I once sailed down the Hudson on the sloop "Clearwater" shortly after
joining their advisory board. The captain, mate, and crew were all women.
I was the only man on board. I have seldom, if ever, seen a large and
difficult to manage vessel (70 foot boom) handled so well.

In my long association with many sail training groups, it was almost
universally acknowledged, often reluctantly by some fairly macho males, that
women make better sailors both at the entry level and as they rise to
command. Good example is Maine's Linda Greenlaw of "Perfect Storm" fame.
She was the most successful captain in the most challenging fishery on the
east coast. Fishing is different than sailing but many of the same
priniciples apply.

There is an aspect of sailing that plays directly to the strenght of the way
the female mind tends to approach life (whether you believe this is hard
wired or socialized in). The sailing vessel has no power source of its
own. It is made to move only by changing it's own configuration and subtly
influencing the environment around it; not by exerting power to overcome its
environment.
--
Roger Long