Please select your home edition
Edition
Selden 2020 - LEADERBOARD

Jerelyn Biehl honored with 2024 BoatUS/NWSA Leadership in Women's Sailing Award

by BoatUS 14 Jun 2024 02:52 AEST
Jerelyn Biehl, commodore of San Diego Yacht Club, on Opening Day 2019 © BoatUS

The youngest of three children, Jerelyn Biehl was born into a sailing family. She learned sailing from her parents and as a teenager absorbed all things boating at her father's marine store. She shared sailing with kids during summers in high school and college. After competing for the University of California, Los Angeles Sailing Team, she met her husband on the racecourse. They fostered a love of sailing in their sons, Graham (a two-time Olympian) and Cameron (a world champion).

At the 2024 National Women's Sailing Conference held at the Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans, Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) and the National Women's Sailing Association (NWSA) honored Biehl with the Leadership in Women’s Sailing Award, recognizing her record of achievement in inspiring, educating and enriching the lives of women through sailing.

Biehl has supported women's and girls' sailing for more than 40 years at the local, national and international levels. Recognizing the influence of role models, she served as a board member of the California International Sailing Association (CISA), which held an annual advanced racing clinic. She and CISA worked hard to ensure there were female coaches and instructors to encourage and teach high-level sailing skills to girls.

Biehl worked to create more recognition and support for girls' racing in the 29er class, which eventually led to a change in the World Sailing requirements for women's Sailing World Championships, which had been too restrictive. Around the same time, the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), now World Sailing, was looking for a women's skiff to complement the men's skiff in the Olympics. Biehl and a small team worked tirelessly to make this happen.

In 2019, as the second female commodore of the San Diego Yacht Club, Biehl made a concerted effort to promote women's involvement that year. The majority of club committees were chaired by women, and she introduced a "Sail with the Commodore" series that helped train women who had never raced or had little racing experience. They were given working roles on boats to build their sailing skills. The program also trained and encouraged 130 women to take their boats to Catalina Island for the club's first women's cruise.

She was also involved with the 49erFX Class Association, served as CISA president and board member, was on the US Sailing Olympic Sailing Committee, and was US Sailing interim vice president.

"Jerelyn Biehl has taken on roles that assisted in assuring quality education and fairness in racing, with the goal of attracting more women to the variety of competitive Olympic classes or getting recreational boaters to stretch their comfort zone," noted NWSA president Debby Grimm.

The 2024 BoatUS/NWSA Leadership in Sailing Award is only one in a long list of recognitions Biehl has received, including a 2022 induction into the International Snipe Class Hall of Fame, the 2002 US Sailing One Design Leadership Award, the 2023 Peggy Slater Memorial Award of the Southern California Yachting Association, and two San Diego Association of Yacht Clubs awards.

Biehl continues her positions as vice commodore of San Diego Association of Yacht Clubs, SDYC Sailing Foundation Board president, and CISA board member. She resides in San Diego, California.

Upon notification of the award, Biehl said, "I can't express how thankful I am to have had all the volunteers and fellow women sailors with me over these years to make such progress. We finally have 50/50 representation in sailing in the Olympics! I'm very grateful for the people who surrounded and supported me, including my parents and family, the members of San Diego Yacht Club, and many friends I've had the pleasure to race and work with."

For information on past award recipients, visit womensailing.org/leadership-in-womens-sailing-award.

Related Articles

Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup Day 1
Despite hurdles, familiar faces surge to the fore With a punchy 15-knot easterly and six-foot seas, the first day of the ninth edition of the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup was a trial by fire for the 20 all-amateur crews pursuing Corinthian yachting's most treasured prize. Posted today at 3:42 am
J/24 Worlds 2025 in Plymouth, UK Day 1
4 metre waves and gusts in excess of 30 knots 50 J24's from 12 countries (Argentina, Australia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, USA and the UK) descended upon Plymouth, UK for their five day World Championship. Posted today at 3:35 am
Globe40 and La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec
A look at the Globe40 and the La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec It's always an encouraging sign when a round-the-world race begins its second edition, especially when the steeds in question are approachable boats for most serious sailors. Posted on 9 Sep
35th Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup at Porto Cervo Day 2
Magic Carpet E, Jolt, Nice, H2O and Moat lead in their respective classes The second day of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup delivered excellent racing conditions for the fleet assembled in Porto Cervo, with north-westerly winds averaging 16 knots. Posted on 9 Sep
iQFOiL U23 Worlds at Portimão day 2
Today, attention once again turns to the unique race area in front of the Santa Catarina fortress. Yesterday, the opening day of the U23 World Championships set the tone for a high-level competition in Portimão. Strong northwesterly winds of 15-18 knots allowed the Race Committee to launch four Course Racing starts. Posted on 9 Sep
2025 Star Worlds at Split, Croatia Day 2
Negri and Lambertenghi win Day Two after tactical duel on the Adriatic The second day of racing at the 2025 Star World Championship in Split, Croatia, saw the full 101-boat fleet return to the water for Race 2 after a 90-minute wait ashore. Posted on 9 Sep
La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec Leg 1 Day 3
All That for This... While most people ashore were sitting down for lunch, a strange ballet was unfolding at sea off Dieppe. Carried by the rising tide in the Channel and with barely a breath of wind, the solo sailors struggled to escape the second course mark, Daffodils. Posted on 9 Sep
America's Cup: Running silent and deep, again.
A look at the flotsam that has surfaced as the Cup teams again go into deep and silent negotiation. A look at the state of the Cup - given the three weeks of silence since the hasty final Protocol signing. Previously a long deep dive by the teams has indicated that a lot of negotiation is underway. Here's what we've seen floating on the surface. Posted on 9 Sep
The Ocean Race Europe Leg 5 Day 3
Paprec Arkéa leads as new breeze sends IMOCA fleet speeding south Yoann Richomme's Paprec Arkéa team took two points for leading through the Leg 5 Scoring Gate ahead of Allagrande Mapei Racing. Posted on 9 Sep
Adventure Sport is moving much closer to audience
OnboardLive opens up new storytelling avenues for The Ocean Race A new innovative technology solution, OnboardLive©, is making it possible to experience adventure sports, including offshore sailing, live, and in high-definition broadcast quality, even from the most remote corners of the world. Posted on 9 Sep
Barton Marine Pipe GlandsHenri-Lloyd Dynamic RangesMRT AIS Man Overboard Beacons AUS / NZ