Steve and Doris Colgate

Offshore's Founders Steve and Doris Colgate - A Love Affair with Sailing and Each Other

"Sailing changed my life,” says Doris Colgate, co-owner of Offshore Sailing School. “It opened new doors, provided new and lasting friendships, treated me to the most wonderful travel opportunities, and above all - a job and partner beyond my wildest dreams!”

That partner is her husband, Steve Colgate, co-owner, founder and Chairman of Offshore Sailing School, one of the foremost racing sailors in the United States and the pre-eminent sailing educator worldwide.

Steve began crewing on racing boats on Long Island Sound as a young boy and fell in love, totally, with sailing when he raced from Cuba to Spain at age 19. “It was the opportunity of a lifetime,” says Steve. “I knew someday I’d make my living in sailing.”  Read more about the history of Offshore Sailing School here.

Since that first TransAtlantic race, Steve has competed in two America’s Cup Trials, 20 Newport-Bermuda Races, 8 more TransAtlantic races, 8 Fastnets including the 1979 buster, the Olympics, Pan American Games and numerous small boat and maxi-ocean race competitions. “I love taking the wheel of an eighty-footer in light or rough conditions,” explains Steve. “You never go out on the water without learning something new!”

In the summer of 2001, Steve was tactician aboard the 12 Metre American Eagle in the 150th Anniversary America’s Cup Jubilee in Cowes, England. "The thrill of returning to sail against other Twelve Metres and hundreds of different class and size boats was incredible," he says, especially since he crewed on that very same boat in the 1967 America's Cup trials and is joining a gathering of all 12 Metre competitors in Newport, RI this September.

In all of his years of trans-ocean sailing, rounding Cape Horn is one passage that Steve Colgate had never done. Known for its harsh, challenging year-round conditions, rounding Cape Horn under sail is a journey that even some of the most seasoned sailors might take a pass on.

But in January of 2007, Steve sailed “around” the Horn on Seal – a purpose-built charter boat – with Peter Nielsen (Editor of SAIL magazine) and the captain and mate of this 56 footer. Below he and his shipmates enjoyed heated comfort, topsides they were dressed for the elements and savored the incredible views and ever-changing sea conditions. “In a moment the wind would go from 10 knots to 50 knots,” he recalls. “It was invigorating!”

Steve’s dedication to helping others through sailing education is exemplary. For six years, he was president of the prestigious International Sailing Schools Association, attending meetings all over the world and helping develop communication and best practices between the schools. He headed up the training committee for the governing body of sailing, US SAILING, developing its official certification program, used by Offshore and a roster of the best sailing schools in the United States. A Yale graduate, he is a member of the New York Yacht Club, the Cruising Club of America, the Royal Ocean Racing Club and recipient of the Presidents Award from US SAILING for his dedication to promoting the growth of sailing. Listed in Who’s Who of America, Steve has authored or co-authored all of Offshore’s textbooks.

As Chief Executive Officer and President of Offshore Sailing School, Doris Colgate has her pulse on the world of sailing education. So much so, she wrote, SAILING: A Woman’s Guide, a how-to book for women. Published in January 2000 by the Ragged Mountain Press Division of McGraw-Hill, it won the Southam Award from Sail America that year. In 2004 the Colgate’s wrote the definitive book on novice to cruising education – Fast Track to Cruising, published by International Marine/McGraw-Hill November 2005 and used in all Offshore Sailing School cruising courses. In 2009 McGraw-Hill published their latest book, Fast Track To Sailing - which prepares novices for small to mid-size sailboats and is the textbook for Offshore Sailing School's Learn to Sail course.

Doris's passion is to get as many women involved in sailing as she can, "because it will change your life." In 1990 she founded the National Women’s Sailing Association and a year later the Women’s Sailing Foundation, dedicated to giving at-risk girls a new chance through sailing. Happily, she says, “both organizations are going strong long after I turned over their leadership to dedicated women who worked with me in the early stages.”

Doris is the 2004 recipient of the cherished Leadership in Women’s Sailing award from Boat U.S. Magazine and the National Women’s Sailing Association; she also a recipient of the Betty Cooke Memorial Achievement Award from Boating Magazine. She is listed in Who’s Who of America, Who’s Who of American Women, Who’s Who of Finance, Who’s Who in the South and Southwest, and Who’s Who in American Education. She served six years on the board of Sail America and continues to work on its Marketing Committee, is a long-time member of the Boat U.S. advisory council and was on the steering committee for the International Sailing Summit.

In June 2011, Doris gave the keynote speech at the Women's Sailing Conference in Marblehead, Massachusetts inspiring women to "take our passion for saling to new and inspiring heights for those girls and women who, in this unsettled world, deserve a far better life." You can read a transcript of that speech here.

In May 2009, Doris was named “dean of women sailors” in a Boat U.S. Magazine article about prominent boating and sailing women. In July Soundings Trade Only she was featured in a lengthy interview about the state of the sailing industry (from her point of view of course).

The Colgates are tireless participants in national and international efforts to raise the standards of sailing education and increase opportunities for people to sail. In 1996 they received the coveted Sail Magazine Industry Award for Leadership; and joined an incomparable list of movers and shakers in the world of sailing, announced by Sail Magazine in its January 2000 issue. In 2003 they received the US SAILING Timothea Larry Trophy in recognition of their outstanding leadership and excellence in sailing education. And in 2010 Sail Magazine wrote a lengthy feature on the couple honoring their commitment to bringing new sailors into the sailing lifestyle.

They are also very involved in helping The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) raise funds to find the cure for blood diseases.  As a National Sponsor for the Leukemia Cup Regattas, Offshore Sailing School donates its fleet of Colgate 26 sailboats whenever asked for fund raising activities and will have donated more than $20,000 to LLS by the end of 2010 by setting aside a portion of each regular tuition for this cause.

The Colgates reside and work in Ft. Myers, Florida - still deeply involved in their company on a daily basis after 47 years. In June 2010, Steve and Doris were awarded the most coveted honor by the Lee County Visitors and Convention Bureau - the Junonia Award - for their years of dedication to bringing thousands of experiential travelers from all the world to the area destinations. 

Read the article about Doris Colgate published in Grandeur magazine - click here.

Read her keynote speech at the National Women's Sailing Association's 10th Women's Sailing Conference - click here.