National Sailing Hall of Fame Class of 2022

The National Sailing Hall of Fame (NSHOF) announced 13 sailors comprising its 12th class of inductees.

West Coast sailors make a good showing. They include Santa Cruz yacht designer Bill Lee, famous for building the legendary Merlin and her sled descendants — and for twice gracing the cover of Latitude 38. Jonathan McKee, a Seattle native, just won the Race to Alaska. Cruisers and authors Lin and Larry Pardey of Victoria, BC, are well known to Latitude readers. The late Nick Scandone of Orange County won Paralympic gold while battling advanced ALS. And the late philanthropist Roy Edward Disney of Los Angeles (Walt Disney’s nephew) launched the Pyewacket yacht racing program — his son Roy Pat just smoked the 2022 Pacific Cup with the stable’s latest steed.

Read About the Entire Class:

• Ed Adams – Sail racing legend and coach, Adams excelled in college, world championship and offshore competitions. Teams he coached have won numerous Olympic and world championship titles.
• Absalom Boston – Mariner, entrepreneur and civil leader, Boston was the first African American to captain a whaleship with an all-black crew in 1822.
• Doris Colgate – From teaching to mentoring to writing to founding organizations that get more women on the water, Colgate has dedicated her life to advancing opportunities for women in sailing. She and her husband Steve (Class of 2015) built the Offshore Sailing School into a successful business that helps many sailors safely enjoy their time on the water.
• Bruce Farr – Innovative champion sailor, he was the naval architect for seven America’s Cup campaigns. His firm was responsible for hundreds of breakthrough designs that influenced the direction of yacht design across the globe. Many of the Kiwi native’s designs sail regularly on San Francisco Bay.
• Garry Hoyt – Sailor and marketing executive, he competed in three Olympic Games and multiple one-design championships. Hoyt is the founder of Freedom Yachts and holds 10 patents.
• Bill Lee – Yacht designer known for his motto, “Fast is fun,” Lee designed fast, yet easy-to-sail boats that racked up multiple awards. He founded Santa Cruz Yachts. Merlin held the Transpac record for 20 years.
• Jonathan McKee – Accomplished competitor with multiple world championship titles and an Olympic bronze medal, McKee was the head coach for the 1992 US Olympic Sailing Team, which took home medals in 9 of 10 classes.
• Lin and Larry Pardey – Legendary cruisers, the Pardeys circumnavigated the globe twice on two engineless wooden boats under 30 feet that they had built themselves. They shared their adventures through instructional films, hundreds of lectures and 12 books, inspiring generations of cruisers.
• Nick Scandone – Paralympic champion Scandone defied a diagnosis of ALS to be named the Rolex Yachtsman of the Year in 2005 and won a Paralympic gold medal in 2008. He proudly carried the American flag at the opening ceremony in Beijing on behalf of the entire American team.

Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients for 2022:

• Roy Disney was a passionate racing sailor who competed in 16 Transpacs. He set the course record in 1999. In addition to race records and championships, Disney was an avid supporter of youth sailing projects. Those projects included the movie Morning Light.
• Terry Kohler was a lifelong competitive sailor actively involved in improving the sport. He was instrumental in reactivating the Women’s International Match Racing Association (WIMRA). He acquired North Sails in 1983 from Lowell North (Class of 2011), and under his leadership until 2014 built it into the largest sailmaker in the world.
• Frances Wakeman was an extraordinary sailor, winning the Adams Cup (the North American Women’s Sailing Championship) four years in a row between 1935 and 1938. She was a tireless advocate for women in competition and an inspiration for sailors to embody the virtues of sportsmanship and fair play, and to understand that competition is a pleasurable endeavor.

The NSHOF will honor the Class of 2022 at induction festivities on November 4-5 in Newport, Rhode Island.