Join Captain Marie Rogers at the Women’s Sailing Seminar

Island Yacht Club’s annual Women’s Sailing Seminar is on next month, September 26–28. Now in its 33rd year, this three-day community sailing event is completely run by volunteers: Taught by Women, for Women™. How did this organization come about?

Women’s Sailing Seminar (WSS) was founded in 1992 by women who identified a need for a seminar where women could learn about sailing from other women. Their mission is to welcome women of all backgrounds into the sailing community by creating a fun, safe, and supportive learning environment. The seminar instructors have years of experience cruising, racing, crossing oceans, and sailing the Bay. This year, the group has announced that the event’s keynote speaker is Captain Marie Rogers. We’ve hosted Marie on our Good Jibes podcast, and she is truly an inspirational sailor.

Marie Rogers is a US Sailing board member, former staff commodore of the Los Angeles Yacht Club (LAYC), is currently on the board of the Southern California Yachting Association (SCYA) and the National Women’s Sailing Association (NWSA), and is the founder of her nonprofit, Offshore Racing Outreach (ORO). Did we mention Marie is an avid racer, sailing instructor, marathon runner and coach? But wait, there’s more ….

Marie holds her USCG 50-Ton Master Captain’s License, and was the second woman in 118 years to be the commodore of LAYC. While there, she established a sailing school and LAYC Community Sailing. In 2019, she participated in the 50th Transpac Race from Los Angeles to Honolulu. As she didn’t see the diversity she was hoping for, she recruited a diverse offshore team for future races. That effort evolved into her nonprofit, Offshore Racing Outreach, through which Marie organized a team of people of color, five of whom were women, to compete in the 2023 Transpac under the name Good Trouble aboard the Andrews 56. They finished fifth in their class.

Closer to home, Marie races her J/29 Rush Street, and does coastal racing aboard Marie, a Nelson Marek 55 that she shares with her husband Bill. Marie loves doing yacht deliveries, cruising, and teaching sailing. She is very active in the sailing community both at home and on the national level. She was the 2021 BoatUS/National Women’s Sailing Association (NWSA) Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award recipient and the Southern California Yacht Association (SCYA) Peggy Slater honoree who “best demonstrates outstanding contributions to the enhancement of women’s participation in the sport of sailing.”

“Women’s Sailing Seminar is open to all women and non-binary persons who wish to learn how to sail and we strive to be inclusive of those who are underrepresented in the sailing community.”

This year’s classes are: Intro to Sailing – Welcome Aboard!; Competent Crew; Intro to Cruising; Intro to Racing; Taking the Helm – Safe Skippering. All classes are held at the Alameda Marina.

“Year after year, we empower women to feel more confident, and become more accomplished in their sailing abilities on and off the water!”

Whether you’re new to sailing or looking to advance on your journey, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from Marie and many amazing instructors with years and years of experience sailing all over the world!

Learn more and sign up for the 33rd WSS here.

Read more about Offshore Racing Outreach and Good Trouble’s Transpac race here.