When an exciting sport is associated with a community whose passion extends beyond race time, the ideal sporting environment is born. As a woman, it can be intimidating to join a new sporting community, unsure of the reception one will receive.
The NS14 community ripples with passion for the sport and its sailors alike. What’s not to love about the humble 14 foot dinghy? Since the class’ 1960’s conception, all sorts of pairs have been drawn to the NS14’s promise of speed, thrills, and accessibility; parents/children, siblings, partners, and friends are amongst the many dynamic duos commonly seen racing these boats. From casual sailing on a local lake to competing in the annual NS14 National Titles, women of all ages have always made up many of the friendly faces of the NS14 community. Even from the beginning of the class’ history, there has been a strong representation of female skippers behind the NS14’s tiller, female crews hiking off the hull, and women on-shore devoted to ensuring the smooth running of the class.
NSW class president Sharyn Jones is much of the beating heart behind the NS14 community. Having been introduced to the class by her older brothers in the early ‘90s, she’s been consistently competing in exhilarating class championships since. She now dedicates countless hours to organising NS14 events and encouraging newcomers to give the class a try, with the hopes of one day seeing the return of “the big fleets of old”.
“I love the on water racing, I love the closeness, I love the tactics,” Jones says. “I love that mothers/fathers can introduce their kids to sailing in them and see the kids fall in love with racing, that husbands and wives can sail them together, that girls can sail together and all of these combinations are competitive.”
Jones goes on to praise how the NS14 rewards clever tactical decisions rather than relying on sheer athleticism to succeed. She reminisces on the pure joy of winning her first NSW State Championship heat with her brother in an 80 boat Port Stephens Fleet.
“I could not stop smiling for days!”
The inherent accessibility of the NS14 is also praised by Kylie Vaiciurgis, a force to be reckoned with in the NS14 racing community. Vaiciurgis made history in 2005/06 at Lake Macquarie NSW, where she became the first female skipper to win an NS14 National Championship. Since then, she’s also secured two State Championship wins, most recently skippering her way to victory in the 2023 NSW State Championship. Vaiciurgis and her husband, Peter, have also been able to introduce the thrill of competitive NS14 sailing to their daughter, Mia, who has already crewed on the winning boat at the 2023/24 and 2024/25 National Championships!
“What I enjoy most about sailing the NS14 is that as a female I can race the guys without a physical disadvantage,” Vaiciurgis says. “You don’t need to be extremely strong to control the sails, it’s not all about the muscle!”
Vaiciurgis loves the fierce competitiveness of the class, the quick acceleration of the boat as it catches the wind in its sails, and most of all, the beautiful testament her boat Lookin’ Good serves to the memory of a cherished member of the NS14 community.
“Over the past few years it has been my honour to sail the NS14 with Sarah Roberts in memory of her husband, Jamie. [He] was an NS14 Champ! In 2020, when Jamie passed away the NS14 community came together and helped us put together a new NS14 to race the State Titles at Manning River. Sarah and I have raced together at several regattas now, with the highlight a State Title win in 2023. Both of us have won the title before, but 2023 in Lookin’ Good was the sweetest win.”
NS14 skipper Ruby Edmunds credits these wonderful people of the NS14 committee as the reason she “fell in love with the class” when she was seventeen.
“Everyone is embraced in the class”, Edmunds says. She raves about the way the community is consistently learning from one another, making the basics of the NS14 easy to master, but the technicalities an exciting and ever-developing lesson. To her, the class is a fun way to experience continuous personal and technical growth whilst getting the opportunity to make lifelong friends.
As a relative newcomer to the NS14 community, Daisy Morgan couldn’t agree more.
“I think one of the easiest things about the NS14 is that it’s an all-round approachable class to enter. When my dad and I were researching boat classes, so many of the club members around us were very happy to chat about NS14s, even if they were no longer sailing the class. I’ve received so much great crewing advice from a huge assortment of people. Our Aero 9 Graeme Garden was inexpensive and wonderful, and has needed very little maintenance work in the seven years we’ve sailed it.”
Like her sailing peers, Morgan loves the balance between the ease of getting an NS14 into the water, and the never-ending journey of learning about the boat’s fine tuning. She loves her role as crew, forever playing with the jib controls and the balancing of the boat.
“It’s a lot of fun sailing in a boat that’s so responsive to weight – shifting slightly backwards and feeling the boat’s nose lift out of the water is an unrivalled joy. I also love how close to the water you get to be; I love flying along, body out of the boat, and getting a splash to the face.”
Easy to access, endlessly fun, and nail-bitingly competitive, it’s clear why so many women gravitate towards (and vouch for) the NS14. With a community as welcoming as the NS14’s, joining the class is simple and sure to please. For women with a taste for competition, winning the National Championship has been proven to be within reach. Additionally, both the NS14 State and National Championships offer a Female Skipper trophy in the prize pool, and the competition is hot.
You know you want one!
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