CAPE CORAL, Fla. — During National Boat and Fishing Week, the Freedom Boat Club was pushing for more women in Cape Coral to get behind the helm.
Robyn Silvestri belongs to the club and moved to Cape Coral with her family from New York just one year ago.
Silvestri said even up north, she has always lived a life on the water.
“We lived on our boat for months at a time moving down to Florida,” said Silvestri. "The Freedom Boat Club allows us to have access to a boat."
The Freedom Boat Club said they are pushing to give more women access to boating.
“Boating has been very male-dominated in the past, but down here I see a lot more women out on the water,” said Silvestri.
Globally, the Freedom Boat Club said they have more than 90,000 members, and 35% of those members are now women.
“I think people are surprised to see more women on the water we always get a lot of waves not waves from the water waves from other boaters,” said Silvestri.
She said catching those waves on the Gulf Coast is one reason for calling Cape Coral home.
“Boating on the water in Southwest Florida is really taking advantage of the paradise we live in," she said.
On Friday, heading into the weekend, Silvestri said she hopes her story will give more women the desire to be the captain of their own ships.
“I love to take my girls out and just have a girl's day out on the water,” said Silvestri.
