Congratulations to the 2026 BoatUS/NWSA Leadership in Women's Sailing Award recipient Karen Prioleau
left to right: Kris Self, vice-president of NWSA and Karen Prioleau the 2026 BoatUS and National Women's Sailing Association Leadership in Women's Sailing Award recipient.
The award ceremony took place on June 16, 2026, at a gathering of sailors preparing for the Newport to Bermuda Race. Previous Leadership in Women's Sailing Award recipients, including Bernadette Bernon (1999), Betsy Alison (2000), and host Sheila McCurdy (2018), were present at the event. Crew members for McCurdy’s S/V SELKIE were also in attendance.
McCurdy expressed her admiration for Prioleau, stating, “Karen Prioleau was a key crew member aboard my boat SELKIE for three Newport to Bermuda Races. The 2026 will be her fourth. Congratulations, Karen!”
The 2026 Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award recognizes Prioleau’s unwavering dedication to educating sailors, her exceptional leadership skills, and her lifelong commitment to promoting opportunities for women in sailing. Her leadership has inspired countless women to pursue careers as professional mariners, working on various vessels such as private and charter yachts, cruise ships, passenger ferries, whale watch vessels, and as instructors.
Debby Grimm, President of the NWSA, emphasized the importance of education in the Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award. She expressed her pleasure in meeting Prioleau for the first time at the NWSA 2026 Women’s Sailing Conference. Grimm praised Prioleau’s knowledge, congeniality, and dedication to teaching and training, highlighting her valuable contributions as an instructor.
"Along with her knowledge and congeniality her dedication to teaching and training has made her one of our valuable instructors. Well-deserved, Karen!” noted Grimm.
Karen Prioleau recently retired after more than two decades at the Orange Coast College (OCC), in Costa Mesa, California, 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. During her time at OCC, she coordinated their Offshore Sailing Program and skippered the 65’ S/V ALASKA EAGLE with adult sailors on many offshore passages.
She started her sailing adventures nearby as a young girl. Her mother enrolled her in a camp at the Girl Scout/Boy Scout Sea Base, a short distance from OCC in Orange County California. At the Sea Base she became an assistant instructor at a very early age earning a salary of $1 per hour. That set her on a path to become an instructional leader for professional mariners.
A simple thing Karen remembers as a pivotal occurrence, was when her best friend’s father took his daughter and Karen to a Schooner Association meeting. The girls were 13 and 14 years old when they watched the Association’s 16mm movie presentation, “Kelsey Goes to Tahiti.” When Prioleau learned the schooner featured in the film had sailed to Tahiti, she recalled, "That was it! I was determined to sail there too. I did! I sailed to Tahiti many years later. It was magic to go mess around in boats,” said Karen.
Prioleau has taught sailing ever since
She and her husband Paul bought an old engineless 1938 wooden boat, which they upgraded, then set off cruising. For four years the young couple learned as they sailed, first down the Pacific Coast to Mexico. Eventually the boat sailed to Tahiti. Karen was pregnant so she stayed to work until the boat was anchored in the South Pacific. Their son was born in Tahiti.
As a welcome home Karen landed a job at Orange Coast College and was skippering the S/V ALASKA EAGLE. 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!"
Above: Alaska Eagle under sail (credit: Yachting.com) Karen Prioleau skippered the iconic yacht to many far flug places.
In talking about teaching women, Karen recalled, “My classes at OCC started with 100% males. As we got a few women, we got more, and more, and more. I would say some classes lately would be 40% female.
"It was so much fun!"
Prioleau is part of an active network of women sailing education professionals on both the West Coast and East Coast. She is frequently sought out to present at Safety at Sea courses, encouraging women to pursue their sailing ambitions, whether they’re accompanied by men or not. Her extensive knowledge of boats of all kinds has fostered the belief that female sailors are capable of filling all positions of responsibility, both professionally and recreationally. The belief in women’s competency is evident in Karen’s role as a guest instructor of first-year “plebes” at the US Naval Academy.
Left: Karen Prioleau explains to students how the rudder catches in reverse.
Above: (highlighted at right / middle) worked with US Sailing Safety at Sea students and instructors in 2024 near OCC. Prioleau is a sought-after presenter at Safety at Sea events. Her deep knowledge of offshore sailing and her exemplary seamanship prepares offshore sailors to practice prevention and know what to do if there is an accident.
Chuck Hawley, former chair of the US Sailing Safety at Sea Committee noted, “Over more than 20 years, I've worked with Karen on a variety of marine safety projects, including her hosting courses at Orange Coast College, her participation in the 2004 Crew Overboard Symposium on San Francisco Bay, and her life raft demonstration skills for our Safety at Sea video course. I couldn't think of a better representative of our sport.”
Karen Prioleau also co-organized a crew-overboard research event in Newport, Rhode Island, 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.
Karen has been a vital member of the National Faculty of US Sailing, contributing to the Keelboat and Power Boat programs. In this role, Karen has been instrumental in creating the navigational material, an area of sailing that offers opportunities for women of all ages and physical abilities to become proficient.
Prioleau embodies the spirit of a fine sailor who inspires and educates people of all levels about the joys and adventures of sailing. She maintains and shares the highest standards of seamanship throughout her endeavors. Over the past 24 years, she has been a US Sailing Master Instructor Trainer for Power and Sail. Most notably, Karen is not only very accomplished, but she also clearly loves sailing.
Above: Prioleau during nighttime crew overboard training
“I had the pleasure of being a mate on two of Karen Prioleau’s many all-women passages. In turn, Prioleau was a key crew member aboard my boat, SELKIE, for three Newport to Bermuda races. The 2026 race will be her fourth. Congratulations Karen!” said Sheila McCurdy the 2018 Leadership in Women's Sailing Award recipient.
BoatUS and the National Women’s Sailing Association congratulate Karen Prioleau!
Click here for the BoatUS Press Release
Right: Prioleau video is on NWSA's YouTube Channel.
2027 BoatUS/NWSA Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award nominations open in October 2026
Every year the NWSA seeks and accepts nominations for an individual who has a long record of supporting our mission, to enrich the lives of women of all ages through education and access to the sport of sailing. The Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award honors an individual (man or woman) with a record of achievement in inspiring, educating and enriching the lives of women through sailing. Established in 1999, The annual award is co-sponsored by National Women’s Sailing Association and Boat Owners Association of The United States.
It's not too early to work on a nomination for your sailing hero for 2027. The nominations form will be posted and linked from here in October 2026.