2021 Riverport Women's Sailing Conference Success

​2021 Riverport Women's Sailing Conference Success

Workships, Panels, and Planning for the Maiden Visit in 2022! 

On November 13, 2021, the Sailing School at the Hudson River Maritime Museum and the Kingston Sailing Club co-hosted its fifth annual women’s sailing conference. This was a virtual event, from 10 am to 4 pm. 

Keynote Speaker Tracy Edwards, MBE, of Maiden fame, enthralled and inspired her audience with stories from the famous all-women’s 1989-90 Whitbread Around the World Race campaign which she led.  She explored the resilience she developed as a young sailor and explained this quality is just what is needed as we navigate the depths and shoals of our current times. Tracy discussed how she and others are bringing that flexibility and energy to The Maiden Factor Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting education for girls around the world. 

Most exciting, Tracy announced the vessel Maiden will be restarting its around-the-world sailing trip in early 2022, and the fact that the vessel and its crew will be visiting us at the Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston, New York in June, 2022!

Photo 1: Maiden at Sea on way to Uruguay Whitbread Race 89-90 (credit unknown) Photo 2: Tracy with Maiden in Seychelles 2017. Copyright & photo credit: The Maiden Factor

​In addition to the keynote, the conference presented 12 workshops on topics including weather for the mariner, sailing as therapy, navigation, rules of the road, safety, buying a boat,  sustainability, and more. There were four racing workshops including How to Develop as a Racing Sailor with Dawn Riley, Executive Director of Oakcliff Sailing in Oyster Bay, New York, who was recently inducted into the US National Sailing Hall of Fame.

Finally, the conference concluded with a panel of sailors, representing seven local sailing organizations, who presented a variety of ways people can get out on the water. It was a wonderful day bringing men, women and youth together to learn and grow as sailors.