Old Greenwich Yacht Club Women’s Boating and Social group
What is the OGYC Women’s Boating & Social Group?
Hint, it’s NOT the same as the interclub women’s sailing organization, WOW of Long Island Sound - where this page is hosted.
The OGYC Women’s Boating & Social Group is for ALL OGYC women boaters - regardless of your ‘vessel of choice’.
Whether you’re a paddler, power boater or sailor, the women of OGYC are always low key ready to get out on the water, mix it up and get to know each other.
What does the OGYC Women’s Boating group do? We get together casually over a glass of BYOB wine and appetizers, sometimes on, and sometimes off the water. The 10 member volunteer squad (full list can be found at the bottom of this page) periodically plans some impromptu events & meet-ups at the club.
Participation in this OGYC group requires Greenwich residency AND membership in the Old Greenwich Yacht Club.
If you are a woman sailor and want to keep up with women’s sailing news in CT & NY, anyone can sign up for the Women on the Water LIS SAILING email newsletter.
2024 Women’s Boating & Social Group Events
Kickoff Event
The Inaugural OGYC Women’s Boating Interclub Cocktail Mixer was held on Thursday, January 25, 2024 from 6-8PM at the Water Club in Cos Cob. Over 60 local Greenwich Women boaters attended, representing nearly every boat club in Greenwich & the town Marine Division.
Check out the Interclub Mixer photo album here.
The 2024 Paddleboard Yoga dates - 6 in total - will be posted soon! OGYC members may bring guests.
OGYC WOMEN’S BOATING & Social Group EVENTS - 2023
All Things Paddle, a demo of all kinds of paddleboards, windsurfers as paddleboards, & kayaks, plus an inflation demo, was held on Sat, June 3, 4-6PM. Check out the event photo album.
Mini History Tour & Social - a historical tour of the western end of the point, led by Susie Baker, was held on Sunday October 22 from 3:30-6PM. Check out the event photo & video album.
Paddleboard Yoga - and of course, the ongoing paddleboard yoga class is a popular Saturday morning event for many! Program runs from 6/24 - 9/9/2023, every other Saturday, 10am-11am.
GET INVOLVED - Get on our email list!
Step One: Get on the OGYC Women’s Boating email list!
Login to the OGYC website and edit the ‘I would like to Participate or Volunteer’ question in your member profile and be sure to check off “Women’s Boating & Social Group” - the last option on the list of interests shown in the screenshot. This is a NEW FIELD in 2024.
That’s it! You’ll be on our email list.
Make sure all your other ‘interests’ are accurate.
As we are planning events, it is helpful if we know who owns which type of boats. So if you own a boat (or two), be sure your ‘boat ownership’ fields are also up-to-date.
For more information on OGYC’s Women’s Boating & Social Group, contact the Director of Waterfront Programs Lisa Chardain at waterprograms@ogyc.org.
Visit the OGYC Women’s Boating page on the OGYC website (login to view) it will redirect you back to this page.
Who We Are - Paddlers, Power Boaters & Sailors
Women Paddlers
As kayakers & paddle boarders we get up close and personal with nature and each other. It’s a vibe.
Whether you own your paddle vessel (or two or three), borrow from the ALL NEW OGYC Paddle & Kayak Fleet, or rent from Tod’s Point Sailing School, you can get to know more paddle buddies through the OGYC Women’s Boating Group.
There are 19 OGYC member owned paddle vessels of all types - with a woman-owner or co-owner. (Per the OGYC member directory.) Many more members rent! Plus nearly 20 members who don’t own a kayak or paddleboard but are interested in paddling activities.
Paddling activities at OGYC include the Paddleboard Yoga Class, held 6 times each summer from 10-11AM on alternating Saturdays from late June through early September. Registration required, no charge, guests allowed - this event is coed. But you must supply your own board.
New this year - 2023 - are two Full Red Moon Kayak Tours (BYOK - kayak or paddle board): Wed, Aug 2 & 30 at 8PM. Also coed.
In the Fall there are expert guided birding paddles.
