​KINGSTON, N.Y. –  Thanks to generous donations from supporters, scholarships are now available for women, men and teens to attend the Fourth Annual Riverport Women’s Virtual, International Sailing Conference. Hosted by the Hudson River Maritime Museum and Kingston Sailing Club, the virtual conference will take place on Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7, 2020.  
 
The event will energize and empower women and men to get involved in sailing at all levels. Everyone is welcome, from experienced sailors to those who have never been on the water before! Conference registration is by household, so gather around your screens to participate in these amazing opportunities. All presentations will be recorded, so  participants will have exclusive access to  view the entire conference after the event concludes.
 
On Friday, November 6 at 5:00 pm, we feature our keynote speaker, Captain Dawn Riley, who was the first woman to manage an America’s Cup sailing team, has sailed on four America’s Cup and two Whitbread (now The Ocean Race) teams, and now runs Oakcliff Sailing Center (oakcliffsailing.org), in Oyster Bay, New York which provides opportunities for participants to build world class sailing skills in local and offshore racing.
 
Tracy Edwards, captain of Maiden, opens our Saturday, November 7 session at 1:00 p.m. You may recognize Tracy’s name from the recent film Maiden (2019), about the all-women crew (including Dawn Riley) she led in the Whitbread Around the World Race in 1989-1990. Tracy will regale us with stories about Maiden and will also update us on the Maiden Factor’s efforts to educate girls around the world (themaidenfactor.org).
 
On Saturday afternoon, several concurrent sessions will be available to choose from. The panel Community Outreach: Equity and Inclusion, will focus on welcoming people from many backgrounds into the sailing community. Presenters come from the Bayshore Center at Bivalve in Port Morris, New Jersey; the Brooklyn Boatworks in Brooklyn, New York, and Hudson River Community Sailing in New York, New York.
 
Another Saturday afternoon panel, Pathways for New Sailors, will showcase the many ways in which people from diverse backgrounds can gain a foothold in sailing. It features presenters from the Hudson River Maritime Museum, the Impossible Dream, the National Women’s Sailing Association, the Oakcliff Sailing Center, the Rozalia Project, and Women Who Sail.
 
Other concurrent sessions include:
 
●       Basic Navigation
●       Blue Water Sailing
●       Communications at Sea
●       The History and Mission of the Sloop Clearwater
●       Safety Around Large Vessels
●       Maritime Careers
●       Sail Care and Repair
●       and Outboard Engine Troubleshooting
 
The Saturday concurrent sessions will continue until 6:00 pm. Recordings of all sessions will be available online after the conference concludes.
 
The fee for the entire conference is just $50 per household. We welcome participants from low-income and underserved communities. Scholarships are for $40 per household, reducing the cost to just $10. To apply, use our easy scholarship application on the main conference page of our website.    
 
For more information, to register, and/or to apply for a scholarship, please visit www.hrmm.org/sailing-conference or email jsterling@hrmm.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

KINGSTON, N.Y. – The Hudson River Maritime Museum is pleased to announce the Fourth Annual Riverport Women’s Sailing Conference has opened registration for its new, virtual event taking place on Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7, 2020.
 
Taking place on the evening of Friday, November 6, 2020 and from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 7, 2020, the Women’s Sailing Conference features speakers and instructors from around the world. The goal of the conference is to energize and empower women to get involved in sailing at all levels. Everyone, women and men, from experienced sailors to those who have never been on the water before are welcome! Conference registration is by household, so gather around your screens to participate in these amazing opportunities.
 
The conference begins on Friday, November 6 at 5:00 pm. Pour yourself a glass of wine or sparkling cider and get ready to be wowed by our Friday night keynote speaker, Captain Dawn Riley, the first woman to manage an America's Cup sailing team. She has raced on four America’s Cup campaigns and two Whitbread (The Ocean Race) teams. Dawn now runs Oakcliff Sailing Center, which provides opportunities for participants to build world class sailing skills in local and offshore racing and to learn the business of sailing.  Based in Oyster Bay, NY, Oakcliff hosts sailors from around the world and trains them to work and sail at the highest levels of the sport.

Tracy Edwards, captain of Maiden, opens our Saturday, November 7 session at 1:00 p.m. You may recognize Tracy’s name from the recent film Maiden (2019), about the all-women crew who competed in the Whitbread Around the World Race in 1989-1990. Members of the original and current crews will regale us with stories and keep us updated on their efforts to educate girls around the world through their current project The Maiden Factor. Participants are encouraged to watch the documentary film about the race before attending. Maiden is available for purchase on Amazon Prime or included with STARZ.
 
The afternoon will continue until 6:00 pm with more amazing women-led presentations including:
 
·         Welcoming Sailors from Diverse Communities
·         The History and Mission of the Sloop Clearwater
·         Safety Around Large Vessels
·         Maritime Careers
·         Blue Water Sailing
·         Basic Navigation
·         Communications at Sea
·         Sail Care and Repair
·         and Outboard Engine Troubleshooting
 
Afternoon sessions will be available in three sets of three concurrent sessions. All sessions will be recorded, so those participants who want to revisit presentations they did not attend will have access to the recordings after the conference.
 
The fee for the entire conference is $50 per household. We welcome participants from low-income and underserved communities and have scholarships available. To apply for a scholarship, please email Jody Taffet Sterling at jsterling@hrmm.org                                                                               
 
For more information, please visit www.hrmm.org/sailing-conference or email jsterling@hrmm.org.