Sailor Q&A

Liz Baylis, San Rafael, California, USA

Liz has been the skipper of the San Francisco Women’s Match Racing Team since its inception in 2000. The SFWMRT won the 2002 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship in Calpe, Spain. Check out her website: www.lizbaylis.com

QUESTION: Do you have any nicknames?
ANSWER: None that I would ever say in public!

QUESTION: Are you superstitious?
ANSWER: Sure, isn’t everyone a little superstitious? If we win while we’re wearing one set of team gear, it gets washed and worn again until we have a bad day.

QUESTION: If you were a dog, what kind of dog would you be?
ANSWER: Yellow lab - fun to be with and likes to play.

QUESTION: Favorite part of match racing?
ANSWER: The start. There’s so much going on and it is very intense and very satisfying when you do it right.

QUESTION: Name your dream team and who you would like to be racing against in a final series?
ANSWER: The dream team would have to be San Francisco Women’s Match Racing Team and we’d be racing against the best in the World and right now it’s Claire Leroy and her team.

QUESTION: Who has had the most influence on your life?
ANSWER: My father.

QUESTION: Who is your biggest fan?
ANSWER: My husband, Todd. He’s really supportive of my sailing.

QUESTION: Who is your sailing idol?
ANSWER: In the match racing context, I’d have to say Russell Coutts.

QUESTION: If you were going to create a reality TV show what would it be about?
ANSWER: Probably something like "Junk Yard Wars" where you were given a pile boat parts and had to build a boat and race it around a course.

QUESTION: If you were a superhero, what power would you have?
ANSWER: The ability to actually be two steps ahead instead of just thinking two steps ahead!

QUESTION: What was your best subject in school?
ANSWER: Math and science.

QUESTION: Who taught you to sail and how old were you?
ANSWER: My dad when I was really young. I was allowed to sail alone when I could swim across the lagoon in my home town which was when I was 5.

QUESTION: What is your favorite ride at an amusement park?
ANSWER: Bumper cars.

QUESTION: What is your most annoying habit?
ANSWER: My crew would probably say it is the annoying way I see everything going on in front of me on the boat and I can’t hold back saying something about it!

QUESTION: Besides sailing what is your favorite sport?
ANSWER: Is there something besides sailing? I like doing most anything that’s outdoors and good exercise – hiking, swimming, biking, …

QUESTION: What is the best thing about your home town?
ANSWER: It’s not too big and not too small - Close enough to the city yet far enough away to be close to nature.

QUESTION: If you could travel to anywhere in the world where would it be?
ANSWER: The South Pacific.

QUESTION: What is the most important item in your ditty bag?
ANSWER: Liz Bars.

QUESTION: What is one thing that you feel WIMRA could do for you?
ANSWER: Promote match racing around the world and get women’s match racing into the Olympics!!!!