Pacific Sailor Linda Newland Receives BoatUS/NWSA 2022 Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award


Linda Newland, with thousands of Pacific Ocean sailing miles under her keel and extensive cruising in the Pacific North, was honored with the 2022 Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) / National Women’s Sailing Association (NWSA) Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award.

The BoatUS/NWSA Award annually recognizes an individual with a record of achievement in inspiring, educating and enriching the lives of women through sailing.

Along with a crew of women sailor friends, Newland began to organize events to hone and share her newfound skills with other women sailors. In doing so, she laid the foundation for Northern California’s Island Yacht Club (IYC) Women’s Sailing Seminar, now in its 30th year.

The sailor’s nomination through IYC sought to honor her for “decades of achievement and serving as a shining star for thousands of women,” said IYC Commodore Ros de Vries. “[Newland’s] experience and her contributions to the sport of sailing are indeed exemplary, and indeed her own. The pathways she has created continue to inspire and empower women who sail,” he added.

Newland holds the fastest woman, singlehanded San Francisco-to-Japan record and has sailed and raced extensively on the West Coast. She is a two-time, 2,025-mile Los Angeles-to-Honolulu Transpac competitor as well as a Pacific Cup veteran. In the 1997 Transpac aboard her own boat, Newland skippered an all-women crew to a second-place division finish.

A 100-ton merchant marine license holder, Newland teaches sailing and is a certified American Sailing Association instructor. She has served as secretary for Recreational Boaters of Washington, which represents recreational boaters’ interests in Washington legislative and regulatory actions, and is a past commander and now assistant squadron education officer of the Point Wilson Sail and Power Squadron in Port Townsend, Washington. She is a long-standing board member of NWSA, having served as vice president, president and co-chair of the AdventureSail committee.

NWSA is a program of the Women’s Sailing Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of women and girls through education and access to the sport of sailing.

The organization sets out to:

• Develop educational programs and venues for women sailors;
• Act as the informational clearinghouse for women who sail;
• Enhance the life experiences of women through sailing;
• Support individuals and organizations that involve women in sailing.

Visit womensailing.org.