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Festival Of Sails

New trophy recognises women sailors at the 2016 Festival of Sails

The sailing strategies and skills of some of Australia’s top female sailors will be recognised at next year’s Festival of Sails Passage Race, hosted by the Royal Geelong Yacht Club on Corio Bay from January 23-26 2016 with a new award, the Helmswoman Trophy.

The Royal Geelong Yacht Club wants to acknowledge the ever growing number of women contesting the Festival of Sails, Victoria’s oldest running sporting event. Regatta Chairman Chris Williams says the Helmswoman Trophy will be awarded based on handicap to the first female skipper at the helm for the entirety of the Passage Race.

The historic Melbourne to Geelong passage race dates back to the late nineteenth century and is one of the feature races of the 2016 Festival of Sails racing calendar. The 34 nautical mile Passage Race is a spectacular sight with a huge fleet of yachts charging from the northern end of Port Phillip Bay into the waters of Corio Bay.