honours winner, the maxi-yacht Sovereign. The SisterShip photo of Cathy sailing Verbatim must have been a few years old, as it shows her wearing a pair of PVC wet weather pants tied up with string. By 1988, state of the art wet weather gear was the new, soft PVC Dorlon gear. Still only available in men's sizing, it was far more comfortable, if just as sweaty. Issue #1 also featured an article on sexism, showing how some things have not changed enough. Another article pleaded with us not to release balloons, an ongoing issue today. While the original SisterShip may have been too far ahead of its time to continue, the present version shows that the idea of women afloat in their own right is now very powerful. A lot has changed in thirty years, but one thing that remains the same is SisterShip’s subscription price. If that’s not good value, I’ll eat my PVC sou’wester! Cheers, Petrea McCarthy
ABOVE: Petrea McCarthy receiving her surprise parcel. BELOW: Peter Heathwood reading the letter he sent to SisterShip in 1988.
1988 - 89 copies of SisterShip magazine.
SisterShip 6