Youngblood | Coho.WommensPanel

First, let's thank Fisheries Supply for staying open late, and giving Coho members a special discount. What a great sponsor!
Coho Seminar #9 was a great series of talks by women who had done legs of the Coho Rally and so much more! Ryan and Caroline on s/v Waponi Woo, the 40' Fountaine Pajot Catamaran, were back in town, with lots of tips and references for going past Mexico, on down to Costa Rico. Their daugther, India and her friend Keely led a lively discussion about cruising with teens. While their advice may have been 'DON'T DO IT", they clearly have many dinghy driving, radio, and text-social skills, plus a whole world of experience mose kids never get. They had an impressive presentation, with the pics to prove they've been through the Panama Canal! Sue has been racing most of her life, from dinghys to big boats in Mexico, and competitive J105's here in the PNW. She tred to encourage more folks to race, where you can get more solid experience in a year of racing, then years of cruising. She even brought a presentations with basic tips to class starting flags. Jaqi had us in stitches with tales of inexperience, growing from an accidental sailor, to going down the coast on a big fast boat, and even up to Alaska to bring a boat down to SF. She's had a wild fun ride, a special Baja Ha Ha, and now she's helping weather route Coho cruisers going down the coast this year. Yes, she's on a first name basis with the NOAA NWS crew at Sand Point! Jen is such a animated and entertaining speaker, what a delight! She doesn't like to cook, but has lots of sailing skills and experience. She is a adamant about learning skills, encouraging oil changes to docking. She even shared the story of Mary Ann Brown Patten, who at 19, took a clipper ship, Neptunes Car, around the Horn and into San Francisco, when her husband was incapacitated with TB. What a enthusiastic and inspiring closing presentation! What a fun special evening with lots of laughs, smiles and thoughtful info. Thanks all!
(Click on a image below for a larger image "slide show" - arrow keys work well.)