I first met Ginny Gerlach in 1997.  A native Australian, she had cruised the Pacific, done thousands of miles and had settled as much as sailors can.  She was managing Keppel Bay Marina and dreamed of building a business teaching women sailing.  Nancy and I invited her aboard Tethys for some serious discussion and a great sail from Rosslyn Bay north to Cairns. 

This past winter, I visited Ginny again.  A decade had passed and both our dreams had become reality. I'd completed a circumnavigation, started a book and she'd bought a new boat and built her business.  Her brand new Catalina 34 MKII arrived May 2007.  She'd also gained excellent credentials:   
    •     Yachting  Australia Yachtmaster Offshore     
    •     Yachting  Australia Yachtmaster Instructor (Sail) 
    •     International  Sail and Power Association Instructor
    •     Marine  Board of Queensland Master Class V – Sail and Coxswain

A new boat; an excellent teacher with tons of shorthanded, charter and cruising experience and a spectacular location at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef (Tropic of Capricorn)... a great combination.   Check out her website, Cruisability and definitely write.  She's booking classes now and they're sure to fill up.  Couples who want to charter and women who want to skipper their own, smaller boat are her specialty. 

The first weekend in May is Opening Day in Seattle. The second weekend is Opening Day on Port Townsend Bay.  Zoe Ann Dudley, Commodore of the PTYC made special efforts this year to invite all sailing and boating organizations to participate.  "This is not just a PTYC event," said Commodore Dudley. "This is everyone's day to get out on the water."  Here, here!  As a special guest at the PTYC Opening Day Breakfast, I was grateful

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Today, I got to talk to 100 7th graders at Blue Heron Middle School in Port Townsend.  My presentation, Woman of the Wind was part of the Maritime Discovery Program, an exciting new experiential program of Northwest Maritime Center. I knew from pre-program surveys administed by our Puget Sound Explorer staff, that more than one-third of the audience had never been in a boat. 

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Kay Cottee was the first woman to solo circumnavigate non-stop. She's Australian.  While on a recent trip to Tasmania for the Australian Wooden Boat Festival, I discovered another woman captain of note.  Sarah Parry.  She wasn't onboard the morning I stopped by the boat, but according to her woman crew, she not only Captains this Brigantine, but she built and owns it too.  At 80 feet, this is no small achievement. 

One of the primary challenges I've heard from women organizers and instructors of women's sailing conferences and events, is that they have trouble finding enough boats to teach aboard.  Nearly all the boats are owned by men, and besides the challenge of having to ask, they have to negotiate the participation of the owner - or not.  Some men are quite comfortable turning over their boat to a known, experienced woman captain.  But wouldn't it be nice to skip this step and instead... find more woman boat owners?  If you own your boat, send an email and tell us about it. 

There's no doubt about it, owning a boat can be the ultimate way to take command of your life on the water. Before you spend the five or six figures though, invest in some sensible research. 

If you want to cruise bluewater, try spending a month or two living aboard, or invest in a long offshore passage.  Nancy Erley's passages between Seattle and Hawaii are a good, relatively inexpensive option for west coast North American women.  With two circumnavigations in her wake, there is likely no better resource than Nancy, among women captains today. 

Depending on your income, moorage options near your home and your realistic assessment of retirement, chartering is another smart pre-purchase option.  Kim Kavin's website, CharterWave.com, is loaded with options that can shock your checkbook, until you weigh the real costs of ownership and take the necessary good hard look at your priorities.

Own or rent?  Fly to exotic port or enjoy the journey to get there? Spend a full 5 years travelling, or mix your own recipe of Tahiti, Bonaire and Galapagos vacations with a blend to include months with your grandkids on land, or serving on a non-profit board in your home town? CharterWave certainly presents a smorgasboard of good alternatives.

While deciding, explore all the options close to home... or fly to Australia and learn to charter a boat with Captain Ginny Gerlach off the beautiful Great Barrier Reef.  Send us photos, your stories, ideas and links!