Mother Ocean :: Home of Magical Mermaids and Beautiful Dreams

I met a magical mermaid sister today. It’s amazing to me how life brings people together. She is half my age, but from the moment we sat down, I could tell that we were kindred souls, and age did not matter one bit.  She joked that she meets people by being “stalker-y”, just because she likes their energy and wants to know them. In some situations people may get freaked out by that kind of thing, but I actually welcome it. I can already count 2 dear friends who have become my friends by being this way with me, and I have countless of my own that I “stalked” because I wanted to know them. Our techniques differ, but I wanted to take a moment and acknowledge that I feel that this “stalker-y” behavior is really just a version of following our intuition and surrounding ourselves with people who inspire or resonate with us. I am a firm believer in surrounding myself with people who lift me up and inspire me. Whether on a deep emotional level, or because they have achieved something I admire, I deeply heed Rumi’s advice: “be with those who help your being”. The more I do this myself, as well as allow others to approach me in this way, the richer my life becomes. 

Ever since I did the Singlehanded Transpac, and proclaimed my intention of wanting to support more women in getting on the water, I have been happily inundated with introductions to women who want to learn to sail. It is so exciting to hear of their dreams and goals, and to already see in my mind’s eye that they can achieve them, even before we sail together. Sometimes I think I am even more excited than they are.

I think I probably get more out of our meetings and sails together than they do. To see the light in their faces when they take the helm for the first time, or talk about their dreams of single handing a boat, or talk about getting their own boat one day, fuels me and reminds me of my own dreams. I can be transported back to the moment in 1999 when I singlehanded a keelboat for the first time, and a dream was born…which lead to the moment in 2000 when I decided to do my sailing certifications through US Sailing because I wanted to be a skipper and not just a crew…which lead me to the moment in 2004 when I decided it was time to take my sailing more seriously and buy my 1st boat…which lead me to the moment in 2013 when I bought Haunani and started sailing again after a five year hiatus…which lead me to the most fateful moment of all…when I decided to sail across the ocean alone, even though I had never done anything remotely close to that. We are all weaving a tapestry of dreams and goals, and we all have a hand in supporting each other in achieving them if we allow it. The strategic choosing, and the magical appearance of people in our lives that help us along the way is so wonderful…both from the perspective of supporter and the one being supported.

Today when this young woman was talking to me of her deep connection to Mother Ocean, it almost brought me to tears, and reconnected me with that place in myself that feels at one with the sea. In the end, all of this sharing, and supporting brings me back to our interconnectedness, and my deep belief that we are all here to lift each other up and “ to walk each other home”, as Ram Dass once said. I am so grateful for the tapestry that is made up of beautiful souls with whom I share this precious life!

Love Wins :: The Secret of a Successful Team

I was asked to give a little talk tonight at the Women’s Sailing Association of Santa Monica Bay (WSA). They had a speaker cancel so it was very last minute notice. Thankfully it is a casual crowd!  I will be speaking side by side with one of my favorite humans and sailing mentors, Kathy St Amant, to a group of women and men whom I admire and respect greatly. Needless to say, I feel very honored. They asked us to speak about racing in The Sunset Series, and our experiences of what it takes to put together a crew and campaign our boats. Since it is my first season, and Kathy’s umpteenth, we will have mostly different perspectives to share, but I believe that the common thread will be the way we view our crews and the experience of being on the water.

When I decided to race this year, I knew that I wanted an all-woman crew. People often ask me why, and my response is always the same. I am passionate about getting more women on the water, and what better way to contribute to that than starting with my own boat! Plus, I knew that it would be a positive experience, even before we gathered for our first race. I had a hunch that we would foster an environment of peace and mutual respect, that  we would have respectful communication, that we would lift each other up and support each other at all times, and, that there would be no yelling. Well, the no yelling thing is actually a rule on my boat, but I had a feeling that I would never have to enforce it! 

