WOMEN ON THE WATER

More women are taking the helm and buying boats.

Tina Novogratz grew up on boats in Virginia Beach, but like many, only saw men at the helm. “Growing up, my parents always had a boat, and my father has always been the captain,” recalls Tina. “My grandparents had a boat, and my grandfather was always the captain. Women just didn’t drive the boat.” Tina and her ex had a boat that he'd captain, but when they separated, she still longed to spend time on the water with her five kids.

“There was a moment last summer when I said, ‘I just miss being out on the boat," she says. “I had this conversation in my own head: ‘You could get a boat. Why shouldn’t you be the captain?’” Tina is part of a growing number of women buying boats in a recreation that has largely been dominated by men, according to Info-Link, a Florida firm that tracks boat registrations. Though the needle is moving slowly — about 12 percent of 2020 boat buyers were women — it is moving.

That’s especially true because 2020 saw a record number of first-time boat buyers, and women make up 23 percent of that group. Family boats like runabouts (13 percent, 18 percent of first-time buyers) have seen the needle tick up a bit more quickly.

“I think it’s a safe bet that a lot more women are involved in the purchase process than what is reflected in these figures," says Info-Link founder Jack Ellis. “And although these are small percentages, the general trend is encouraging.” Strong’s Marine has definitely seen more women buyers in the pandemic, says sales coordinator Nancy Todrick, who helps coordinate all new boat deliveries.

Deb Avis, who recently bought a 2021 Pursuit S268, had boated as a child, and with her late husband, but recently married a non-boater.

Deb Avis at the helm of her new Pursuit.

“I married a golfer, so that’s why I bought the boat,” laughs Deb. “I can barely get him on it for a cocktail cruise. That’s why it’s my boat. I’m very proud of it and I love it.”

Though her now 90-year-old father taught her, her sister, and her brother, how to drive the boat — starting them around age 3 — it was a learning curve for Deb because she knew south Florida waters. She has been learning to navigate her Pursuit in and around Long Island. “I have two boys, and we use the boat for wakeboarding and skiing — even though it was a center console fishing boat,” says Deb. “I saw the Pursuit at Strong’s. It had a ski pole and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s the perfect boat!’”

Tina took delivery of her 2021 Cobalt SC25 in April and chose Mother’s Day for her maiden voyage with her kids, whose ages span 9 to 20. “My kids are varying ages; the boat is one of few places that once we get out on the water, the blood pressure just lowers,” she says. Not only has the boat unlocked private beaches and areas of Long Island that they had never been able to access, it’s also inspired her 13- year-old daughter to get her captain’s license.

“I have four girls, so I want them to feel empowered,” says Tina. “It’s definitely intimidating. I really have to put myself out there in a way that’s uncomfortable in order to do this, but I want boating to be part of my life. The first time I slid into a slip and tied up, even though there was quite a bit of tide, I felt amazing. Like, ‘I did it.’”