|
Amy Cermak is an avid sailboat racer who skippers one design boats in Milwaukee, Racine, and Chicago. She has raced in various NOOD Regattas, Key West Race Week six times, the HOOK race, and the Chicago MAC. For 25+ years, Amy has skippered a boat in the Milwaukee Bay Women’s Series, and currently Amy and her husband campaign their T10 on the Great Lakes. Amy is in her fifth year as the first female Commodore of the Racine Yacht Club and Vice President of the Youth Foundation. She also coordinates and oversees the yacht Club’s youth sailing program, AdventureSail®, a one-day sailing experience for girls, and a free two-day sailing experience for the Racine Park program.
|
 |
Lili Colby is the former co-owner of MTI Life Jackets and the Industry & Non-profits Relations Specialist for Mustang Survival. She serves on the board of the Canadian Safe Boating Council and was the life jacket expert at the Safety at Sea Day before the 2024 Midwest Women’s Sailing Conference. Lili grew up sailing Scows on Pewaukee Lake, enjoys crewing OPBs on Cape Cod, and is looking forward to learning how to drive her new 1991 STAR classic one design which she bought at the end of last summer’s racing season on Lake Sunapee, NH.
|
 |
Tatiana Dalton learned to sail as a child in Marblehead, Massachusetts and found her way back to sailing as an adult when she stumbled into the wild world of nonprofit educational tall ships. Now Boston-based, she is invested in creating a more inclusive tall ship industry and using tall ship sailing to inspire greater compassion and community-mindedness in the world around her. |
 |
Jeannette DeFriest has been drawn to the water since her childhood on the edge of the Pacific. She spent part of her college tuition on a dinghy. When she did not have a boat, she found others to sail. She taught sailing to blind people. A recent sabbatical gave her a chance to sail from the Virgin Islands to Croatia. Her background in architecture and engineering paired with a tired old boat is how she began to play with fiberglass and epoxy. She owns a rebuilt J29 which she sails and races with friends as well as short-handed. She's also a graduate of West System's Fiberglass Boat Repair Workshop; the infamous "Glue U." We think she may have given them a few tips. |
 |
Jennifer Dorsch grew up on or in the water from the time she was six months old. After taking over the family Cape Dory 27, she became involved in race committee when it was suggested she give it a try to learn more about sailing in the Chicago area. After a season of frostbiting RC, she was hooked. Nine years later, she was the Principal Race Officer for the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, serves on the CYC RC Steering Committee, and has done RC around the U.S. for various World/National Championships. She is a US Sailing certified Regional Race Officer and Judge in Training. Despite spending the majority of her time on power boats doing RC, she fully believes "any day on the water is a good day." |
 |
Originally from Illinois, Wendy Bade Gilpin discovered boating and the liveaboard lifestyle while transitioning from her 30 plus year career in retail to owner of a Bed & Breakfast in Galena IL. In 2018, after selling the B&B and fully retiring, Wendy and her husband became Great Lakes Liveaboards on their trawler, Patriot and recently completed the Great Loop. Wendy and her husband enjoy spending time with family including four grandchildren as well as traveling on and off the water. |
 |
Author and Captain Patti Jane Golden was born and raised on the northern Gulf Coast, where she began boating at an early age. After college, she and her young family purchased a sailboat and began to sail the Gulf Coast and beyond in their free time. It wasn’t until Hurricane Katrina, with the children grown and home lost, that life took a turn. She and her husband moved to Europe. It was there that her sailing trips became international, primarily in the Adriatic and Mediterranean and the opportunity arose to cross the Atlantic Ocean in the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. This breadth of sailing experience forms the basis of her book, A Woman’s Guide to the World of Sailing. Patti Jane is now a licensed USCG captain, owns a Hinckley Bermuda 40 sailboat, and operates Adventure-Charters Biloxi. She is a member of the National Women’s Sailing Association and the Ocean Cruising Club and a seasoned and entertaining speaker on all topics concerning cruising in the Northern Gulf, crossing the Atlantic, safety at sea, becoming a captain, chartering here and abroad, and the joy of sailing for the long game, one bite at a time.
|
 |
Sara Griffith is a racer and cruiser who began sailing fifteen years ago. She regularly participates in local buoy and distance races, most recently double-handing the Clipper Cup across Lake Michigan. Managing crew with her husband Craig on their second boat, Sara credits sailing with other women as one of her favorite ways of growing and experiencing the sport.
|
 |
Robin Jimenez learned how to sail through the Prams in the Park program at the MCSC. She later worked as a sailing instructor for the program in high school and college. She now teaches at Hoofers sailing in Madison, WI. This summer will mark her 15th year as a sailing instructor. She enjoys teaching adults on keelboats, introductory, and advanced dinghies.
|
 |
In 2017, Emily Joachim started sailing at Hoofer’s Sailing Club in Madison; before that, she had never stepped foot on a boat! Despite her later start to sailing, she quickly fell in love with it. She was a volunteer instructor at Hoofer’s in 2019 before moving to Milwaukee in 2020. Now, she sails, races (and fixes!) her boats, Te Fiti (Beneteau 36s7) and Thunderbird (Lightning) with her husband Dillon. While still new to racing, she has skippered her crew to first place finishes in the Queen’s Cup Cruising Division in both 2022 and 2023.
