One of the hardest things about being a woman in this industry is the lack of belief from men that I am good at my job. I have been fixing boats since I could walk. I practically came out the womb with an adjustable wrench in my hand. I make it a policy though not to work on my own boat so when the time came to get my repairs done I searched for the best anchor winch installation in Melbourne. When I phoned up about the job they were taken aback by my boat knowledge and asked how long my husband had owned it. I made it clear there was no husband and I had owned it my whole life. They did a fantastic job installing my new electric anchor winch, I wouldn’t have done anything differently. When I went to take her out on the water to give my new anchor a ride I realised I also needed some marine trailer repair work done. I was tempted to do it myself as I clearly just needed the wheel bearings changed but sticking to my own policy I called up the same place in Melbourne and booked in for some marine trailer repairs. I’ve worked on so many boats now that I have lost count. I can however tell you that in my entire industry experience, which is longer than I care to share, I have come across only three other female boat owners. That’s not to say there aren’t ladies out there who love their boats but there is a barrier for women against taking the step to ownership. Unfortunately it’s still a man’s world, and so it is still a man’s ocean. Laura Dekker provides an extremely inspirational story, she sailed around the world solo at the age of fourteen. She encountered major swells and storms and had to do an impressive amount of repairs and alterations on her boat but she made it, and she thrived!
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