Heading to Osaka in 2025 will be two fully female crews. One of them will be aboard Celeste an S&S Nautor Swan 38 which will be sailed by co-skippers Saskia Groenintwoud and Maud Demazure. Collectively they have sailed over 80,000 nm, mostly as skippers. Maud a professional skipper and new mother of a little boy, and Saskia a businesswoman with two sons, come together to actively promote women’s and mother’s resilience and a long-time dream of being part of the Melbourne Osaka Race. Let’s introduce you to the crew.
First, meet the heart and soul of the “Mothership” – Saskia Groenintwoud.
Winner of the 2017 Telstra Business Woman in Asia award, mother of two boys with over 30,000nm sailed – 10,000nm as a yacht skipper, Saskia has continued to grow professionally and as a sailor, taking opportunities to live, work and sail around the world.
From Dutch heritage, Saskia grew up in Gladstone where she was introduced to sailing by her father at a very young age. Ever since then, she has been following her passion for yachting around the world, racing and cruising sailboats of all sizes where she has lived in various European and Asian countries.
Prior to recently moving back to Australia, Saskia was based in the Netherlands as the CEO of Damco, the freight forwarding business unit of industry giant Maersk. While living there Saskia discovered Celeste for sale in Finland and a love affair was born. Celeste is hull number 1 of the legendary design from Sparkman and Stephens, the Nautor Swan 38; a cruiser/racer sailing gem whose construction began coincidentally the day Saskia was born – no wonder why there is an extra special connection between the two there!
After sailing Celeste extensively in the Scandinavian and Northwestern European waters, Saskia brought her to Australia at her new home at Southport Yacht Club, when she relocated back late 2022 to become an Executive of Pacific National. Since her arrival, she has already sailed Celeste several thousand more miles, including a lightening filled Brisbane to Gladstone race. Together with Maud, Saskia is following her long-time dream to race in the M2O race onboard her adored Celeste.
Now that you’ve met Saskia, we are excited to introduce you to the Mothership co-skipper – Maud Demazure
Holding a Yachtmaster Offshore certificate, Maud is a professional skipper with over 50,000nm of sailing experience across the seven seas. Originally from France she is now based in Iluka, where she relocated her Rustler 36 sailing yacht (Bluebonnet) and is taking care of her first child who was born in February.
Very similarly to Saskia but on the other side of the planet, Maud grew up sailing with her dad from the day she was born in the town of Lorient in Britanny, France. First, she sailed on the 28 feet sailboat her father built and cruised with her mother around the Atlantic from France to the Caribbean, later on dinghies until she reached her teenage years and went on racing larger yachts.
Married to an American from Maine, she moved to Australia in 2016. During Covid, she fled from Australia to sail her Rustler 36 from France to Australia. She crossed both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans double handed; her father alongside her on the main part and her husband on the last few legs.
Since being back in Australia in September 2022, Maud has been very active in the offshore racing scene in Australia. Watch captain on a Beneteau 473, Cyan Moon, her and her crew won the PHS division of the Sydney to Hobart 2022. Most recently, in February 2024, Maud’s son, Louis was born. Maud’s commitment to sailing and the challenges of offshore racing are so strong that she and Saskia have sailed over 1000nm since Louis’ birth. When the Noumea race was cancelled, the two took the opportunity to sail anyway, completing a nonstop two-handed lap out to Lord Howe island and back to Sydney. Little Louis is the Mothership’s biggest fan and follows closely with his Dad.
Maud and Saskia both share a love of old school seamanship and the beauty of the older boats. Their ambition for Osaka is to stretch Celeste’s legs and realise the potential that Rod and Olin Stephen’s designed her with. They will do the Sydney to Hobart two-handed as their qualifier for Osaka.
Proudly supporting the not-for-profit organisation Jean Hailes for Women’s Health, Saskia and Maud will be raising awareness on women’s health and wellbeing at all stages of their life throughout the Mothership campaign. Based in Melbourne, Jean Hailes is a leading Australian organisation that focuses on providing comprehensive and accessible information, resources, and support on a wide range of health issues, from reproductive health to menopause and beyond. Through its expert research, educational initiatives, and community outreach programs, Jean Hailes for Women’s Health aims to empower women with the knowledge they need to make informed health choices and to advocate for better health policies. Its commitment to excellence and advocacy continues to make a significant impact on women’s health care in Australia and internationally.