Together with Gerard, Jini owns Sailing School Hellevoetsluis.  In addition to running the company in collaboration with a large number of instructors, Jini likes to dedicate herself to the Hellevoet community and in particular to the female part of it.  "I have received a lot of positivity from Watersportvereniging Hellevoetsluis (WVH) and the entire community. That is why I want to give something back from myself. It is my journey that has ensured that I can now take action.  Jini has investigated the women on board on a sailing ship.  She saw that most of the female students come " just for coming along only".   Jini is trying to start a new era of female sailors in Hellevoetsluis by, among other things, starting up a women's team and a platform for women.  She hopes that by bringing female sailors together and inspire more for the sport.  Nobody knows it better that "anything is possible" than Jini herself, because she has spent a lot of time getting to know her ship 'Gangaa' 31 Selecta van de Stadt.  Jini is a solo sailor and loves being alone on the water with her boat and gazing at the stars at night.

"Women usually have a serving role on board a sailing ship. The care for the children, the catering and occasionally if the male skipper indicates it. Give a line. I would like to change this," says Jini with a mission.  "Certainly if you go on the water with a family, it is downright dangerous if only one of the partners can sail. If something unexpected happens to the captain, then it is a problem if the partner does not know anything about sailing.  "A woman who Is sailing better is much more confident " which Jini knows from experience. Youth sailing instructor Jasmijn Tol calls Jini "the safe haven of the sailing school." Jini is very social and nice and she does everything she can to give women more self-confidence by  going sailing. "Jasmijn is currently learning to become a sailing instructor for ships.  Jini adds: " I am still a learning myself.  By showing this to others, I hope that people will think 'Hey you see, if she can do it, I can do it too!' "

Every Wednesday

To put her words into action, Jini invites women who want to (learn) to sail every  Wednesday from 7 pm out in the sailing school. "We go out on the water and learn from each other as much as possible, share tips and make each other better.  So you learn without getting any instruction.  And, after sailing, there is of course time for a nice snack and drink, because that is how it should be. "There are no costs charged for this activity, just register yourself by phone or email is enough"

Special

 While sailing across the finish, I look  behind me and see our crew, a great group of female sailors.  There at that moment, I realized that a boat with only female sailors in a competition here on the Haringvliet is a very rare event.  This is something that can provide a whole new perspective on sailing, more women as captains on board ", says Jasmijn. 

Sailing school with passion

Sailing school Hellevoetsluis also offers other services.

We first look at what the customer wants to achieve and then we work towards it.  "What is your goal and how can we achieve that together with our passion?"

- Article written in Groot Hellevoet on 26 Aug 2020