Participants hail ‘amazing’ experiences at RYA Northern Ireland Women on Water Festival

Participants were raving about our recent Women on Water Festival, as they enjoyed a fun-filled day of water-based activity at Ballyholme Yacht Club.  

42 women attended the event on 31 May which offered sailing and boating experiences to individuals with little or no experience in the sport, as well as giving attendees the opportunity to meet new people with similar interests.

Following the event, one of the participants, Ruth Farr, said: “It’s been a brilliant day! It’s been great to get out on the water to try things because in a group you feel more confident. You can take it at your own pace which is amazing.

“It’s been very sociable because when you’re doing an activity, people bond really quickly. As I’m coming up to retirement age, I definitely feel like this would be something I would love to do more of.”

Throughout the day, those involved had the opportunity to try yachting, dinghy sailing, powerboating, stand-up-paddleboarding and windsurfing, highlighting the fact that there is something for everyone when it comes to water-based activity.

Another participant, Elena Samuel, said: “Today has been amazing. It’s been a really good mix of different things so it’s just a great way to get into it.

“Everyone has been really friendly because most people have come on their own. People coming on their own means they are wanting to chat and meet people.

“It’s a really relaxed environment which means you can talk to lots of people that you wouldn’t have met before. I met somebody who lives five minutes from my house that I had never talked to before. It’s just really great!”

The Women on Water programme has been a RYA Northern Ireland initiative which has been running for nearly ten years and it has proven itself to be hugely successful at boosting female participation levels in sailing and boating.

RYA Northern Ireland Development Officer, Jess Penney, said: “The Women on Water programme has been fantastic over the last few years for getting women and girls on the water and trying sailing or boating for the first time. We’ve seen a huge increase in females in the sport but we still have a long way to go.

“Women On Water is for total beginners and participants just have to turn up- they don’t have to bring anything. All the instructors and volunteers sort everything for them and guide them every step of the way.”

As part of RYA Northern Ireland's five-year strategy, Navigating the Future, RYA Northern Ireland aims to increase the diversity of the Northern Irish sailing and boating community. Events like this are a key part of the process and a particular thanks must go to Ballyholme Yacht Club and their volunteers who worked hard on the day to make the day such a success.  

The success of the Women on Water programme is likely to continue even further, as this year RYA Northern Ireland has partnered with Belfast-based accountancy firm RBCA, who have agreed to sponsor the Women On Water programme for the next three years.

This is the first time that the Women on Water programme has had a commercial sponsor marking a new era for the programme and means more women will have opportunities to try sailing and boating in the future. The future for female sailing in Northern Ireland certainly looks bright!