Women's Boating Skills Weekend 2025

“Take The Helm” Seattle Yacht Club Women’s Group’s 7th Annual Women’s Boating Skills Weekend – Coming April 2025!

By Shaundy Muchin, adapted by Jennifer Sill

The 7th Annual Women’s Boating Skills Weekend is scheduled to take place at the Portage Bay Mainstation April 4– 6, 2025. This weekend-long educational and social event is one you won’t want to miss! Registration opens on February 1, 2025, online: SYC WBSW 2025. This link will take you to the site for detailed information about offerings, schedule, speakers, registration links and all other relevant, available information.

Last year, the event sold out with 150 women attendees hailing from all over the Puget Sound. Just about half of these attendees were non-members, representing 13 reciprocal yacht clubs and members of the Puget Sound Boating community. The focus of the weekend is to provide an environment where women can feel comfortable learning new skills and further empowering each other to “Take the Helm”.

When Past Commodore Pam Lowry started this event in 2018, she had been inspired by the St. Francis Yacht Club’s “Cruise In”. The first year, just as Pam took on the Presidency of the SYC Women’s Group, she, Gina Purdy and ChristinaMarie Kimball, launched “The Maiden Voyage”, a weekend dedicated to women’s boating skills at the Port Madison Outstation in June of that year. In 2019, the name was switched to “Anchors Away” a title it held for four years. Summer scheduling conflicts, weather challenges and COVID forced the event to move to the Portage Bay Mainstation in 2020 and “Take the Helm” was adopted in 2024 as a more empowering overall vision and theme for the weekend that has been so resoundingly successful.

2024 was the 3rd year that the event was open to the public. Word of mouth, advance marketing to the Grand 14 Yacht Clubs, and postings on numerous social media platforms led registration, capped at 150, to fill up over a month before the event with a waitlist of women hoping for spots to open so they could join.

It takes a tremendous amount of effort and collaboration from the committee to pull off this event. Committee members are driven by their passion and dedication to ensure that women have an environment to learn, fill their toolbox, and feel empowered to say, “I can do that”. Last year, incredible and well-accomplished mariners asked to speak and submitted resumes, and the weekend consisted of 54 workshops and skill-learning sessions. The complex schedule was organized by Kiyomi Kechemet and Julie Chelesdon. Sessions took place on the water, on the docks and in classroom settings. Each participant chose eight sessions to attend. The amenities of the club provided the opportunity for the event to hold sessions including: How to Crab, Prawn and Sport Fish by Tracy Goodrich, Docking by Commodore Pam Lowry, Critical Crew Skills and VHF by TYC member, Captain Tuuli Messer-Bookman, Vessel Insurance by Courtney Wingard, Learning to Sail by Danae Hollowed, Marine Electrical Systems by Sarah Scott, SYC History by Gina Purdy, Electric Shock, and Electrical Safety by Kevin Ritz, Anchoring by Trustee Joe Peterson, Marine Safety and Life Sling by Margaret Pommert, Rose Point Navigation by Sheridan Ferguson and the Seattle Police Department crewed 2 vessels over for tours.

There were 3 keynote speakers in 2024, each sharing their personal stories and accomplishments. SYC Member Libby Johnson McKee, a decorated 5-time Taser World Champion. Captain Elizabeth Simenstad, a Tugboat Captain for Foss Maritime who also founded Sea Sisters, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the recruitment and retention of women in the maritime industry. Captain Kat Killeen who is a local inspirational speaker, is known for encouraging and empowering women to become active partners aboard their vessels.   

This year, WBSW 2025, Kiyomi Keckemet has stepped in as co-chair, alongside Lynne Thompson. The planning and organization are in full swing and 2025 promises to be, once again, the exciting and informative event of the season for women boaters in the PNW. If you would like to join the committee or are interested in teaching a workshop in 2025, please contact Lynne Thompson at [email protected]. Otherwise, make sure to mark your calendars for February 1, 2025 when registration will open to members and non-members alike. Space is limited and, given this event’s growing local popularity, spots will fill up fast!