Skip to main content
Time to race start
00 days
:
00 hrs
:
00 min
:
00 sec

Rolex Sydney Hobart all-women crew – except one

Home 2025 Rolex Sydney Hobart all-women crew – except one

Article Image

When Janet Thornley’s The XX Factor (MBD 41) sails out of Sydney Heads after the start of the 80th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race on 26 December, she will lead an-almost-full women crew, with one exception.

news
—

Contrary to the uneven male to women ratio on the big boats in the 129-strong fleet, where women are few, there is one male crew member on board the South Australian entry The XX Factor. He is Alan Dowler, husband of boat owner and skipper, Janet Thornley. 

The XX Factor competing in the Launceston to Hobart Yacht Race - Launceston to Hobart Yacht Race pic.

Dowler is not at all concerned that he might be called the ‘token male’ on board a boat with nine women, and has only praise for the program Thornley has put together. 

“I love being a support person to Janet and her dream, and the amazing women we have as crew,” Dowler said.  

Thornley bought the boat in February 2023 with the intention of  advancing women in sailing and to compete in the 628 nautical mile race hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, with an all-woman crew. But for their first Rolex Sydney Hobart, she is pleased to have her husband on board for his knowledge and experience. 

“We would like to try an all women crew – that’s the ultimate aim,’ an emotional Thornley says, hardly believing she will be on the start line this year. “It depends on how this year goes, how the boat goes, how we’re all feeling and how the money is as well,” she says with a chuckle. 

Dowler has been sailing since childhood while Thornley began learning the ropes when she was older. His role as watch leader is to bring the crew up to a standard where they will one day be able to do the race without him. 

“As a shipwright, without him [Dowler] we couldn’t have got here [the Sydney Hobart] and not have blown the budget completely,” Thornley said. “He’s really good on the helm and at problem solving.  

“He has a variety of different skills that are extremely useful at the point in time when we have not yet got all those skills as a crew.” 

Alan Dowler and Janet Thornley at the CYCA ahead of the big race - CYCA/Eliza Kirby pic.

Thornley, an Adelaide based GP, said she and Dowler make a good team. Apart from a few squabbles here and there during inshore races, they are on the same page when big decisions need to be made offshore.  

“He’s been so supportive of me,” she said. “He’s just been there and gently pushed me to become a skipper in my own right many years ago, and follow that pathway. 

“I couldn’t have done it without him.” 

For his part, Dowler says, “I couldn’t be more proud of her.” 

From the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta (AWKR) to the Sydney Hobart 

Thornley is a regular competitor at the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta (AWKR) – a spawning ground for female sailors from Australia and New Zealand and run out of Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne for 33 years and where a few sailors in this year’s race originated from.  

She started out as crew before bringing her own yacht across from SA for the event. The event then led to the development of the South Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta (SAWKR), which is closer to Thornley’s home. 

“The AWKR has been phenomenal in helping women explore different roles on the boat,” Thornley said. “Women get to do something they haven’t done before compared to being in a mixed crew.” 

Thornley has implemented this method into how she has trained her Rolex Sydney Hobart crew, where there is often a ‘crossover’ in roles, meaning the crew are trained to become experts in all areas. 

The XX Factor competing in the Launceston to Hobart Yacht Race - Launceston to Hobart Yacht Race pic.

 Meet the crew 

The mostly South Australian crew, with a couple of Tasmanians on board for good measure, are comprised of women Thornley met through the AWKR and the 2024 Launceston to Hobart Yacht Race. 

A last-minute call-in for the latter race is Samantha McGrath, who has sailed on The XX Factor since.  

McGrath, who will help navigate as one of her roles, is a passionate sailor who aspires to compete in the Solo Trans-Tasman Yacht Challenge 2026. On board with her is AWKR regular, Belinda Duivenvoorden from Victoria. 

“The rest are mostly from my club in South Australia [Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron]. Most I’ve been sailing with on and off for many years coming along for the ride, for the dream,” Thornley said. 

As for their goals for the race, the main one is to get across the finish line on the River Derwent, Hobart. 

Results will become more of a focus once Thornley and her crew build as a team in the coming years.  

“We’re not in contention for a top placing, we’re realistic,” Thornley says of the 80th Sydney Hobart. “We want to finish, build momentum and provide an example [for women].” 

Winning is in The XX Factor’s DNA though. Originally named Terra Firma, the yacht won the 1995 Sydney Hobart Overall when owned by Scott Carlile and Dean Wilson (Vic). 

Thornley hopes to secure a sponsor so that they can buy new sails to give them a competitive edge for the 81st edition of the race in 2026. 

Thornley expressed disbelief that the race that she’s been working towards for the past two-years is almost here. The adrenaline is already flowing, especially when she thinks about the 1pm start. 

“I am excited and nervous, particularly about the start,” Thornley said. “I just want to have a clean start, get out of the harbour without any dramas and head to Hobart.” 

Thornley is proud to lead an almost all-women team and looks forward to seeing the program flourish in the years to come. 

“I am nothing special [on the water]. I have just kept pushing myself for years,” Thornley said. 

“I hope to provide an example for women to keep doing offshore racing. This is my way of giving back as sailing has done a lot for me over the years.” 

On the start line today too is Elizabeth Tucker’s all-women crew on First Light and Sharon Ferris-Choat’s Vixen Racing crew which has six women of the eight crew aboard. There are many others whose men/women crew are a 50/50 split.  

There are more women than ever before racing in the 2025 Rolex Sydney Hobart – over 170 taking part and represented in nearly half the fleet.  

Greta Quealy/RSHYR media