Women Power Boaters
Whether you’re at the helm or you’re more comfortable packing the cooler, OGYC power boaters love to share their know-how and knowledge. They know where the best anchorages and waterfront restaurants are for day trips.
There are 55 OGYC member-owned power boats moored in Greenwich Cove or nearby - with a woman owner or co-owner, per the member directory. Maybe you don’t own a power boat, but you think you might want to someday. Get to know some power boaters!
OGYC maintains a ‘cruising’ page’ with valuable info about interclub reciprocity and a ‘Cruising Forum’ which is completely empty. Let’s build on this!
Cross Pollinate: Knowledgeable power boaters are always needed to drive the Club’s boats on race nights. So if you want to mix it up with other club members, consider driving on a Wednesday race night!
Women Sailors
We have a wide variety of women sailors at OGYC. Some women are PHRF racers (big boat owners) or crew. Some women own their own sailboats (big and small) and sail just for fun. And some of us rent sailboats from Tod’s Point Sailing school.
Other members actively use the club-owned Ideal 18s for both casual sailing and/or racing. Then there are the crazy frostbiters - who sail all winter in tiny dinghies. (Shhhh. We don’t talk about them much.)
Just so you know…There are 44 OGYC member-owned sailboats moored in or near Greenwich Cove - with a woman owner or co-owner. (Per the OGYC member directory.)
How can you get involved with sailing at OGYC?
First, get certified to sail the OGYC Ideals!
Participate in Mentor Sailing: On some Thursdays and Fridays, depending on other activities, there’s ‘new sailor’ mentoring where old hands take out new sailors on the Ideals.
There is also Coed Lunch & Sail on Thursdays for 14 weeks. You must be certified or be a member who is a guest of a member who is Ideal 18 certified. This is to avoid a situation where a lot of non-certified members show up and you can’t sail.
Take a class at Tod’s Point Sailing School! (There’s a women’s only sailing class in June.)
Twilight Series: Wednesday nights are our club Twilight Series, with PHRF and Ideal 18 racing. And we’re always looking for help on Race Committee!
Instruction: Sailing instructor, Anne Munkenbeck, can be hired for one-on-one learning on the Ideals (see the OGYC calendar).
WOWlis Interclub Racing: And finally, for the more experienced women Ideal racers, we have Women on the Water of Long Island Sound - for women’s inter-yacht club racing, socializing, and regattas between 14 NY & CT Yacht Clubs.
Our inter-club Ideal 18 sailing WOWlis OGYC Representatives are Beth Eaton and Cathy Blood.
Sign up for the CT/NY WOWlis email newsletter if you’re interested in learning more.
Meet your OGYC Women’s Boating Group SQUAD
(Click on the names below to view OGYC profiles with contact info. You’ll need to be logged into the OGYC site to view.)
Kristen Rodriguez - Power
Renee Potter - Sail
Kelly Peterson - Power (on leave)
Marilyn Olsson - Power
Cheryl Moss - Sail / Paddle
Sarah Jenkins - Sail / Paddle / Power
Jessica Fitzsimmons - Sail / Power / Paddle
Beth Eaton - Sail / Power
Leslie Dobryn - Sail / Paddle
Lisa Chardain - Paddle & Yoga (OGYC Water Programs Director)
Nancy Chapin - Paddle / Sail
Betsy Burleson - Paddle
Ellie Bowman - Sail
Cathy Blood - Sail / Paddle
Want to join the SQUAD to help plan events?
We think up fun stuff to do and send out emails. No set up, no breakdown, no party planning :)
Using links above, reach out to Cathy Blood, Jessica Fitzsimmons, Beth Eaton or Lisa Chardain (waterprograms@ogyc.org).
The role of Squad Members
Communicate with their boater group (sail/paddle/power), talking up the OGYC Women’s Boating group with members.
Helping to maintain up to date contact lists for their boater group
Making sure new members are added to our email list (work with Peter Linderoth, Membership Director)
Working with board to ensure our boat ownership lists are correct
Attending some membership open houses
Attending, when possible, our BYOB casual events