Registration is underway with early-bird discounts! Please register early to ensure you can get the seminars you desire and to help us plan. As a note, we have a hard limit on the maximum # of dorm rooms we can sell. After less than a week of registration, we have sold a significant number. We are in the middle of our transition to our new web platform. We appreciate your patience as we help those who encounter difficulties. Reach out to us if you need any help! |
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In NOLA, we had our first spring series races March 8th and New Orleans Yacht Club Opening Regatta on the 9th. Our Wednesday night races resumed on March 12th, with higher than predicted winds and sizable gusts. Unfortunately, in the pre-start a racing boat got hung up on the race committee boat’s anchor line and delayed everyone’s starts. So, after all that, we decided to skip the race and break out the snacks and enjoy the fireworks to start the season. Sometimes the best race is to just enjoy the evening.
Let’s go Sailing! Debby |
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Sue Corl Scholarship goes to SoCal Jr. sailor attending Foiling Week and WASZP North American Championship
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Madilyn Anderson, from San Diego Yacht Club, California competed in Foiling Week and the WASZP North American Championship in Pensacola, FL. Anderson is currently the only junior female foiler on the West Coast. She recently started the foiling class at San Diego Yacht Club and this year was invited to be on America One Racing Team. Anderson is Co-Captain of Point Loma High School’s Sailing Team and has competitively raced 29ers, J22s, keel boats, C420s, CFJ’s and sabots. Madilyn wrote, “I am committed to the College of Charleston’s Sailing Team and I have also launched a lifestyle sailing brand called Seas Life By The Sails, designing merchandise in support of girls and women in sailing.”
The North American Championship took place in the last four days of Foiling Week which were the windiest, with gusts up to 15 kts the last day. This event was the largest Waszp event in North America to date, with 40+ highly-ranked world competitors from France, Australia, the Netherlands, and more! Anderson is still new to competitive racing in Waszps, this event was her second foiling regatta. She had some competitive races and felt great about her performance. “I was the most proud of my starts and upwind legs, while I still have more work to do on perfecting my downwinds. The starts during this event, were memorable. In one of them I even managed to port tack the fleet!” said Anderson. A couple of races she was able to round the windward mark in the highly contested top 10 after some fast and tactical upwind legs. “All of these were small, yet incredibly important accomplishments that will help me continue improving my foiling racing strategies before I compete in the 2025 Waszp Games (Worlds) in Weymouth, UK this summer!
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Anderson finished #4 for Girls Under 21. This event introduced Anderson to a lot of new sailors and friends from all over the world — connections that will stay with her as they all pursue and compete in the future high performance sailing and foiling events.
Madilyn extended her thanks for financial support to the National Women's Sailing Association Sue Corl Youth Sailing Scholarship making her memorable events possible, and for "unwavering continued support for junior girls in sailing!" |
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Register now for best choices!
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The NWSA Gail Hine Scholarship provides an individual with financial assistance to attend the NWSA Annual Conference. This scholarship is open to all women sailors, with preference given to those who demonstrate financial need and a passion for broadening their sailing experiences.
Don’t miss this opportunity to honor Gail Hine’s legacy and take the helm of your sailing journey. |
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We are happy to offer the NWSA Gail Hine Scholarship to sailors who need financial assistance in order to attend the 2025 National Women's Sailing Conference sponsored by American Sailing. HURRY! Applications will be accepted until April 15 |
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A few of the many excellent women presenters and their exciting sessions! |
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Nancy Frainetti has been an advocate and electric propulsion systems designer for over two and a half decades. Nancy revels in sharing insights regarding electric propulsion and its many attributes. She has an extensive background in this ever-growing electric propulsion industry, beginning with the marketing of electric boats circa 1998, founder of Florida's first electric boat rental, designer of her own electric launch line with Bob Johnson, Island Packet Yachts, and now focusing efforts toward re-powering existing and OEM boats. She is additionally a design team member for electric and hybrid motor systems, plus 48V marine batteries and more efficient photovoltaic regeneration development. As a proud early adopter for this propulsion choice and a tremendous admirer of its earth-friendliness, it is herpleasure to present, educate and workshop the various options available in today's market, along with foresight products for the electric propulsion industry.
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Converting your Sailboat to Electric Propulsion
Does electric propulsion intrigue you? If so, please join Nancy's classroom voyage into the abundant attributes of electric motor systems, LiFePO4 battery and photovoltaic regeneration advancements. Geared towards all learning levels — because electric propulsion is not rocket science — but rather a clean, quiet and low maintenance option for everyone to explore.
*Classroom presentation with motor, battery and solar displays. Availability of Electric Sailing Vessel for demo rides TBD. |
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Capt. Kimberly Walther, for the past 30+ years, has been an ASA instructor. Teaching year-round for St. Augustine Sailing in Florida, she has led an effort to foster a Women on the Water program, writing the course syllabus and producing instructional materials for weekly lessons. She has had a 100 ton near coastal (offshore) master's license for several decades. This past summer, Walther taught Sailing Fundamentals at the Wooden Boat School in Brooklin, Maine, and courses for the Museum of Sail, Power, and Steam in Rockland, Maine. Her passion is teaching practical solutions to adverse situations — what to do in emergency situations. She recently taught Safety at Sea seminars for the World Cruising Club, including sailors who have sailed around the world, who said they learned they had more skills to practice. She also teaches an international online Safety at Sea seminar a couple times a year for American Sailing. Her lessons are designed to challenge everyone from beginner to advanced students. She says there's always something to learn!
Capt. Walther will teach Reefing Sailing Vessels. Students will practice body position, line handling, hand signals, and best practices for reefing. Learning to reef will start dockside. Everyone will become familiar with each role to reef with no stress over traffic, channels and depths. Students can concentrate completely on the skill. Participants will switch roles in learning not only what each role requires; but how to make the procedure easier for their teammates.
