Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award

In 1999, the Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) and the National Women’s Sailing Association (NWSA) created an annual award recognizing a man or a woman for a record of achievement in inspiring, educating and enriching the lives of women through sailing. The 2026 BoatUS/NWSA Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award recipient is Karen Prioleau of Newport Beach, CA.

She started sailing and instructing as a young girl at Long Beach Sea Base in Long Beach, CA. Later, she and her family accomplished cruising internationally on their 1938 wooden sailboat. Upon sailing home to California, Prioleau joined the faculty at Orange Coast College (OCC), in Costa Mesa, CA, eventually retiring as Associate Professor and Professional Mariners Program Coordinator.

She coordinated and instructed in the Professional Mariner Program for the last 15 years, following her decade of work with the OCC School of Sailing and Seamanship. At OCC, she coordinated their Offshore Sailing Program and skippered the 65-foot S/V ALASKA EAGLE with adult sailors on many offshore passages.

She recounted, “It was amazing to do the sorts of things as a job!”

She was rotated into trips from Hawaii to Alaska, through the Panama Canal, the longest being from Newport Beach, CA to Easter Island. “Learning so much. It was a blast!” In the early years of her long tenure at OCC, the professional mariners program consisted of all male students. Over the years women in the program grew and grew to be about 40 percent.

Sought for her training abilities, she instructed in Safety at Sea trainings on the east and west coast of the US. Prioleau co-organized a crew-overboard research event in Newport, RI in collaboration with the Cruising Club of America, Storm Trysail Club, New York Yacht Club, and US Sailing. The event involved four offshore boats of various types evaluating different techniques for locating and rescuing individuals in the water, including nighttime and moderate sea conditions.

Prioleau has been a vital member of the national faculty as Master Instructor of US Sailing for 24 years, contributing to the Keelboat and Powerboat programs. In this role, she has been instrumental in updating the navigational material, an area of sailing that offers opportunities for women of all ages and physical abilities to become proficient.

Her unyielding dedication to educating sailors, exceptional leadership skills and a lifetime of work to promote opportunities for women make her a worthy recipient of the award. Her leadership has inspired countless women to endeavor to serve the sailing community as professionals mariner careers on large private and charter yachts, cruise ships, passenger ferries, whale watching vessels and as instructors.

For more information: https://www.womensailing.org/leadership_in_womens_sailing.php