St. Augustine Sailing Sisters’ Spring Forward Race Benefitting Betty Griffin House

Giving Back to Our Community

Anytime we can get out on the water, support a local charity, and raise awareness and appreciation of the outdoors; that’s a great day!

The Sailboat Race Goals

Our St. Augustine Sailing Sisters‘ Spring Forward Race March 10, 2019 benefits the Betty Griffin Center Shelter for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault in St. Augustine, and is sponsored by the St. Augustine Yacht Club and others. Sponsorship opportunities are available! See the website for more details.

The St. Augustine Sailing Sisters’ Mission is for Women to Engage – be a part of the local group of sailing women, Empower – as we encourage each other to see more, do more, be more, and Excel – and improve ourselves and others in our community.

The 3rd Annual SASS Bikini Race held on August 3, 2018 was a sensational success thanks to all our SASS Members, race participants and sponsors who made this race possible. Because of our racers, sponsors, and supporters, we were able to raise $5,000 for the Betty Griffin Center, a local crisis shelter for victims of domestic violence.

We look forward to continuing our mission to Engage, Empower and Excel Women both on and off the water. Seven boats raced with All Women Crew, and five boats raced with All Women Crew with only one man aboard. This year will be even bigger!

St. Augustine Sailing’s Contributions

St. Augustine Sailing is donating the use of two boats, our 36′ Hunter “Stimulus,” and a Jeanneau 349 “French Kiss 💋” along with captains and accompanying race fees. I’m racing with an all-female crew on “Stimulus,” and our company owner, RoseAnn, is racing “French Kiss 💋.” One of our goals has been to introduce more women to sailing in our WOW – Women on the Water Program – so this is a race near and dear to us and our female sailors.

This year, I’m awarding sunscreen Reef Sentinel Kits placed in Stream2Sea Dry Bags to the first, second, and third place winners in both the “All-Womens” and “Mixed Crew” categories to spread the word about reef-safe sunscreen and personal products.

Stream2Sea Donates

Stream2Sea generously has donated a huge 32 ounces of spf 30 Mineral Sunscreen for the race crews, and 32 ounces of Leave-In Conditioner so we arrive at the post-race party looking refreshed. A three ounce tube lasts a family of four about eight days, so this is about 341 applications; enough to cover all the crews all day long. Stream2Sea was formulated by a Florida female chemist and diver, Autumn Blum, which makes their support all the more special to us female sailors.

Also, they donated a Sun and Sting Relief Gel just in case anyone gets a bit too much sun, suffers a bug sting, or comes into contact with something itchy. All items are packaged in EcoConscious Sugarcane Resin Tubes. Thank you again, Stream2Sea for your generous support of our sailors and the Betty Griffin Center in St. Augustine!

Upcoming Women’s Sail Races in St. Augustine

Spring Foward: Sunday, March 10, 2019

9:30 am Skipper’s Meeting at SAYC
1:00 pm Race starts just north of the Vilano Bridge
5:00 pm Awards Ceremony at SAYC

Mother’s Day / Wendy Thomson Memorial: Saturday, May 11, 2019

9:30 am Skipper’s Meeting at SAYC
1:00 pm Race starts near last sea buoy
5:00 pm Awards Ceremony at SAYC

Bikini Race: Saturday, August 3, 2019

9:30 am Skipper’s Meeting at SAYC
1:00 pm Race starts just north of the Vilano Bridge
5:00 pm Awards Ceremony (Location TBA)

For more information on the womens’ races, visit the St. Augustine Sailing Sisters web page.

You can see my Stream2Sea unboxing video here!

And, here’s my unboxing of Stream2Sea captain’s goodies for the 2019 Spring Forward Womens’ Race trophies with the help of my kitties.

Here’s the link to eco-friendly Stream2Sea sunscreen. It comes in spf 20 and spf 30, tinted and non-tinted, and I can’t say enough about the company, their commitment to reducing our damage to coral reefs, and the quality of their products. There are other sunscreens nearly as good, but not quite, and not packaged consciously. If you have any questions, they probably are answered here on their Frequently Asked Questions page. It’s very interesting reading!

Stream2Sea has generously given me a discount code “KimW” for you to use at the checkout at checkout to save 10%. Using my link does not increase your price. You actually get a discount, and I receive a small portion of the sale. This allows me to buy more sunscreen for myself and my sailing crew.
Thank you for your support! I really appreciate it!

Here’s our 3rd Annual Bikini Race Video – all 13 of us are on “Monkey’s Uncle” at 0:19′-0:30′ in the video clip of the race.

What to read next: Pre-Sail Checklist for Sailing

Thanks for reading, and if you have any funny sailboat race stories – leave your comments below! I’d love to hear from you! Look for my next article on how to safely dispose of banned toxic sunscreens. I’ll publish it soon. Kim | DWH