Dates Announced for 2022 Sailing Convention for Women

NEWPORT BEACH— After a brief one-year hiatus in 2021 due to COVID-19, the Sailing Convention for Women, presented by Gail Hine, has made it back onto the calendar for 2022. Event organizers recently announced that the convention will be held on Feb. 5, 2022, at Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club in Newport Beach. Early bird registration for the event begins in December.

“There’s a pent-up desire for it, people have been stuck at home for 18 months, almost two years by the time we get there and so I think there’ll be lots of gals who’ll wanna participate again and get out there on the water,” said Hine.

Hine started the event in 1990 and continues to spearhead it to this day. The Southern California Yachting Association sponsored the event for the first 27 years. The convention brings sailors of different generations and backgrounds together to share their knowledge and skill in the lifestyle of boating. It features a docket of approximately 30 workshops both classroom-based and on-the-water-based sessions taught by instructors from all over the state and country.

“It’s a special event, I like to think of it as the gold standard for such events,” said Hine.

Female sailors of all skill sets are encouraged to attend. Attendees can select workshops that best fit their interests and abilities. The most popular workshops, such as docking, suddenly single-handed, and navigation, will be back in the line-up for the 2022 convention as well as some news ones.

“I have a couple of ideas on some new workshops but they’re not set in concrete yet but they will be shortly,” said Hine.

She said they are still in the early stages of planning the event and are working on finalizing a speaker, coaches, and workshops.

Hine has been a leading force in promoting women’s sailing for more than 45 years. She spearheaded the Southern California Yachting Association Women’s Sailing Committee for two decades and served on the Women’s Sailing Foundation/National Women’s Sailing Association board of directors for 20 years. Hine joined the board in 2001 and retired last year after 20 years of service.

“It’s time to let the new girls run the show and get some new ideas out there,” said Hine. “I enjoyed being a member of that group but the time has come.”

The WSF/NWSA held a send-off gala for her retirement on Zoom on May 21.

“Gail Hine has been a leading force in promoting women’s sailing for many, many years,” wrote the WSF/NWSA in the gala event description. “She began these efforts in 1975 and has achieved legendary status for her decades of fabulous women’s Sailing Conventions.”

For more information on the convention, visit sailingconventionforwomen.com.