Leadership Award

Gail Hine Receives Third Annual Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award

Gail Hine, one of the first female sailors in the U.S. to organize large-scale training events just for women, was awarded the third Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award at Sail Expo in Atlantic City, NJ, Jan. 25. The award, which is given annually, is co-sponsored by the National Women’s Sailing Association and BoatUS, the nation’s largest organization of recreational boaters.

"The Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award is given to a person who has a record of achievement in inspiring, educating and enriching the lives of women through sailing," said Elaine Dickinson, managing editor of BoatUS Magazine and a member of the board of directors of the National Women’s Sailing Association. She presented the trophy along with Doris Colgate, founder of NWSA and CEO of Offshore Sailing School.

Said Richard Schwartz, BoatUS founder, "Thousands of women in California have either been introduced to sailing or improved their skills because of Gail’s efforts. She has a truly remarkable combination of sailing knowledge, organizational skills and,
boundless energy. For over three decades Gail has volunteered her time to expand the sailing arena for women."

The 13th annual Women’s Sailing Convention will be held Feb. 2 in Corona del Mar, CA, and 330 participants will be involved in some 30 seminars both on the water and in the classroom, led by expert women instructors. Relying extensively on grassroots organizing, Gail brings together this event each year with donated time, donated boats and equipment. BoatUS is the title sponsor of the Women’s Sailing Convention.

Hine was also one of the first women in California to be elected commodore of a yacht club, Palos Verdes, which later named a perpetual trophy for her. In 1990, she was the first woman to be named "Yachtsman of the Year" — the Peggy Slater Award — by the Southern California Yachting Association.

She has served on boards and committees too numerous to list and has made a significant contribution to improving boating in California through legislative advocacy work when she served as president of Recreational Boaters of California, a statewide organization. During her term in office she also served on the BoatUS National Advisory Council. Gail still finds time to race her Nightingale 24 in local regattas.