People

On the eve of their induction into the National Sailing Hall of Fame, Doris Colgate and Lin Pardey share stories of the great life afloat.

- ELAINE LEMBO

Crossing LAYLINES
After 45 years of running into each other at boat shows but uttering no more than a brief hello, Doris Colgate and Lin Pardey sit side by side in Newport, Rhode Island. They’re talking, laughing, giggling, smiling. And reminiscing about sailing and their lives.

They’re about to join an exclusive club of nautical notables that’s 114 members strong, all inductees into the National Sailing Hall of Fame, an honor that Doris’ husband, Steve, received in 2015. The Colgates are responsible for teaching 160,000 people how to sail and explore the world. Doris also founded an organization dedicated to furthering women’s participation in the sport and lifestyle: the National Women’s Sailing Association.

Lin and her husband, Larry, who died in 2020, are known for two leisurely circumnavigations aboard engineless, self-built wooden boats. They published extensively about their experiences, encouraging countless others to set off on their own cruising adventures.

Here’s what Doris and Lin had to say on the eve of receiving sailing’s highest honor this past November.

CW: You've made a significant and sustained impact on sailing domestically and abroad. What stories stick with you?

DC: For me, it is really all the people we taught and whose lives we changed. At the recent US Sailboat Show, there must have been at least 50 people who came up to us, and these are the words they use: You've changed my life.” Some of them say, You cost me a lot of money,” but that’s because they're buying boats. That’s the good part, but it’s really the gratification we get from the graduates of our courses that makes us feel good every day.