Takeaways: 1) The need to become intensely familiar with every step for reefing. 2) How each position can help or hinder the other sailors, and how to avoid slowing down the process. 3) The importance of practicing the steps to reef under a low-stress environment, then moving off the dock and adding in the additional factors. 4) How to handle critical dynamic situations on the boat — what might happen, safest reactions, crew safety.
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Dr. Anne Kolker grew up sailing, first as a youngster, then through college, medical school. In marriage, the loss of her husband inspired her to become captain of their boat and learn to manage it, choosing to gain expertise by sailing with other knowledgeable women and keeping the vessel under her ownership. Along the way, she crossed the Atlantic and, in turn, inspired dozens of women to seek out sailing opportunities, hosting all-female crews in offshore races from New England to Bermuda. in 2023, she was honored with the BoatUS/NWSA Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award. She and her crews are proud to have won the Faith Paulson Trophy five times, an award given to the first-place finisher for all-women crew in the biennial Marion-Bermuda race. She has also offered her medical knowledge on ocean crossings and safety at sea, has been instrumental in developing race strategies and has lectured to teams about safety practices, one of the few women to do so. Dr. Kolker has given lectures at NWSA events and is a leader at Safety at Sea programs, preparing crews for unexpected medical events. She is also credited with saving the life of a crew member during a trans-Atlantic passage.
First Aid and Medical Emergencies
Learn to be prepared for a medical emergency by stocking your first aid kit well and knowing how to use it for crew aboard your boat or others. This course will cover typical medical issues that sailors may find both off and near shore and how to think about what to do when they occur. Review guidelines for when to call for help and if an injured person should be treated on board or returned to land as quickly as possible. Learn how to communicate with your crew, other boats and first responders.
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NWSA's new membership management tool will improve your member experience!
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- Connect with other NWSA members
Manage your member profile - Share your ideas and tell us exactly what you want from your membership
- Calendar of upcoming NWSA events and other organization's women sailing events
- NWSA website has a new fresh look with well organized content
COMING — message boards / discussion forums where members can have ongoing discussions organized around multiple subject categories; within which members can start topics for discussion.
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When you subscribe to NWSA's YouTube channel you get access to sailing videos for women, including the She Sailor Sea Story library. Members have access to an expanded library of skill and knowledge videos made by women like this navigation tidbit about range marks.
In April watch for story replays of the March She Sailor Sea Story storytelling episode DREAM.
The DREAM episode was sponsored by BoatUS and hosted by an emerging filmmaker and storyteller Inga Grimmet. Inga shared a trailer from her soon-to-be premiered short films series. Storyteller Sarah Scott made a return appearance and told how she is working hard on other people's boats and missing sailing hers. Author/sailor, Heidi Love, shared stunning visuals from her voyage of self-discovery fulfilling a childhood dream.
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NWSA is seeking storytellers for the next episode sponsored by Pontchartrain Yacht Club of the She Sailor Sea Story — NAVIGATE, Friday May 23, 2025. Your story can be about finding your way in unfamiliar waters. About navigating buying your first boat. Or about not quite knowing where you are!
The She Sailor Sea Story is a program of live storytelling told by women sailors on Zoom. The LIVE She Sailor Sea Story is free to anyone who registers. We add a bit of socializing after the stories at the Happy Half-Hour. Replays of individual stories are posted on at womensailing.org and YouTube.
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Support girl's and women's sailing through your NWSA membership |
Primarily funded by your membership NWSA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization with a mission to enrich the lives of women and girls through education and access to sailing. |
| Get these benefits of membership too:
- Access to exclusive content, like video interviews, video educational instruction
- Discounted pricing for the Annual Conference and Early Bird Workshop Selection
- Discount offers to products and services from our sponsors and affiliates
- Discount coupons for our store
When you join you will recieve the Take the Helm newsletter for news and events and invitations to the She Sailor Sea Story sent to your inbox.
For $45 join annually, or join for three years $100. Choose a membership plan that best suits your needs. We recommend the auto renew option to assure your support will continue without interuption. Help us Share Sailing!
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Girl's Sailing Scholarships |
The Women’s Sailing Foundation offers the Sue Corl Youth Sailing Scholarship for an enhanced sailing experience or program for a teenaged girl. Apply before midnight (Eastern) on April 15.
This special scholarship is offered to girls between the ages of 14 and 19 with a financial need to broaden their sailing experiences. The opportunities to which the scholarship may be applied include, but are not limited to, enrolment in:
• An advanced sailing program
• A racing program
• A tall ship or live-aboard experience
• A marine or maritime-related program
Sailing-related programs will take precedence. The successful applicant will receive $500 in scholarship funds payable to their program. A person can only receive the Sue Corl Youth Sailing Scholarship once.
Apply for the Sue Corl scholarship
Girls attending AdventureSail in 2024 are eligible to receive a Learn to Sail Youth Scholarship. The scholarship for up to $500 can be applied to any recognized sailing program. AdventureSail participants must apply for the scholarship within one year of their participation. Ask for a letter of recommendation. Write an essay and apply.
Apply for the Learn to Sail Youth Scholarship |
| Madilyn Anderson, from San Diego Yacht Club benefited from the Sue Corl Youth Sailing Scholarship recently.
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Thank you to our 2025 conference sponsors |
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© 2025 National Women’s Sailing Association and the Women's Sailing Foundation. All rights reserved.
AdventureSail, Take the Helm, Making Changes Come About are registered trademarks. womensailing.org • leadership@womensailing.org
National Women's Sailing Association, PO Box 588, Marblehead, MA 01945, United States |
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