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Who do you think belongs in the National Sailing Hall of Fame?
Online nominations are accepted throughout the year, only nominations received by midnight (Pacific Time) on March 30, 2018 will be considered for this year's class of Inductees. Any nominations that are received after March 30 will automatically be included for consideration for next year's Class of 2019 Induction.
Nominating categories include: The SAILING Category recognizes achievements made on the water as a Sailboat Racer, Cruiser or Offshore Sailor. The TECHNICAL Category recognizes those who have significantly contributed to the technical aspects of sailing. Examples include Designers, Boat Builders, Sail-makers, etc. The CONTRIBUTOR Category recognizes those who have made other significant contributions to the American sailing experience. Examples include Teachers, Coaches, Administrators, Media (including authored works, TV, film, etc.), Artists, Musicians, Promoters and Organizers.
How to Nominate: You can nominate almost anyone... from American Sailing history past or present — a racer, cruiser, pioneer, inventor, naval architect, author, instructor, musician... anyone, really who (and this is the important part) who has made a significant contribution to American Sailing.
Your candidate must:
• Be a U.S. citizen. Although if someone of international birth has made a significant impact on the development of the sport of sailing here in the United States, they may be nominated.
• 45 years of age or older. Posthumous nominations may be made 5 years postmortem or in the year the deceased would have reached 45 years of age, whichever is sooner.
Your nomination should be convincing. Build a case for why your nominee should enter the Hall of Fame:
• List of accomplishments in and contributions to the world of Sailing — races won, inventions, publications, awards, other recognitions, etc.
• List of notable accomplishments and contributions outside of sailing that you feel should be considered.
• A listing of articles, web pages, photos, videos or other publications is helpful.
• All of this information should be condensed to a clear and concise argument for your candidate.
Please keep in mind that the final document prepared for each candidate submitted to the Nominating Committee is limited to just two pages — so BE DETAILED BUT BRIEF in telling us why your person should be inducted.
One Nomination is All it Takes:
Remember, it's a nomination, not a vote. One nomination by any one person is all it takes for a candidate to be considered by the Nominating Committee. Submitting duplicate nominations or engaging others in a "campaign" for your person only adds to the burdens placed on our volunteers. Please be considerate of their time.
To learn more, including tips and videos on how to prepare your candidates information for submission, visit:
Nominate Now at nominate.nshof.org
If your nominee makes the cut, he or she will join the ranks of the following Inductees to the National Sailing Hall of Fame:
Class of 2017 • Bill Bentsen • Ray Hunt • Bill Martin • Clarkie Mills • Robby Naish • Corny Shields * • Randy Smyth • Tom Whidden ** Lifetime Achievement Award*
Class of 2016 • Ed Baird • Malin Burnham • Bill Ficker • Exy Johnson • Irving Johnson • Bob Johnstone • Rod Johnstone • Tom Perkins * • Dave Ullman ** Lifetime Achievement Award*
Class of 2015 • Steve Colgate • JJ Fetter • Paul Foerster • Meade Gougeon • Jan Gougeon • Sam Merrick * ** Lifetime Achievement Award*
Class of 2014 • Harry Anderson, Jr. • Nathaniel Bowditch • Carl Eichenlaub • Peter Harken • Olaf Harken • L. Francis Herreshoff • Jim Kilroy * • George O'Day ** Lifetime Achievement Award*
Class of 2013 • John Alden • Tom Blackaller • Bill Buchan • Starling Burgess • Frank Butler • Runnie Colie, Jr. • Dave Curtis • Timmy Larr • Morris Rosenfeld • Stu Walker
Class of 2012 • Peter Barrett • Bob Bavier, Jr. • F. Gregg Bemis • Stan Honey • Bruce Kirby • John Kostecki • Mark Reynolds • Rod Stephens, Jr. • John Cox Stevens
Class of 2011 • Betsy Alison • Hobie Alter • Charlie Barr • Paul Cayard • Dennis Conner • Nathanael Herreshoff • Ted Hood • Gary Jobson • Buddy Melges • Bus Mosbacher • Lowell North • Joshua Slocum • Olin Stephens • Ted Turner • Harold Vanderbilt
This year, a handful of people will be selected from a combination of publicly-submitted nominations and carry-over nominations from last year, as determined by a selection committee appointed by the National Sailing Hall of Fame (NSHOF), comprised of representatives from NSHOF, U.S. Sailing, the sailing media, the sailing industry, community sailing, a maritime museum and NSHOF founding member clubs. The Induction Ceremony for the Class of 2018 will be held on November 10-11, 2018 at the Lauderdale Yacht Club in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
