Don't let their smiling faces and friendly demeanours fool you, because the female sailors in this year’s Sydney-Hobart race mean business.
Finnish entrant Matilda Ajanko has returned for another crack at the great race this year, and told SBS she was hoping for a challenge.
"I think the rougher it gets, the more fun it is," she said.
Emma May, who turned 18 this year, said she thought her mum would be more nervous than she was.
"Dad is excited but mum isn't so much,” she said. "She is a bit nervous."
Although Emma said she didn’t know what to expect, the first-time entrant didn't think she was crazy to take on her first bluewater classic.
"You can think that, but I would prefer to see myself as an optimist."
Boxing Day will be Wendy Tuck's eighth journey south.
When she stepped off in Hobart for the first time she knew all the other female sailors, but this time it was different.
"It is not that core group anymore. It is getting bigger and bigger,” she said. “It is unreal for the sport as a whole.”
All agree that once everyone is out on the water, gender is forgotten.
"You sort of feel like one of the men on the boat, its not taken too much into it that we are girls," Emma said.
Matilda Ajanko agreed.
"It is not just about gender. It is also about your strengths and what you can do. It is about your strengths and weaknesses.
Female sailors might be in the minority in regattas around the world but there's a hope amongst this cohort that will change.
The Sydney to Hobart race begins on Boxing Day.
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