Eight Bells: Jane Pegel

Elite iceboat and scow competitor and contributor Jane Pegel died at the age of 92 on June 6, 2026.

Her first ice boat was named Holy Smoke. Pegel’s C Scow was named Calamity Jane and her legendary E Scow was named Frozen Asset, a phrase every sailor can appreciate. Pegel started sailing early in life and was the descendant of a line of sailors.

She was named US Sailing’s Yachtswoman of the Year three times (1964, 1971, 1972), twice won the Adams Cup, the North American Women’s Championship (1957, 1964), and has won championships in the X Class, C Scow, M Scow and DN iceboat classes.

She and her husband Bob Pegel were perennial top finishers in the E Scow Class. They won the E Scow Blue Chip regatta and the Inland Yacht Association Championship. They co-skippered their scow with Jane steering the upwind legs in 1968 and finished second in the E Scow National Championship.

Giving back to the sport has been a prerequisite for Pegel. Her first service-oriented post was as the fleet captain of the X Class in 1948. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Phi Beta Kappa, (1955) and helped organize a sailing team. Up until that time the “Hoofers” as it was called was more of a club sport.

During the summers, she was a sailing instructor at the Lake Geneva Yacht Club, home of another Hall of Fame sailor, Buddy Melges. In 1972 Melges and Pegel were both named Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year – Melges for winning a Gold Medal in the Olympic Games and Pegel for winning the M Scow Class National Championship and several other regattas that season.

She had a long history of serving US Sailing, first as a committee member, then Chair of the One Design Class Council, and eventually on the Board of Directors. In 1970, the Pegels moved to Lake Geneva in Wisconsin and Jane ended up being named the Director of the yacht club’s sailing program.

Pegel spent 40 years with the Lake Geneva Yacht Club junior program, starting as an instructor and eventually being elected President of the Board of Directors. She was Director of Communications for the International Star Class (1982-1987).

Jane was inducted in the National Sailing Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2021.

Jane was predeceased by her husband Bob Pegel and is survived by daughter Susie Pegel.