Meet the Cork woman who became the first female admiral in the oldest yacht club in the world

Annamarie Fegan broke through the glass ceiling to become the first female admiral in the oldest yacht club in the world. Now she is on a mission to make sailing accessible to all. Marjorie Brennan meets her ahead of the Cork Week regatta

Sun, 23 Jun, 2024 - 18:00

I’M learning a lot from my conversation with Annamarie Fegan — from Oppies to toppers to lasers, the sailing lingo is flowing. Then she is explaining the concept of ‘rail meat’.

“There’s only one owner of the boat and they need eight, nine, 10 crew but, if they’re just rail meat, that is where you just hang over the side of the boat and your weight is used to keep the boat flat.”

But as she repeatedly tells me, the only way to learn is to do it yourself. And it’s fair to say, she very much practises what she preaches.

Direct, determined and a beacon of common sense — and also great fun — it’s not that hard to see how she broke through the glass ceiling to become the first female admiral in the Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC), founded in 1720 and recognised as the oldest yacht club in the world.

Fegan, who took up the role in January, is a woman on a mission — to make sailing, traditionally seen as a sport for the elite, accessible to all.

When we chat, she is in the whirlwind of organising Cork Week, the annual extravaganza of sailing which takes place at the club’s base in Crosshaven from July 15-19. I tell her how I was always drawn to sailing but
always felt that it was out of reach for anyone working-class like me. It is a perception she is “passionate” about tackling.

“There are a few — very few — trying to hang on to that but 99.9% of people just want to get out on the water. And thank God society has moved on. We have a female admiral, imagine, 304 years later,” she laughs. “And it’s so important that our kids get equal opportunities and get out there. There are loads of new people coming into Crosshaven and we recently had an open day which was hugely successful.

“People said the big Navy wall was scary and they would have never thought of coming in. So I put up a big sign saying, ‘Open Day, all welcome, new members welcome.’ I want people to see that we don’t bite, to come give sailing a try. It’s a tough enough gig to get people into it without restricting access.”

It was through her own children that Fegan, originally from Douglas and now living in Crosshaven, got into sailing. “I followed my children. We had always sailed as kids, as in we messed around with boats, but they learned in a dinghy and they got relatively serious about it. Then we had to trailer them all around the country. I discovered that we were making as many friends and having as much fun as they were.”

Fegan’s two daughters, Molly and Mia, are now 21 and 23, and they sound like her greatest cheerleaders, as well as a huge source of inspiration for her in taking on the role of admiral at the RCYC.

“If I didn’t have two girls, I know I wouldn’t have done it. That’s what it is about — it is not about me, I actually hate it being about me. It is more about clearing the way and letting them through. There have been amazing women down through the years who just did not get the opportunity. It is so important that somebody does it. Why not me?”

Admiral Annamarie Fegan at the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven, recognised as the oldest yacht club in the world. Pictures: Chani Anderson

It wasn’t all plain sailing, as Fegan, who previously served as vice-admiral, acknowledges. “It was a rocky road, don’t get me wrong. It’s not an easy transition. There was a huge lead-in to it — you’re on committees forever. There was a bit [of resistance]. There was much more support than negativity but you’re going to get that anywhere.” She adds that it is important that, while women are given equal opportunities, they are not treated any differently.

“My girls always say that they’re people on the water. We have ‘women on the water’ events and my girls flip because on the water they see themselves as people racing against people. I’d like to encourage more people on the water and more women on the water but, at the end of the day, keelboat racing is one of the few sports where men and women race against each other equally.”

Fegan ran her own catering company for 30 years before going back to retrain as a psychotherapist and she now works as a relationship mentor as well as lecturing in UCC. She says her training has helped her to deal with the pressure that comes with taking on voluntary roles that still come with significant responsibility.

“I learned how to stay separate from other people’s behaviour,” she says. “You don’t take on other people’s stuff. Don’t get me wrong — I’m not a saint. I get a bad day and blow up. Everybody does, we’re all human, but the most important thing is to stay separate, stay in your lane and remain calm.”

Fegan sees Cork Week as a showcase for everything sailing has to offer as crews come together from around the world. While it would have once been famous for the more social aspect, Fegan says the emphasis is now very much on sailing.

Admiral Annamarie Fegan, Royal Cork Yacht Club and Deputy Simon Coveney, pictured with Ciara Murphy, 6, Laura Sullivan, 8, and Fiadh Murphy, 4, at the launch of Volvo Cork Week 2024. Picture: Chani Anderson

“We have boats coming from America, India, Ecuador. It was a rock concert, no doubt about it, years ago. But it’s now a pure sailing event, run by sailors for sailors — they meet, they compare, they chat. The competition is fierce, of course, but as soon as they come in, it’s forgotten. And as a spectator sport, there’s fantastic vantage areas like Camden Fort Meagher, Haulbowline Island Park or even Cobh. It is not a start sailing event but it will give you an idea of what’s out there.”

The benefits of sailing are obvious – staying active, fresh air, excitement, bonding, building resilience... the list goes on. Fegan says: “It gives you massive skills. There’s so much learning and fun in it. But it’s like any team — if you feel you’re contributing, you’re more likely to get involved and get sucked into the whole thing. My girls have gone to America teaching sailing. It’s an amazing skill that you can travel anywhere with — you walk down a marina and say, ‘I can sail, give me a spot on a boat.’ And they’re away from screens, making decisions for themselves, out in the fresh air.”

It’s also a sport and activity that brings up challenges, something that is required more than ever in an increasingly risk-averse world. Sailing together, Fegan and her family have learned to navigate rough seas, literally and metaphorically. Last year, she, husband Denis and daughters took part in the Fastnet Race, in which they were the best-placed Irish entry. Fegan doesn’t sugar-coat the experience but says the trials and tribulations are what makes it all worth it.

“It was horrific. It was great to finish it but we had four storms and we got hammered.

At one stage in the middle of the night, we blew out the sail and I was below, doing my decade of the rosary.

"Within three minutes, I heard the gang singing up on deck. They just bounced back so quickly. And they had no fear, off they went again, not a bother. A couple of minutes of drama and then it’s just, ‘Let’s keep racing.’ That’s why we need a future for the sport. We need to get young people involved — make it exciting for them.”

Although she wants to encourage young people into sailing, as an accomplished sailor who took up the sport later in life, Fegan doesn’t see age as a barrier to getting on the water. She urges me to fulfil the wish of my younger self and just do it. “It is never too late. Mia is teaching sailing to five adults and they all went out last Friday and had great fun. Get out there, give it a try. And then we’ll keep you going, we’ll suck you in,” she laughs.

Her career as a relationship mentor comes to the fore. “Everything you want to see in your children, you have to see in yourself first — all we can do as parents is mirror. If you feel they’re not brave enough, be brave yourself. What my own girls say about me sometimes is, ‘Where is she now?’ I could be swimming, I could be running, I could be doing a triathlon, I could be sailing. They have no idea. And that’s what I love.”