Women J/Teams Silver @ WOW Regatta SoCal

ByStuart Johnstone
Three sailors working on a sailboat.


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(Marina del Rey, CA)- The 2025 edition of California Yacht Club’s Women on Water Regatta was enjoyed by a great turnout of two dozen women’s sailing teams. Sailing in southern California in sunny weather and gentle seabreezes is hard to beat in the summertime. The women sailors were looking forward to some more fun racing around the cans.

The WOW/WAH regatta has two divisions: Women on Water (WOW) — composed of all female teams, and Women at the Helm (WAH) — composed of co-ed teams with a female driver. Both divisions race the same weekend in one regatta.

The WOW/WAH is about promoting, empowering, and celebrating women sailors. The only regatta of its kind in Marina del Rey, it’s a great opportunity to sharpen racing skills by taking the helm, leading a crew, or trying a new position.

When it’s all said and done, this regatta is a celebration of women sailors and their love of this sport. The spirit and camaraderie felt during this event are what make it so special. Several J/Teams enjoyed the fun-in-the-sun in this year’s event.

WAH Performance Division
This eight-boat fleet saw Talin Babikian and Karia Reinhardt from Del Rey Yacht Club sail the J/80 AVET to a silver medal after five races. After a slow start, they posted three straight 2nds for a total of 13 pts.

WAH Racer Division
This six-boat class saw a few fast big boats. In the end, it was Alena Philpot’s J/105 CUCHULAINN from South Coast Corinthian Yacht Club that garnered a silver medal for her efforts in their three-race series. She posted a 2-3-2 for 7 pts.

WOW Division
This all-women teams division saw a few hardcore racers vying for the top of the leaderboard. A former collegiate All-American and Tufts Sailing Team member- Susan Taylor- managed to get her California Yacht Club crew around the course on her famous J/24 TAKE FIVE. Normally accustomed to beating “the boys” in the SoCal J/24 Class events, she could only muster a bronze medal against “the girls”. She missed the silver medal by a mere 2 points after five races.

Follow WOW Women on the Water on Facebook here
https://www.facebook.com/womenonthewater/

For more Women’s Sailing Association information here
https://wsasmb.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=26731&module_id=610516

For more Cal Yacht Club regatta information
https://calyachtclub.com/regattas