|
 |
Anne Keel’s lifelong passion for sailing and racing began when she was just months old, sailing on her parents Ranger 26 out of South Shore Yacht Club in Milwaukee, WI. As she grew older and could actually walk she was active in the Junior program -- dinghy racing as well as PHRF racing on keel boats. After racing in college for San Diego State, Anne joined the U.S. Coast Guard, where she spent the next 20 years. During her time in the Coast Guard she continued to race all over the country wherever she was stationed -- in dinghies, one design keel boats, and PHRF fleets. She eventually bought her first sailboat (a Santana 20) which she raced all over California. Anne has since retired from the Coast Guard and moved back to where it all started (SSYC). She now has a C&C 36 named “Untamed” at SSYC which she sails and races. |
|
Phyllis McDonald started sailing in college and, in her first two years, made 9,300 miles of passages. Leaving the Great Lakes, she headed south on the Mississippi, transited the Gulf of Mexico followed by the SORC and Atlantic Seaboard deliveries offshore and on the Intracoastal Waterway. To complete the loop, she traveled the Welland and Erie Barge Canals… just ‘cause. Her logged miles and broad experience earned her a USCG license. Since the 1970s, Phyllis has worked in the marine industry and has varied experience in boat maintenance. She had been part of MWSC since its inception. After four years as chair, she has returned to the workshops to share her expertise.
|
|
Mickey Nielson entered the sailing scene with a vengeance and has not looked back. She’s sailed in numerous U.S. Sailing Championships, J/24 and Melges 32 Worlds, 38 Chicago/Bayview Mac Races, Super Mac, 21 Queen's Cups, Catalina 30 NAs, Key West Race Week, NOODs, double-handed races, and the list goes on. She has raced on boats from 19- to 70-feet long. Mickey and her husband own a Star Class boat and an S2 7.9 Class boat, both of which they sail on local, national, and international levels. Mickey also volunteers at Nielson Sailmakers in Racine, WI. |
 |
Born into a sailing family, Sarah Pederson’s love of the sport started early. While growing up in Kenosha she learned to sail in Penguins and raced a Thistle with her family. She taught for Offshore Sailing School in Florida and Tortola, BVI. When she returned to the Midwest, Sarah taught children and adults in Kenosha and Racine through their yacht clubs. She’s been active in all types of racing from local championships, skippering a Mirage 24, J/24 (all-woman crew), and a C&C 30, as well as long-distance races such as the Chicago-Mac, Port Huron-Mac, and the HOOK. She is a member of the US Sailing Safety at Sea Committee: Arthur B Hanson Award (Survivor Liaison and, recently certified US Sailing Keelboat Instructor.
|
 |
Kristin Pratt, a lifelong sailor, grew up in a passionate sailing family. She advanced from youth fleets to adult scow fleets, competing across the Midwest. After college, she expanded to keelboats such as Soling, J24, and Etchells. Teaching and racing in Milwaukee Bay brings her immense joy, especially when achieving podium finishes with teams like the All Women's crew on a Sydney 36 for the Queen's Cup Race, the Women's Sailing Series on a Sydney 36, and the Friday MAST Series on a Catalina 387. She is passionate about helping sailors of all levels, particularly those with physical limitations, find joy and confidence in the sport, promoting inclusivity for all.
|
|
Terri Schmidt enjoyed climbing aboard her grandfather’s Sunfish as a child, but didn’t learn to sail until taking her first class at the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center as a grandparent herself! Since then, her sailing has taken her on adventures she never could have predicted. After a few years of sailing the MCSC Ensigns and Solings, Terri became a Volunteer Instructor and then an Adult Basic Staff Instructor. She wants all of her students to feel as passionate about sailing as she does! She currently races on Milwaukee Bay aboard Cattywampus for Friday night MAST races. Terri doesn’t own a boat, but loves the social connections made and the sailing knowledge gained by crewing aboard other people’s boats. She also enjoys stargazing in quiet anchorages while chartering boats on the Great Lakes. Next up? The BVI, someday!
|
|
 |
Erica Trejo is a visionary leader and accomplished sailor dedicated to empowering women and girls in the sport. Raised in Chicago, she developed a passion for sailing and a commitment to excellence that led her team to victories in major regattas, including the 2023 J70 World Championship. Recognizing the underrepresentation of women in competitive sailing, Erica founded initiatives like Sail Her Dreams, a youth STEM sailing program, and Sailing Sisters, a women's racing team. Through these efforts, she fosters mentorship, teamwork, and leadership, breaking down barriers and inspiring a new generation of female sailors. |
 |
Clarissa Wertman Clarissa Wertman is coming up on her fifth season of sailboat racing on Lake Michigan. Originally from upstate New York, Clarissa took a single sailing course in college only to come back to it some 15 years later when she relocated to Milwaukee, WI. On her first "Crew Day" at the South Shore Yacht Club, she connected with some of the finest sailors in town and from there it was off to the races. A member of the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center, Clarissa was lucky enough to crew at the Ensign Nationals in Pentwater, MI in 2023 and to join the S/V Denis Sullivan as a guest crew member for their transit from Baltimore, MD to Charleston, SC in October 2024. In the offseason, you can find Clarissa visiting her "other home," St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where she is a blue water member of the St. Thomas Yacht Club and a race committee volunteer for the St. Thomas International Regatta.
|
|
