Pensacola Yacht Club women win Knost Ladies Championship after 53 years

by Pensacola Yacht Club 21 Aug 06:07 PDT August 8-9, 2026

Fifty-three years is a long time to wait for a championship. For the women of Pensacola Yacht Club (PYC), it was worth the wait.

PYC's women's sailing team has captured the 89th annual Gulf Yachting Association Knost Ladies Championship, bringing the Knost Perpetual Trophy back to Pensacola for the first time since the club won three consecutive championships in 1971, 1972 and 1973.

This year's championship was held Aug. 8-9 in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where women representing yacht clubs from across the Gulf Coast competed in one of the region's most prestigious women's sailing championships.

The winning PYC team included Katy Morgan and Mallory Edwards, along with three members of the military community: Celia Houston, a U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduate and student pilot; and U.S. Naval Academy graduates Aubin Hattendorf and Linnea Forsberg, both student Naval Flight Officers (NFOs).

The team was coached by Mike Levert and Hamrick Morgan. Levert, a sailor with national-level experience in the Melges-15, the boat used in the Knost, was instrumental in preparing the team for the championship. Morgan, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and Naval Aviator based at NAS Pensacola, is the husband of team captain Katy Morgan.

For PYC, the victory represents far more than a trophy. It continues a sailing tradition that stretches back generations while highlighting the unique connection between Naval Academy sailing, Naval Aviation and Pensacola's growing reputation as a premier sailing destination.

A championship nearly nine decades in the making

The Knost Championship traces its roots to 1938, when an invitational all-women's regatta was established in Pass Christian. The event later became a Gulf Yachting Association championship and one of the organization's enduring sailing traditions.

Pensacola Yacht Club's name first appeared on the Knost Perpetual Trophy in 1971. The PYC women's team won again in 1972 and completed a three-year championship run in 1973.

Then came the wait.

For 53 years, the Knost Trophy remained just out of reach for the PYC women's team.

That changed in 2026.

"This is one of those accomplishments that connects generations of sailors," said PYC Vice Commodore Susan Domagala, leader of the club's women's sailing program. "There are women who sailed for Pensacola Yacht Club more than 50 years ago whose names are still part of this championship's history. Now our current team has added another chapter."

Pensacola: a city built for sailing

It is fitting that a championship steeped in Gulf Coast sailing history is returning to Pensacola.

Protected from the Gulf of Mexico by Santa Rosa Island and Perdido Key, Pensacola Bay offers a unique combination of protected waters, consistent winds and expansive racing areas. Those conditions have long made the bay an exceptional setting for sailing and helped Pensacola emerge as a destination for some of the highest levels of competitive sailing.

In January 2026, American Magic opened its High-Performance Center at the Port of Pensacola, establishing a permanent home for the America's Cup team and an elite sailing and innovation center. The facility was also designated as the official North American training base for SailGP teams, with year-round training beginning in September 2026.

American Magic's decision to establish a permanent base in Pensacola followed the team's previous experience training on Pensacola Bay, where the team cited the area's geography, wind conditions and protected waters as major advantages for high-performance sailing.

In March, the 2026 International WASZP Games were hosted by PYC on Pensacola Bay, bringing sailors from around the world to compete in high-performance foiling boats.

Together, these developments have helped establish Pensacola as more than a recreational sailing destination. The city is becoming a hub for elite racing, innovation, athlete development, and the future of the sport.

At the center of that sailing community is Pensacola Yacht Club.

A team with a navy connection

This year's Knost team brings a distinctive connection between competitive sailing, the nation's service academies, and Naval Aviation.

Aubin Hattendorf and Linnea Forsberg are U.S. Naval Academy graduates and student Naval Flight Officers. Celia Houston, a U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduate, is a student pilot. All three are currently stationed in the Pensacola area.

Their connection to PYC began with Friends of Navy Sailing (FONS), an organization dedicated to supporting service academy sailors, as undergraduates and thereafter, while serving as officers. FONS was founded by retired Navy Capt. Mark 'Stick' Converse, who, like all USN, USMC and USCG aviators, began his active-duty flying career in Pensacola.

"FONS is extremely pleased to partner with Pensacola Yacht Club in a mutually supportive relationship," said Converse. "PYC is our primary pathfinder for the expansion of our global FONS Network, establishing high standards for sailing organizations in other key USN and USMC locations around the world to emulate. Key elements of this successful pathfinding include temporary memberships, multiple racing opportunities, and tight collaboration with our FONS Site Lead, currently Hamrick Morgan."

For sailors Hattendorf, Forsberg and Houston, their service-academy sailing traditions have followed them to Pensacola as they pursue careers in military aviation. Their coach, Hamrick Morgan, shares that connection. A Naval Academy graduate and Naval Aviator based at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Morgan brought both his sailing and aviation experience to the team's Knost campaign.

The connection is particularly fitting in a city where sailing and Naval Aviation have shared a relationship for generations. Pensacola is home to Naval Air Station Pensacola, the "Cradle of Naval Aviation," and the world-renowned U.S. Navy Blue Angels. The base serves as the headquarters for the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, which operates from Forrest Sherman Field in Pensacola.

The teamwork, precision, communication, and adaptability required in competitive sailing also have a natural parallel in Naval Aviation.

Pensacola Yacht Club created the U.S. Service Academy Membership Program to provide temporary memberships to service academy graduates undergoing flight training in the Pensacola area. Recent participants have included alumni of the U.S. Naval Academy and U.S. Coast Guard Academy intercollegiate sailing teams. In recognition of the program's success, FONS honored PYC last year for its leadership in helping service academy graduates remain engaged in the sport, supporting the services' objective of retaining talented young officers.

For this year's team, that relationship bridges the sailing traditions they developed at their respective service academies and the aviation careers they are now pursuing in Pensacola.

"This is what makes Pensacola such a special place for sailors," Domagala said. "You have this incredible sailing community, you have Naval Aviation all around us, and you have young officers coming here from the Naval Academy and other service academies. We get the opportunity to welcome them into our club and keep them connected to a sport they love."

Carrying forward a legacy

The Knost victory is the latest achievement in a long competitive sailing history for Pensacola Yacht Club.

PYC is a charter member of the Gulf Yachting Association and a member of US Sailing. The club supports competitive sailing, youth sailing, cruising and offshore racing, and has hosted major national and international sailing championships.

The Knost victory adds another important accomplishment to that legacy. But perhaps its greatest significance is the connection between the women who sailed for PYC more than half a century ago and the women sailing for the club today.

The 1971, 1972 and 1973 championship teams established a legacy.

The 2026 team brought it back.

And this year's team, representing both the civilian sailing community and the nation's service academies, carried that legacy across the finish line.

"Fifty-three years is a long time," Domagala said. "We are incredibly proud that this group of women gets to be the team that finally brings the Knost championship back to Pensacola."