Women have always featured prominently at East Down Yacht Club in Northern Ireland, with several holding club officer positions over the years.
Now in an initiative by Margie Crawford, the New Members Liaison officer, and following a very successful Women’s Cruise in Company in June, lady members once again took to the water, but this time on a much smaller craft.
The club is blessed with a sheltered stretch of the western shore of Strangford Lough inside Island Taggart.
Two paddleboarding sessions were run last weekend, with 14 members taking part.
During the afternoon, the sessions were run by Senior Instructor Kelly Richardson of WaveRides, Belfast, with light winds and a few torrential rainstorms passing through.
Nothing deterred the ladies, however, and the sessions finished with a challenge on the Mammoth 18ft paddleboard; as Margie says, “It was all about teamwork or else disaster!”.