Women’s Boating Day on the Water: A safe, fun, hands on learning space with Wild ChiX
- isabell8785
- Sep 1
- 3 min read
Over the past ten years, I’ve spent countless hours on the water with blokes on boats — fishing adventures, gathering kai and connecting with our moana. But until now, I had never truly stepped into a space designed for hands-on learning, a space where women are encouraged to take the helm and feel confident doing it.
After a day with the Wild Chix team on their Women Out on the Water boating experience, I left not just with new skills, but with a renewed sense of what happens when women are supported to step forward — when we are given the tools, the time, and the trust to grow.
From the outset, the experience felt both professional and personal. Navigating downtown Auckland’s harbour is not for the faint-hearted — ferries charging through their schedules, yachts tracing the wind, tenders zipping across lanes that don’t exist, kayaks hugging the edges, and ships waiting their turn. It’s chaos with a current. But with the right guidance, it became a living classroom, one where each of us found our bearings, grew our confidence and began to move with purpose.
The women leading us were extraordinary. Sarah, a Coastguard Master with a wealth of experience, brought her deep knowledge with a generosity that instantly put us at ease. Her passion for teaching women to handle vessels — not as passengers, but as confident skippers — was inspiring. Shanel, a qualified skipper from Tauranga Harbour ports brought a calm assurance and a sense of fun that turned every challenge into a shared achievement.
Together, they created a day that was about so much more than boating. We learned the essentials: ‘road rules’, speed limits, anchoring, beach landings, navigating conditions, even the subtleties of manoeuvring in tight spaces. The Skipperi boats — fully equipped, fueled, and ready with everything from bait holders to sounders marked with fishing spots — made stepping aboard feel effortless.
There was fishing — a chance to try our luck, share in a few laughs, and maybe bring home some kai. There was a lunch stop on Rakino Island in the Hauraki Gulf, where we laid our feet in the sand, shared stories, and enjoyed the rare quiet of a island cove. There was adventure, but also space: space to ask questions, to try again, to feel safe making mistakes, and to celebrate every small win along the way.
What struck me most was the intention behind it all. This wasn’t just a course; it was a community. Wild Chix have created a place where women show up for each other — where learning is made accessible, fun, and non-judgemental. Where skills are shared without ego, and where confidence grows not because you were told you could do it, but because you actually did!
As we cruised back across the Hauraki Gulf, the sun warm on our backs, I felt that shift within myself — the quiet pride of knowing more, doing more, and realising that the helm isn’t as far from reach as it sometimes feels.
For me, that Friday was about more than boating. It was about what happens when women gather with purpose: we learn, we lead, and we leave a little stronger — not just for ourselves, but for the communities and families we nurture.
Mandy Kupenga
@mandykupenga on Instagram & Facebook
