She Sailor Sea Story “Ocean Races” September 14, 2023
with Sheila McCurdy, Anne Kolker, Yosh Han
Each of these woman sailors have open ocean racing experiences, which will make this show exciting and interesting. Please join us. It’s free and followed by the She Sailor Sea Story happy half-hour with women sailors from Coast to Coast … and beyond.
Sheila McCurdy has been sailing since she was three months old. Now she has sailed over 125,000 offshore miles on all kinds of boats with some of the great—and not so great—sailors in the world. She has had her share of trophies and awards including finishing second overall, twice, in the Newport Bermuda Race on her boat Selkie which her father Jim McCurdy designed for himself.
She has followed in the footsteps of many who have changed the sport for the better by volunteering in leadership roles for many organizations including the Cruising Club of America for which she is a past commodore and is presently writing the history of the 100-year-old club. She continues to be instrumental in the training and safety at sea programs at US Sailing. She has also served as a trustee of the New York Yacht Club where she is a member of the Race Committee. Sheila is the 2019 NWSA / Boat US Leadership in Women’s Sailing awardee.
Anne Kolker began sailing with her aunt and uncle when she was about eight-years old. However, she didn’t really get involved until she met her husband and they began to sail together. They bought their boat, Etoile together with plans to retire and sail everywhere. They did some offshore trips from Massachusetts to Maine. When her husband died, she was determined to keep Etoile. She learned of a team of women who were doing the Marion Bermuda race. She was accepted as crew even though she had no race experience. Being a doctor was a big plus. They practiced and started the race but dropped out due to concerns about weather. Anne decided that the next race would be on Etoile.
Since that, she has done eight all-female crew races on Etoile: two Stonington CT to Boothbay Harbor ME, five Marion to Bermuda, and a Figawi.
Anne’s other sailing adventures include an English Channel crossing, delivery from Grenada to Trinidad and return, a delivery from St Joh’s Newfoundland across the Cabot Strait to Baddeck Nova Scotia, and a transatlantic crossing from the Canaries to Grenada.
Yosh Han is an open water scuba instructor, blue water sailor, and wild swimmer. She’s swum the “Golden Gate Bridge swim” and the swim from Alcatraz to Aquatic Park’s South End Rowing Club (twice!) — each swim being 1.5 miles in 60F. In 2017 she crossed the equator by catamaran from Papua New Guinea to Palau on the Cabrinha Quest; as is customary for all sailors crossing the equator, Yosh made an offering to Poseidon, god of the sea, and committed herself to being an Ambassador of the Ocean.
Yosh recently competed in the prestigious TransPac race from Los Angeles to Hawaii on s/v Good Trouble, a 56’ Andrews with Sailing Offshore Racing Outreach. The team of majority minority sailors was the first of its kind in the race’s 100+ year history. She also completed a 2650nm double-handed journey on an Ericsson 30’ from San Diego, CA to the Big Island, Hawaii and inter islands around Maui, Molokini, Molokai, ending in Honolulu, Oahu. Plus a 2000nm adventure from Grenada to Charleston, South Carolina via USVI.