ALEXANDRIA, Va., August 2, 2010 -- After 26 years with BoatUS Magazine as a writer and managing editor as well as an advocate for boat owners as a lobbyist, Elaine Dickinson is casting off the lines and retiring from Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS). She is planning to spend more time cruising with her husband, Naval Architect Jack Hornor.

Dickinson joined BoatUS in 1984, when it had fewer than 120,000 members, to write and edit BoatUS Reports, the precursor to BoatUS Magazine. Over the years, she also handled various boating issues and served as chair of the National Safe Boating Council, as an appointee to the US Coast Guard’s National Boating Safety Advisory Council and, most recently, on NOAA’s Hydrographic Services Review Panel.

In 2000, she created the BoatUS Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) service to give all boaters free access to the Coast Guard’s Rescue 21 system; the service now has over 60,000 DSC VHF radio registrations. She also spearheaded an outreach effort to get more women involved in boating and created the Women in Boating website at BoatUS.com. For 10 years she’s been a board member of the National Women’s Sailing Association.

Besides writing hundreds of articles on boating topics, winning numerous journalism awards, Dickinson helped transform an association newsletter into a top-notch boating magazine. She was also executive editor of DIY Boat Owner Magazine, and an assistant vice president of BoatUS.

“Elaine’s contributions to our organization and the nation’s boaters run deep and long,” said BoatUS President and BoatUS Magazine Publisher Nancy Michelman. “The hundreds of stories she has produced kept our readers up-to-date on important issues and enhanced their boating experience. We wish her fair winds and following seas.”

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About BoatUS:

BoatUS – Boat Owners Association of The United States – is the nation’s leading advocate for recreational boaters providing over half a million members with government representation, programs and money saving services.  For membership information visit www.BoatUS.com or call 800-395-2628.