nnie Lush talks with a mixture of determination and honesty that you can’t fail but be inspired by. She is speaking at a conference hosted by The Magenta Project, in Alicante, Spain, on the eve of The Ocean Race start. The topic? Increasing female participation in sailing. It comes after the race itself – together with The Magenta Project, World Sailing Trust and PA Consulting – set a target of having equal number of male and female sailors by 2030 in a collaboration dubbed ‘Horizon’.
“It’s not only about getting women on a boat, it’s getting them there in a key role,” Annie stresses to the audience. “In the last Ocean Race there were women on the boats, but not in key roles. You don’t want to be trimming the tweaker, you actually want to get involved and to do that, women need to be able to learn some serious skills on board.”
She goes on to describe the problem as existing at every level of racing.
Although it can also be difficult for male sailors to break into professional sailing, there are precedents and pathways already in place for male sailors. In contrast, pathways for females are still being constructed.
Ocean Race experience
Female participation is a subject that Annie is more than qualified to talk on. Her CV isin 2014-15; she is also a founder of The Magenta Project.
