By Lachlan Onions
The inaugural South Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta was held over the long weekend and Port MacDonnell’s Jennifer Jones was in action for the historic occasion.
She said it was an incredible experience and “without a doubt” the highlight of her sailing career.
Jones was one of over 100 female sailors who made the most of the state’s first ever women’s regatta, which took place in Adelaide.
She said everyone was “overjoyed and excited” to finally have a ladies’ regatta and the comradery between the women was “amazing.”
The action was not limited to the ocean, as activities and dinners took place back on dry land after the conclusion of each day’s racing.
“The actual regatta itself, surpassed all of our expectations,” Jones said.
“We have made some wonderful friendships.
“Even the best sailors learned something, Donna (Howard) and myself, I think we have gone up 5000 levels in sailing.”
Jones was the Commodore of her team which was named She Sails and most of the crew had limited experience with the keelboat they were using.
“We started off not really knowing what we were doing but we had two great coaches,” Jones said.
The She Sails team went on one final practice run on Friday before the main event, which Jones said put the crew through their paces.
She said her team handled the practice “beautifully” and were well-prepared for the regatta.
Once out on the water, there were very few incidents as the 21 boats managed to avoid colliding into one another.
Jones praised all the women involved in the regatta for their efforts out on the water.
“Often in racing, there are collisions, so we did really well,” she said.
Jones said her team pushed hard throughout the race but had a lot of fun at the same time.
“I am so proud that I went to that regatta and sailed with these great women,” she said.
“Everyone of them was courageous in what they did.
“We were so well supported, there were 40 men who volunteered for the weekend to shadow us around the course, it was amazing.
“They didn’t do anything, they were just keeping an eye on us and supporting and cheering us on.”
After three days of racing, South Australian Governor Frances Adamson was in attendance on Monday night to close the regatta.
Jones recommended the regatta to any woman who has a basic knowledge of sailing.
“Once you have the basic knowledge under your belt, you go to this regatta and you come away wanting to buy your own sail boat, that is the passion you come away with,” she said.
“It has been planned to be bigger and better next year.
“There were 21 boats on the water this year and they are planning for way more.”