Please know that I have nothing against sailing with men, and in fact, I love it most of the time, and many of my mentors are men. I will say though, that sailing with an all-female crew is a pleasantly different experience than sailing with a mostly male crew. The energy is generally softer, kinder, more uplifting, more positive and more centered around personal and team growth. I am sold!! I chose my team based on the variety of experience we all encompassed, and the potential for us all to learn and grow together. The biggest “secret” about choosing my team was in choosing key people who were experienced racers who could guide our team, mentor me, and help me to become a better sailor. 

This is actually one of my secrets in life: Always surround myself with people who know more. This pushes me to learn and to always do better. I love being mentored and I love mentoring. This is why I chose my team the way I did. I fell in the middle of the spectrum on racing experience, and the circular nature of our mutual inspiration was amazing!

As I think about what I will talk about tonight, I think of all that my crew taught me. From the badass racers that are my tacticians to the less experienced racers (badasses in their own right), each woman taught me so many things! Things about: my boat, sailing, repairs, love, friendship, bravery, humor, sail trim, and humility. Every one of us showed up with an empty cup every day. We showed up open to what we had to learn from each other. Every one of us consistently extended love and warmth to each other and across the water to our competitors (even the ones who didn’t offer that in return).  This makes me more proud than any trophy or standing we could have won.

 As I wrote about in my last post, our season, and the experience of sailing with these amazing women surpassed every hope and expectation I had. To quote  Carrie, It was “pure fu*king MAGIC”!

I have officially been bitten by the racing bug, and am very excited for all of the adventures that await Team Cassiopeia and me! Our motto is Love Wins, and I can attest that it surely does!

Team Cassiopeia :: Our Last Race of The Season

Last night was our last race of the season in The Cal Yacht Club Sunset Series. I am so proud of our team. We finished 5th overall in our class (out of 19) in our first season as a team and my first season as a skipper in buoy racing. When we came together, we all brought different skills and levels of experience, and as the weeks went on, those were channeled into the well-oiled machine that is now our team. When we crossed the finish line last night, we were one, and that came from weeks of learning and growing together. 

Everyone came so far, and we came so far as a team. Through the support of these magnificent women, I became a better driver, leader and human. I witnessed each woman come into her own in her unique way: Gabriella, the “swiss army knife” Dorsen became a beast on the winches, was able to fix anything that tripped us up, and brought her unique magical light to us each every day! Carrie “fire eyes” Peters, stepped back into her natural place of power and strength as a sailor and tactician, and coached us all into being better, stronger and gnarlier! Debbi brought humor, wisdom and a calm energy to us all. She stepped into main trim and became a solid disciple of ole fire eyes on the intricacies of that role! Robin “bow rider” Mohilner graced us with her passion and pure light. She documented our adventures in imagery and words (see this video below and you’ll know what I mean). She stepped into whatever role was asked of her, and did it with grace and enthusiasm! Paula trimmed the genny and spinnaker with intuition and focus, and by the end, the finesse of a pro. Lara is no longer sailing with us, but she started our season out with a bang as our fearless tactician! Not only did we all become better sailors, but we became sisters. I count each of these beautiful women as my best friends and soul sisters. I have grown so much as a result of our friendship and connection, and to me that transcends everything else. Sailing is amazing, racing is fun, winning is wonderful, but the love and connection we all have is the ultimate blessing of this team.

Rumi says “be with those who help your being”….thank you my sisters for lifting me up and reminding me who I am and of that which I am capable! Thank you for being mirrors for everything from the tactical to the deeply personal. I am forever grateful to you all. I look so forward to our next adventures!!!! I LOVE YOU!

Team Cassiopeia is Featured in The Argonaut!!!

I am so honored to have been interviewed in the Argonaut Newspaper in an article about women in sailing. We even made the cover! The photos are by the uber talented Tami Rae of Loaded Canon. I have included the link to the article HERE!