Annemiek Bes, professional sailor, keynote speaker, and personal coach
On this website, women from the maritime sector share their stories. This is the story of Annemiek Bes.
What kind of work do you do?
I am a professional sailor. In 2004, I started out as an Olympic sailor in the Yngling class and match racing. I competed in the Olympic Games three times and won a silver medal in 2008. In 2013, I made a major transition to offshore racing and the “big boat” circuit, which is a completely different branch of the sport. For example, because you sail as part of a larger team on a very different, much larger boat. I had to develop my skills in that area to get where I am today. In addition to sailing, I’m also a speaker and personal coach.
As a competitive sailor, I either sail with a team myself or am hired to sail with a team. When I’m hired, coaching is often part of the job in addition to sailing. I’ve participated in various races, such as The Volvo Ocean Race, and this winter I sailed The Famous Project with a team of eight women. It was a fantastic voyage with the goal of breaking the Jules Verne Trophy record. In addition, the project aims to give women opportunities to gain experience that isn’t always readily available and to change perceptions about what female athletes can achieve. Women are becoming increasingly accepted in offshore and big-boat sailing, but there’s still some ground to make up.
Does being a woman play a role in your studies?
In Olympic sailing, it doesn't matter at all whether you're a man or a woman—it's all about the medals, and everyone has their own category. It's about your performance, but it doesn't matter who you are. It's brutally tough, but also very pure.
In offshore racing and big-boat sailing, it’s different. There weren’t many all-female teams in 2013, and it wasn’t easy to get there. You have to undergo training to be able to line up at the start, and those are multi-million projects that sponsors have to invest a lot of money in. There were certainly prejudices. Could women really do it? Were there even women who wanted to do it in the first place? That creates a vicious cycle: if you don’t consider women for your team, they don’t gain experience and they don’t improve. And as a result, they’re less likely to be asked to join. That’s starting to change. The Volvo Ocean Race now has a quota for women. I think that’s a good thing, because it gives women experience and, in turn, more opportunities. The level of competition has been rising in recent years, and across the sport as a whole, mixed-gender teams are increasingly valued. Of course, there are physical differences between men and women, but everyone brings different qualities to the table. When it comes to sailing ability, gender doesn’t matter.
We all have prejudices, men and women alike. I have heard questions that made me think: would you ask a man this? About a toilet on board, or about balancing competitive sailing with raising children. I don’t think you should dwell on that for too long, but I do believe we can all work together to change it. It’s about time, too. It’s easy to say, “We fully accept women,” but if you’re not a woman yourself, you simply lack the experience of what it’s really like. Discrimination often isn’t done with malicious intent; it happens unconsciously. Respecting one another is the best thing you can do.
Sometimes I get the impression that a man with the same track record has to prove himself just a little less. For some sailors, it also takes a little getting used to working with women on board, but usually that changes quickly and it’s simply a matter of working together and appreciating one another—just as it should be!
What do you like most about your job?
Right now, it’s the variety of different teams and races. And also the challenge of sailing and the team process—getting better as a team. Sailing is always different; conditions are always changing, and there’s always something new to learn. That process of getting better is the best part.
For some sailors, it also takes a little getting used to working with women on board, but usually that changes quickly and it’s simply a matter of working together and respecting one another—just as it should be!
