A new name on the PIC Coastal Classic start list this year is Vixen Racing, a campaign built around a clear purpose: to see more women owning and skippering competitive offshore boats.
Skipper Sharon Ferris-Choat and co-owners Deb Steele, Carla Bennett and Lynn have recently purchased Vixen, a modified Class 40 monohull. The boat, originally owned by Graham Dalton and later by Scott and Tash Fickling, has been tailored for inshore and light-air conditions, with a taller rig and longer bowsprit to boost power in the Gulf’s lighter breezes.
This year’s Coastal serves as both a debut and a shakedown. “We’ve done a few small modifications and just want to learn the boat as a team,” Sharon says. After the finish in Russell, the crew will continue north to Opua, preparing for a Trans-Tasman crossing to Sydney, where Vixen will line up for the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Their weather window opens 17 November, with an eight-day passage planned via the northern route around the high.
Their crew blends depth and diversity, 50 percent women and 50 percent men, including Olympic Finn sailor Clifton Webb, Taylor Edwards as boat captain, and James Tucker, fresh from winning the Sands Series double-handed aboard Vixen. Tucker joins to pass on “tricks of the trade” as the team fine-tunes its rhythm.
Beyond the racing, Vixen Racing carries a philosophy. The team believes opportunity builds capability. “We don’t necessarily need quotas,” says Sharon, “but if that’s the only way to get women on boats, then we need to do it, because the opportunities still aren’t there.” Co-owner Carla, a former match racer and Olympian, adds that mixed crews often perform better by playing to combined strengths rather than relying on brute power.
Their approach reflects a wider shift in sailing culture, from token inclusion to genuine participation. “You can’t compete if you don’t have the opportunity,” Sharon says.
“That’s why we created Vixen Racing, to give women the chance to race a competitive boat, gain confidence, and eventually own one themselves.”
For the Coastal Classic, that mission is already underway, and Vixen is ready to show what’s possible when skill, experience and purpose meet on the start line.
