include sail trim, knots, mooring, anchoring, safety and much more. For the last five years, Skipper Ken Murphy has delivered the curriculum originally created by Will Waldron aboard his 42-foot Alden Caravelle yawl PEARL. Previous experience on big boats is not a requirement. Past students have ranged from pure beginners, to small boat sailors wanting to handle a larger vessel, and even some who have sailed big boats but just want to brush up on certain skills. For the upcoming 2022 season, PEARL will once again serve as our learning vessel, but this year Ken is very pleased to be handing the tiller over to a new course leader, our own Sarah Stephan. Sarah is a former head instructor for Pequot’s junior program who loves to coach and teach. She has a diverse range of sailing experiences including college sailing in dinghies, match racing on Swedish Match 40s and distance racing on bigger boats around the Northeast. Sarah is passionate about helping other women feel safe, comfortable and confident on the water and is very much looking forward to teaching the course this summer.

Preference for inclusion will be given to members who can commit to all 4 sessions of the course. We encourage those interested to act quickly as space is limited to six dedicated students. Dates: 5/31,6/6, 6/13, 6/20 at 6pm. Register for this 4-session course on the PYC website calendar.

Sarah Stephan

Kayaking

Kayaking can be a great way to meet members and explore the harbor and surrounding shoreline. Participants will meet on the Junior dock to launch the boats and set off. The Club currently owns two kayaks and some member participants own kayaks and are willing to share. Plan to bring your PFD and you are ready to go. Group Kayaking dates: 5/15 8:30-10am, 6/12 9:15-10:45am, 7/10 9:15-10:45am, 8/7 9:15-10:45am. Please sign up on the PYC website calendar.

Barbara Harman

Wine & Cheese Socials

Sunday evening gatherings on the upper deck are a favorite among PYC women. Strictly a “social gathering” where the format has been for people to bring a refreshment, or a bottle of wine or appetizers to share. Check the PYC website calendar for dates and times. Dates: 6/5, 7/10, 9/11 6-7:30pm. Please sign up on the PYC website calendar.

Emily Blair

Belinda Shepard