Red Tide Rolls In

The crew of Red Tide (sail no. 2355) turning through the choppy waters off the coast of Portsmouth.

Hovering around the starting line, the 15 J-24 sailboats racing tonight at the mouth of the Piscataqua River tack and maneuver around each other to avoid a false start. 

It’s race day — the best day of the week. 

Crossing the imaginary line drawn by the Piscataqua Sailing Association’s race committee would mean time added to a race where every second counts. From shore, the boats look like they’re dancing — a well-choreographed routine preformed on Thursday nights. 

From the boat, it’s organized chaos. Strategies are planned and plotted, playful banter is shouted from one boat to the next, all while the sailors anticipate the “go” signal for the dogfight to begin.

Counterclockwise from bottom: Autumn Becker, Kali Moran,
Annie Teegarden, Elizabeth Kane and Sarah Linscott

It’s Red Tide’s third season in the mix. Without fear of failure, and a can-do “have fun” attitude, the league’s only all-women’s boat has risen in the standings as the crew has learned and grown together. What started as a conversation over a few beers at the State Street Saloon in Portsmouth has become a tight-knit team that’s changing the culture of sailing. 

“(This team) came together with a lot of serendipity,” says Elizabeth Kane, Red Tide’s co-owner.

Four years ago, Kane was newer to racing on larger boats and wanted to learn more about sailing as well as build hands-on knowledge. But she wasn’t really getting that while working the same deck position on a large boat week after week. Her friend Kali Moran, a well-weathered sailor who grew up building wooden boats with her dad and has sailed worldwide, was newer to helming and looking for a challenge. 

“We were chatting one night at a social gathering after a race; we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’d be so fun to sail a smaller boat.’ And, ‘Oh my gosh, it would be fun to have an all-women’s team,’ ” Kane says.

At the time, they were just spitballing, but soon the conversation shifted from “what if?” to “how do we do this?”

“It was a spur of the moment thing, but Kali and I are very much doers,” Kane says.

Within two days, the duo was sending each other Craigslist listings for J-24s, and within a month, they were hitching their new boat to a trailer to bring home to Pepperrell Cove in Kittery Point, ME.

Team members wear custom T-shirts onboard Red Tide moored in Pepperrell Cove.

Before they could build a team, their boat needed a suitable name. Most boats, sailboats especially, are named using cheeky wordplay, and the intended all-women’s boat was no exception. Besides that, they love a bad boat pun.

“Some potential names were Pussea Cat, She/Her, Shegulls,” says Moran, laughing. “A red tide is a harmful algal bloom that affects clams of all shapes and sizes. The name brings awareness to the dinoflagellates … plus, it’s dangerous.”

Boat? Check. Clever name? Check. Now all that’s left was to find a crew.

“We wanted to do sailing on our own terms,” Moran says. “We wanted Red Tide to be an environment where you can learn and improve, and be a safe space to mess up, in a supportive community.”

Every season, crews are built on a first-come-first-serve basis, with limited open spots. Because it’s a competition, some teams are hesitant to take a chance on a sailor who is learning how to race, or doesn’t have a resume of experience. Pulling a wrong line or turning at the wrong time could cost your team the race. Mess up, and you could lose your spot altogether. 

Annie Teegarden, Sarah Linscott and Autumn Becker approaching the rounding mark.

It’s a high-stakes environment, which can be intimidating for sailors new to crewing — especially women — because you’re proving your worth and belonging onboard while actively learning a new skill set in a sport that’s historically been a boys’ club.

“We knew these other women through sailing who had an interest in learning more, and wanted a bigger set of responsibilities and (to) not just be a passenger,” Kane says. 

While building a crew primed for competition, Kane and Moran first and foremost wanted Red Tide to be fun. They both agreed that they didn’t want racing to feel intimidating, and wanted genuine camaraderie — a place where women can make friends and sail. 

Onboard Red Tide, it’s clear they did just that. The six women crewing — Annie Teegarden, Sarah Linscott, Autumn Becker, Camden Myles, Moran and Kane — have been on Red Tide since its first season with no turnover. For the past three years, they’ve had such a good time together that no one has left their position. The list of alternates grows every year with no sign of an opening anytime soon. 

 “Seeing everyone every week is a fun girl’s day,” Teegarden says. “Women do things differently, and (there’s no) culture of yelling or blame. It’s not about the winning, and we’re having a lot of fun.”

“We want to be here, and we’ve already won just by doing it,” Kane says. “It feels OK to be bad.”

“We’re learning every race,” Moran says. “The ranking doesn’t matter (for us). We’re up against people who have been racing for 20-plus years, and that knowledge builds over time. It’s intimidating in that way, but everyone shares the knowledge.”

With racing done, it’s just a leisurely sail back to the mooring at sunset.

As the team talks, it’s almost impossible for them not to laugh. Inside jokes are thrown around, one-liners are created at lightning speed and previous races’ highs and lows are shared with raucous laughter and boundless support for both mistakes made and obstacles overcome.

“We joke that the first two years were like, ‘just don’t die,’ ” says Kane, laughing. “Now we have the capacity to start thinking about strategy, rather than ‘Oh my God, how do we not crash?’ ” 

While it’s a competitive league, Kane says there’s a camaraderie amongst the competition. On and off season, there’s a lot to do to keep Red Tide in racing shape, and the J-24 community has had their backs. In previous years, “boat dads” have lent a helping hand in repairing Red Tide’s (frequently) flooded engine and rigging the boat, and are always willing to pass on their wealth of knowledge to help fix a problem. This past season, Kane and Moran have been rigging Red Tide independently, a major accomplishment for a newer team.

“We would have had a much harder time if we weren’t leaning on the institutional knowledge of the people around us,” Kane says. “We took the knowledge and experience from the first two years of help, and empowered ourselves to do it this year. For a competitive league, there has been so much support, and people are really cheering any new boat.” 

Sarah Linscott coils lines in the cabin as the crew waits out a storm aboard Red Tide.

Over the past three seasons, Red Tide has made a name among the racing community. Week after week, they’ve steadily climbed up the ranks, but they’re best known for their indomitable spirit, high energy and snacks.

The whole crew agrees that the snacks are vitally important, and every crew member brings a bag of chips, cheese, hummus and crackers galore for their post-race hang out tradition.

“One of our little traditions is everyone brings a snack and some drinks, and the minute we cross the finish line, the snacks and the drinks come out,” Kane says. “It sounds like such a trivial thing, but I think it’s representative of the social aspect of it for us. I think if you asked any of the girls, (they) would say it’s their favorite thing, because it’s so hard for people to find time to get together and be social. We all look forward to this every single week.”

Perched on the bow at the turn marker, Elizabeth Kane prepares to set the spinnaker.

After the race, with the pressure released, it’s time for the crew to relax and debrief. That time together is at the heart of racing on Red Tide.

“It’s like … wow, we did it and we did it well,” Kane says. “We have this collective feeling of accomplishing something that’s not easy.”

“Thursday night is where I want to be,” says Teegarden, who also says that sailing on Red Tide is a major confidence-booster.

“We’re always learning,” Kane says, “which is why we got our own boat. It gives you the weekly ability to pull in all these little pieces of knowledge that aggregate (to) make you a better sailor.”

This past season, there were four new co-ed boats in the league, mostly crewed by younger people who bought a J-24 and wanted to get out there and race. Kane is seriously excited by that, because if her experience on Red Tide has proven one thing, it’s that the community is excited by new sailors, and is there for support. As Red Tide prepares for a fourth season, they’ll be there to lean on, too. Just with more snacks.