Sailor Erica Lush joins us from the Maiden Factor, where she was Skipper of Maiden, a Magenta Project mentee and has been working hard to create opportunities for other women to sail and race offshore.  This is an area she will continue to focus on in her new role with our Canadian IMOCA team. 

As Erica joins the team today Canada Ocean Racing are hosting eight sailors from the Magenta Project for a two day ‘camp’ in Toronto.  Canada Ocean Racing and the Magenta Project have teamed up for this event with the aim of getting more women involved in ocean racing.  The Vendee Globe and offshore sailing is one of the very few sports where men and women can compete equally in the same event.  Female skippers including Sam Davis, Pip Hare, and Clarisse Cremer have all completed this epic race. In the last race Vendee Globe race that departed in 2020, 8 of the 33 entrants were women.

The Canada Ocean Racing Team Director Emma Kettle said “As a team we have always had a good balance of women and men and we are looking forward to working with Erica.  As a Skipper of Maiden and with over 60,000 nautical miles to her name, I am sure she will be a great asset for us and will continue to inspire more women to pursue careers in offshore sport and sailing”

The 48 hour ‘camp’ for the Magenta Project sailors began with an in-depth  technical boat tour and briefing, splicing workshop and networking with the team.  Then today the group boarded the Canada Ocean Racing IMOCA 60 race boat for a day of training with ocean racing legend, Alex Thomson, and Canadian Skipper Scott Shawyer.  Following sailing the Magenta Project hosted an afternoon of workshops covering weather & navigation,  fund raising and sponsorship.

The event is supported by Canada Ocean Racing’s official technical supplier – Mustang Survival.