On Long Island’s North Fork, women are changing history at four of its five yacht clubs. Alyssa Constant of the Orient Yacht Club, Ellen Talbot of Old Cove Yacht Club, Lisa Reich of Shelter Island Yacht Club, and Mary Kalich of the Mattituck Yacht Club are all commodores, a role historically dominated by men.
Kalich has held the role for eight years, while the other women have been commodores for the past two. “It is unique to be a female commodore,” Reich said. “I’m only the second [in Shelter Island] since 1886.”
The female commodores want to encourage women and girls to get into sailing, and to make the sport less intimidating. “There are points where, because it is a male-dominated sport, like honestly most sports, you have to do that little extra to make sure women are taken care of and given opportunities to feel welcome and feel secure,” said Reich.
At Shelter Island, the club hosts three all-women regattas. That means an all-female race committee and judges, as well as a course set by women. Creating spaces where women don’t feel so intimated pushes more kids to try sailing, and as Kalich says, for North Fork kids, sailing is like Little League, and it builds community.
With more women and girls wanting to sail, there’ll also be more candidates to become female commodores. For the full story, click here.
