We saw the film Maiden last weekend. It’s a story about Tracy Edwards and her ground-breaking campaign taking an all-female crew on the Whitbread Around the World yacht race. It’s a story of perseverance and adventure, of the power of belief and the importance of support.

Watching it was eye-opening. From the constant use of the term “girl” used to describe women (even used by the women themselves) and the blatant dismissal of even the idea that women could compete on that stage. The interviews with journalists who covered the race (one used the term “a tin full of tarts” to describe the boat and her crew, a term he still defends as appropriate) and competing skippers (still incredulous that they were bested by an underfunded women’s team sailing a second-hand boat, still dismissing women as capable of competing equally in the sailing world.) The fact that the women decided to sail into Fort Lauderdale, at the end of the 4th leg, wearing bathing suits as a way to distract from their poor showing - and that was the most seen photo of the entire race.

The amazingly emotional video footage of Maiden sailing into Southampton to finish.

This film just came out. The race it depicts? Not from the 1920s or 30s, 1950s or 60s, but the race that started in 1989.

1989.

It’s easy to forget that time, which wasn’t that far back. It’s also a great reminder of how important the ground breaking is. Women have indeed come a long way. We still have so far to go.

There’s a Facebook group called Women Who Sail that was started a number of years ago by Charlotte Kaufman after she asked a question about jewelry storage on another sailing site, only to get skewered by men who scoffed at the mere idea. The premise behind the group, of which I am a proud member of the admin team, is for females (there are no men allowed, period) to have a safe place to ask questions about any and all aspects of life aboard (or life on the water), no matter the experience level or subject matter - and that all discussions are to be respectful and supportive. The group is an international one, with over 17,000 women. We have posts about electrical issues and anchoring techniques. Posts about splicing and docking. Celebrations of first sails and first head repair and beautiful sunsets. It’s a group that has inspired and encouraged so many women to do so much.

99% (or more) of the time the discourse hums along as expected, respectful comments even when people disagree, supportive encouragement when people venture out and ask newbie questions. The shocking part is when it turns nasty. When women turn on each other with name-calling and denigration of the search for information. We’re lucky in that the group is largely self-policing, thank goodness; it’s a rare mean comment that goes unreported for any length of time.

I don’t really understand why it’s useful to tear down someone else. Why do a couple of the male skippers interviewed in Maiden still feel the need to say that women can’t do hard things? (Sour grapes? After all, Edwards and her team won not one but 2 legs of that race, the first being the insane jaunt through the Southern Ocean.) Why do any women feel the need to rip apart colleagues and peers? How does making someone else feel small make any of us better at all?

Maiden is a film with striking lessons about how important our contributions as women are. We need to lift each other up, encourage the adventure, find ways to celebrate and inspire and teach and support. And if you don’t identify as female? Fine. Lift each other up, encourage the adventure, and find ways to celebrate and inspire and teach and support. What on earth do any of us have to lose by working that way.