Womens Sailing in the XOD Class Cowes Week 2026
Published 16:00 on 22 Sep 2026
Ladies sailing in the XOD class is thriving, and Cowes Week 2026 proved it. The regatta saw an unprecedented entry of female helms: seven boats were helmed by women, up from just three in 2025 and two in 2024 more than a threefold increase in two years. Three of those seven had crews that were fifty percent female. The youth bursary programme and the four-crew rule have opened the class up to female sailors, and the results speak for themselves: on the final day of racing, five of the top fourteen places went to boats with female helms, and four female-helmed boats finished in the top seventeen overall.
Leading the way, as she has for many years, was Penny Fulford in X58 Madeleine. Penny lifted the Ladies Trophy once again, and has now won it more times than any other woman in the history of the class. Sailing four up, she had 18-year-old Nerissa Smart at the front of the boat a fitting picture of the next generation coming through behind her.
Pennys success is part of a wider story. Amanda Heath made her helming debut on Ladies Day with an all-female crew in X101 Thora, a boat that has been in her family since 1980 and was previously sailed by her father, Ted Roose. The Roose family legacy continues with Emily Heath, Teds granddaughter, helming X78 Fury for the first time. Two further boats were all family affairs: Cordelia Ellis in X76 Myrtle sailed with her husband and son, while Abby Childerley in X2 Palasie sailed with her parents. The two youth boats also finished well, with Abby Hire helming XL to 17th overall and Sasha Lines finishing 42nd in Leonessa further evidence that the youth bursary programme is bringing young female sailors into the fleet and keeping them competitive.
With a record-setting champion at the front of the fleet and new helms, young crews and family boats filling in behind her, womens sailing in the XOD class has never been in better health.
Penny Fulford September 2026
Last updated 16:00 on 22 September 2026
