men are cooking for them.

A growing number of females are crewing and even skippering ocean racing yachts in what is one of the few sports where both sexes compete side by side.

This year's Newport to Bermuda Race saw three yachts skippered by women, one of whom was in charge of the first-ever all-female crew to finish the crossing. And two of the yachts had female navigators on board.

Ms Nance Frank and her 11-strong crew aboard the 46-foot Dancer were the subject of curious glances by male sailors walking along the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club marina yesterday.

"Did you see the ladies' boat? They did pretty well I hear,'' one sailor remarked.

They certainly did, coming in third in their class and seventh on corrected time out of 18 boats.

The women will be the first all-female American team to compete in the 1993 Whitbread Round the World race, a marathon 33,000 mile voyage.

Ms Frank is no stranger to the Newport to Bermuda Race, having been the only female skipper in the 1990 race's 156-boat fleet. However, this time she is joined by two other female captains.

Miss Sheila McCurdy is navigator and skipper of an all-male crew aboard her 38-foot sloop Selkie .

When the steering broke down she acted as marine mechanic as well, organising an emergency tiller to be installed, then dismantling the entire system and fixing it in two hours.

Although Ms Lydia Langston did not actually skipper in this year's race, she coached the crew of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy 48-foot yacht Cadet Pride .

Ms Langston, who has skippered in many previous Newport to Bermuda races and is development director for the MMA, insists sex is "100 percent irrelevant'' in sailing.

"The sport does not have a sexual preference. Women can do whatever men can aboard yachts,'' she said, adding she feels women tend to have more stamina than men.

She pointed out that sailing was one of the few co-ed sports in the world. "I can't off the top of my head think of another one,'' she said.

Ms Frank, who has also been in charge of all-male crews, said women try harder to learn and are not afraid to ask "how''.

"They don't let their egos get in the way,'' she said. "They are more apt to say I don't understand. Men just do it and risk getting it wrong.'' "One advantage women have on yachts,'' Ms McCurdy said, "is they are generally smaller than men and can squeeze into tighter spots on the boat.'' Miss McCurdy and her crew finished the race in 102 hours, which she said was "extraordinarily fast'' for the size of the boat.

Estimating there are about 30-40 women participating in this year's race, she said the number had grown over the years.

"Women on boats are not an oddity anymore,'' she said. "More women are seeing sailing as something they want to do and are able to do.'' THE FEMININE TOUCH -- Female skippers Ms Nancy Frank and Ms Sheila McCurdy at the helm of the racing yacht Dancer . Ms Frank is captain of Dancer , carrying the first-ever all-female crew to finish the Newport to Bermuda Race. Ms McCurdy is in charge of an all-male crew on board her yacht Selkie .