#WomenInSailing - Vicky Song

Sailing in China, isn’t that well known (yet). It is a niche sport, and only over the past twenty years has it become easy to practise it, thanks to the presence of sailing schools and to the “driving force” of the 2008 Olympics. “I got into sailing – recounts Vicky Song – because I have always been connected to the sea and, when I got the chance, I took a sailing course. From here to the ocean it is a long way, but I am happy to have followed it, because it has allowed me not only to navigate, but also to get know many different cultures and people, and to fully understand that this is what I want to do: to be the sailing ambassadress of my country and, via this role, acquaint people better with China”.

Vicky Song has participated in the Clipper race in a mixed crew: “It wasn’t a choice for me, seeing as in China there is a very small number of women who do offshore sailing. The fact of being included in a mixed crew was therefore natural for me, it was part of the choice to participate. The team was extremely tight-knit, and it became even more so during the difficult moments: when there is a challenge to win, and by this I mean to sail round the world between storms and lulls, a good team will surpass any issue linked to gender, because it makes no sense to think about these subjects when one is tackling five-metre-high waves and forty knots of wind”.