Ladies night on the lake

There is this group of women in Wayzata that took the idea ? you know the one; anything boys can do girls can do better ? out on the water.

"When you are with three other women and each person is pulling lines, and making that boat go fast, and operating everything at its best, it clicks," says master sailor Joni Berg.

For 12 years Joni and the Minnesota Women's Sailing Team have outdone their selves in international competitions and right here at home.

"This team is all about providing that opportunity for women," Team Commodore Leah Willcutt said.

The team is made up of six women, but it might be more accurate to say that this team is infinite ... well at least to all of those with a pair of X chromosomes.

"It's evolved and now it's not about, only about going to international meets and regattas," Berg said. "It's more about teaching women how to sail, giving them leadership qualities and teaching the how to make decisions on the water."

Twice a year the sailing team sets aside competition for teaching ... teaching women of any age, any walk of life, how to sail.

"We want to help women increase their skill and knowledge of sailing so they can use that to increase their confidence," Willcutt said. "Once they have confidence they become better leaders, and the sailboat then becomes the classroom."

Over the years hundreds of women have come aboard the MWST 'Women at the Helm' training sessions.

"I thought you know what, I'm going to do this. I've always wanted to do it. It was always a challenge to me to step out of my comfort zone and give it a try," Marnie O'Byrne said.

For two days, the team takes women who have zero experience and turns them into bona fide sailors.

"We are going yes! Is this not the best," Berg laughingly said. The sailing lessons are a real win-win situation for everyone. For the teachers clearly it's a real gas.

"It is just fun!" team skipper Lois Carlson said.

For the students, learning to sail from skilled women like these, for less than fifty dollars, is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

"I think I am going to walk away thinking, you know, I didn't think I could do this and I can do this you know bring it on, what's next?" O'Byrne said.

The fifty-dollar price tag gets the ladies a session on board one of two J-22s and a night of education with the entire sailing team and guest speakers.

On board the boats the ladies learn the ropes, the sail and the spinnaker. That's in addition to gaining the strength, savvy and magic of coasting down Wayzata Bay.

"I can bet there are a million women who think boy I wish knew how to do that," Berg said.

If that is the case then Lake Minnetonka is the place where wishes come true.

Because, in this bunch, women not only learn how to sail, they also learn how to lead. "Here we are with a skill that is empowering and is about what we can translate that into tomorrow," Carlson pointed out.

It may look like just sailing, but once on board women learn how to make critical decisions in a split second.

They learn how to ebb and flow as a team, and that the boat will only really go when that team is working together in sync.

There is no room for the passive. There is no time to be anything but confident, strong and un-apologetic.

"They walk a little taller because they have stepped outside of their boundary," Carlson said. "I want them to walk away empowered. Maybe they have had a dream to know what it would be like to be out there," Berg said.

It is a lesson of lifelong significance, taught on the water, a school of endless beauty.

If you want to know more about the team and the training sessions log onto: www.mwst.org

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