Women's Day
Tuesday is Women's Day at North Sails Cowes Week which celebrates the contribution and achievement of women in sailing. With women accounting for some 30% of competitors racing at the Regatta, we want to celebrate that growing participation, and continue to encourage women of all ages to enjoy our fabulous sport - be they sailing, organising, or managing a racecourse.
North Sails Cowes Week sees many mixed crews, as well as female-only crews, and while there are many women out racing, it is less common for women to take the helm, so on Women's Day, we especially encourage female helms.
In 2006, the Women's Day Trophy was introduced for the first time, to champion the role of women in sailing and the sheer number of female competitors racing at the Regatta.
In 2025, the Women's Day Trophy was awarded to Ellie Aldridge, Olympic gold-medalist in kiteboarding, who is now turning her attention to Sail GP. Ellie was racing on Cape 31 Fargo at this year's regatta.
Previous winners of the Tropy have included some big names from the world of sailing:
- Pip Hare, who competed in the 2020/21 Vendee Globe non-stop solo Round the World Race
- Dee Caffari MBE, who became the first woman to sail single handedly and non-stop around the world 'the wrong way' (westward and against the prevailing winds & currents).
- Tracy Edwards MBE, who set the standard in 1989 when she skippered the first all-female crew in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race. She has since launched the Maiden Factor Foundation, a charity to help educate and empower young girls around the world.
Ellie Aldridge, Winner of the Women's Day Trophy 2025, on Cape 31 Fargo
