Black Women in Business
This Fierce Entrepreneur Wants To Teach More Black Women To Sail
Ayme Sinclair never thought she’d fall in love with competitive sailing, but that’s exactly what happened after a friend invited her out on a vessel.
“I’d always been into boating and the water and making it a priority when I travel, so when my friend invited me to come out and sail, I was like, ‘I’d love it!’ It was my first time on a sailboat and I got on a fell in love with it,” she recalls.
After having such a wonderful time, Sinclair decided to take a class through the American Sailing Association to get certified in the basics so she could learn more about the sport and be able to rent a boat. When a coworker invited her to tag along one evening for race night, she decided to try it out even though she still didn’t have much experience.
Four years later, Sinclair is a member of the Sweet Caroline Sailing Team, and participates in several meets during the season.
“I’m on this competitive race circuit where I travel throughout the Northeast and race in meets in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and upstate New York,” she says. Though she’d have an amazing time with her team, which happens to be extremely diverse, Sinclair noticed that other sailing squads weren’t so inclusive. “We looked so different than anyone else. More than half of our team is women and we are so multicultural.”
The experience made the former marketing executive want to encourage others to get into the sport, so she founded #SailingNoire to break down stereotypes and get more Black folks on the water.
“There’s this misconception that if you jump into the sailing world you need a lot of money, but it’s not that true,” she says. “As a member of the crew, the only thing you need is to buy a pair of gloves and maybe some beer because it’s a very socialized sport.”
Since falling head-over-heels for sailing, Sinclair made it her mission to inspire others, especially Black women, to do the same. While she’s sailed around the globe, hitting the water in Spain and the Caribbean, her most recent adventure took her to Kenya where she learned about the country’s famed Lamu dhow race festival.
“It’s a race where everybody looks like me, which I found to be an amazing …
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