National Women's Sailing Association Founder - Doris Colgate - Inspires Women at Women's Sailing Conference

June 5, 2011 - (Marblehead, Massachusetts) - Doris Colgate, CEO and President of Offshore Sailing School and founder of the National Women's Sailing Association (NWSA), spoke passionately about "making a difference" in the lives of girls and women during her keynote speech at the 10th Women's Sailing Conference in Marblehead, Massachusetts on June 4, 2011.

Hosted by the Corinthian Yacht Club and organized by the National Women's Sailing Association, the conference brought 125 women together to participate in sailing workshops. "At these conferences, the energy is so different," said Andrea Young, a six-time participant who described these events as full of enthusiasm, happiness, and camaraderie with a focus on "enjoyment."

The women participants chose on water and shoreside workshops in advance from an impressive menu, all taught by experienced women volunteers. On the boats and while sailing they learned about boat systems, how to fly a spinnaker, sail care and tying up to a dock, crew overboard procedures, introduction to sailing, sail trim, steering and even how to handle a dinghy with a motor.

In the classroom, some of the subjects covered included reading charts, right of way rules, knots, understanding the wind, troubleshooting engines, introduction to weather, marine medicine, and emergency seamanship. Perhaps the most popular was titled "Suddenly Singlehanded" - how to get help and get home if you had to handle a sailboat alone.

After the Leadership in Women's Sailing Award was presented to Dawn Santamaria, who runs a 110' tall ship with a women-only crew and provides leadership and team building programs for at risk girls, Doris Colgate took the podium to share her experiences and the experiences of women she has met over the more than 44 years she has been in the sailing education business.

(Doris Colgate, NWSA founder; Joan Thayer, current chair of the NWSA Board, Dawn Santamaria (with award); Dina Murray from Boat US are shown at right.)

Twenty minutes later, her passion for the "lifestyle" of sailing and how it can change lives, brought the audience to their feet, some with teary eyes. "To me, sailing is freedom," she said. "It's empowering, challenging and relaxing." And then she asked "If sailing is a passion that you feel deeply, what are you doing to share that passion with those you love, and those you meet as you move through the streets of life?"

When Colgate founded NWSA 21 years ago, she reported that sailing was still considered "a sport." When she asked the audience if they agreed that sailing is a "lifestyle," the response was unanimously "yes."

Colgate spoke about how and why she founded NWSA and the turning points in her life that convinced her to "break the mold." In most of her early experiences, after marrying Offshore Sailing School's founder (Steve Colgate) "and the company" in 1969, she found she was constantly deferring to the men she sailed with when aboard.

As a pioneer in creating sailing opportunities for women and men beyond the learning experiences, she noticed the ongoing tendency "men have to grab a line the moment a woman puts her hand on it." That, coupled, with a participation ration of 2:1 male versus female participants, was the impetus, she said, for starting NWSA.

NWSA has created opportunities for women and at-risk girls at many levels, but most important is the AdventureSail program. "By the time I left my post as chairman of the (NWSA) board in 2002," said Colgate, "thousands of girls had been given the chance to take the helm, pull a line, and dip their toes in the water." Board chairperson, Joan Thayer, reported AdventureSail is still going strong with seven already scheduled across the country this summer.

"I believe we women can do anything we want - because we sail," Colgate said in closing. "Let's take our passion for sailing to new and inspiring heights for those girls and women who, in this unsettled world, deserve a far better life."

The entire transcript of her speech can be read on line here.

In photo above, Doris Colgate is receiving a framed plaque of the original National Women's Sailing Association burgee (flag) from Joan Thayer, NWSA board chair.