BoatUS/NWSA Leadership Award; Schooners and Classics Race; Moonlighting on the Water
Karen Prioleau Wins 2026 BoatUS/NWSA Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award
Karen Prioleau of Newport Beach, California, has received the 2026 BoatUS/NWSA Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award. The annual award, created in 1999 by BoatUS and the National Women’s Sailing Association (NWSA), recognizes a man or a woman for a record of achievement in inspiring, educating and enriching the lives of women through sailing.
Karen is praised in the announcement: “Her unyielding dedication to educating sailors, exceptional leadership skills and a lifetime of work to promote opportunities for women make her a worthy recipient of the award.” It continues, “Her leadership has inspired countless women to endeavor to serve the sailing community as professionals [in] mariner careers on large private and charter yachts, cruise ships, passenger ferries, whale watching vessels and as instructors.”
Karen began her sailing career at the Long Beach Sea Base in Long Beach, California. She later joined the faculty at Orange Coast College (OCC) in Costa Mesa, where she coordinated their Offshore Sailing program and skippered the 65-ft SV Alaska Eagle with adult sailors on many offshore passages.
Karen received the award in Newport, Rhode Island, on June 16, ahead of her fourth Newport to Bermuda race, this year aboard SV Selkie. NWSA President Debby Grimm notes, “One pillar of the Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award is educating women in the sport of sailing. It was a pleasure meeting Karen Prioleau for the first time at our 2026 conference. She was a valuable instructor and met all our expectations with her knowledge and congeniality. Well-deserved, Karen!”
And that’s not all … for a thorough insight into Karen’s sailing history, tune in to our Good Jibes podcast #238: “Karen Prioleau on a Career of Teaching Sailing.”
Great San Francisco Schooner Race and Belvedere Classic Regatta
We love the scope of sailing that comes to life in the summertime. In this case, the classic and historic ships that get to unfurl their sails in a series of regattas over the season. Next up in the Bay-wide classics series, which includes the recently held Master Mariners Regatta, is the Great San Francisco Schooner Race and Belvedere Classic Regatta — now in its 17th year.
What began in 2008 as a schooner-only race has grown into a celebration of maritime heritage that brings together sailors, enthusiasts and maritime-history lovers to honor the craftsmanship and stories behind extraordinary wooden and classic yachts.
The regatta is open to classic-design yachts built in wood or metal, GRP [glass-reinforced plastic] boats designed over 50 years ago (30-ft minimum), and the Great S.F. Schooner Race welcomes all vessels with two or more masts. Racing begins at 12:15 p.m. near Point Knox with a Bay tour-style pursuit race for all fleets this year, not just the schooners.
The event is as much a celebration as a competition. Festivities include a Friday Skippers’ Reception with complimentary food and beverages, post-race awards on the Corinthian Deck, a no-host BBQ Saturday evening, and Sunday breakfast in the SFYC dining room. Guest berthing is available August 21–23.
Part of the Bay-wide classics series alongside the Master Mariners Regatta and the St. Francis Yacht Club’s Jessica Cup, this is a rare chance to race — and revel — among the most beautiful traditional vessels on the water.
Sign up now at https://sfycbelvedereclassic.org/. Registration closes August 19.
Sail Beneath the Full Moon on Sunday
Sunday is the full moon, and, Karl permitting, the Bay will be awash with light. A perfect time to be on the water for a gentle moonlight cruise. Perhaps you have a special occasion to celebrate, perhaps you’re hoping the date will be the start of something wonderful, perhaps you just like getting out on your boat. Whatever your motivation, take this as a sign that Sunday is your night on the water.
If you don’t have a boat, reach out to any of the skippers on our crew list. These folks are looking for more people to sail with, and they may be just as keen as you for a moonlight cruise.
Alternatively, you could hop aboard a Bay charter with one of the many boats that regularly cruise in sync with the lunar spectacular (does this make them lunatics?). For example, in the Bay Area, you could check out Freda B, Call of the Sea, San Francisco Bay Adventures … there are many more. Check out our list here.