Meet Queen Alice

The Yacht Racing Association of San Francisco Bay held their annual awards party at Berkeley Yacht Club yesterday afternoon. The switch from the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving to a Sunday afternoon was hugely successful. Celebrants packed BYC’s dining room and lounge.

The first award on the agenda was particularly special to us, as it was Latitude 38’s own Queen of the Women’s Circuit. The crew and family of the Laser 28 Sonata managed to keep it a surprise from skipper Alice Shinn, the new Queen.

Alice’s crew Susan Simpkins and Susan Sanders nominated her for the award. It’s based on a collection of women’s events published in the Northern California Sailing Calendar and YRA Master Schedule. Among the long list of races Alice sailed in this year were four from the Women’s Circuit: Sausalito YC’s Women Skippers Regatta on August 25, SFYC’s Auxiliary Cup on September 22, Tiburon YC’s Joan Storer Regatta on October 13 and Richmond YC’s Amazing Grace Cheney Cup on November 4.

In their nomination letter, the Susans wrote: “Alice has done a tremendous amount over the years to broaden access to sailing through teaching and leadership positions at yacht clubs. Alice is generous with her time and extensive sailing knowledge. She has taken on crew who didn’t know port from starboard and turned them into sailors. In order to broaden the participation of women in sailing and racing, Alice has led by example.

“For the 2018 season she cultivated an all-women crew for almost all of the races. Alice generously shared the helm, permitting seasoned women sailors who crew for her, but don’t own a boat, to have an opportunity to drive Sonata. She encouraged us to try out new positions so that we can become well-rounded crew and get exposure to experiences we might not have had with other skippers.

“While Alice is a fierce competitor, she doesn’t try to win at all costs — the safety and development of her crew is priority one. She inspires us to share that spirit, and as a result we are encouraging even more women into racing.”

We also encourage women to race and to take the helm, and we encourage male boat owners to give them the opportunity. We’ll be publishing another ‘Unofficial Women’s Circuit’ in the 2019 edition of the YRA Calendar, coming out on December 28.