Partnerships & AI top agenda for Sail America Industry Conference
Doug Henschen, writer and volunteer member of Sail America, discusses the opportunities coming up at the Sail America Industry Conference (SAIC), scheduled for 25-26 March in Newport, Rhode Island.
The two main themes on the agenda are forging new partnerships and harnessing artificial intelligence (AI).
Sail America is backed by more than 70 sailing-oriented member organisations, including brokerages, sales reps, equipment manufacturers, boat manufacturers, sail makers, publications and more. Rhodes Island-based trade group The Warren is tapping one of those supporting members, US Sailing, to present SAIC’s opening keynote on ‘How the industry can sell the sizzle of sailing‘.
US Sailing runs the US Olympic Sailing Team and is the governing body of sail racing rules in the United States. Sail America is hoping a deeper partnership with the organisation will help to promote the sailing industry at large, says Adam Cove, a board member and current president of Sail America.
“US Sailing’s chief operating officer, Andrew Clouston, is on our board, so it will be very easy for the two groups to work together,” says Cove, who is also the co-owner and CEO of recently acquired Edson Pumps. “Sarah Hawkins of US Sailing will give us an update on what’s happening with the organisation’s mission and how they’re going to be supporting sailing. They want to grow the sport and make racing more accessible with support for instructors and lessons.”
Continuing on the theme of forging partnerships, Aaron Porter, editor, Professional Boat Builder, will present at SAIC on ‘Building a team, building S/V Ouzel‘, an account of how regional and global partnerships came together to support the construction of a superyacht in New England.
Another presenter, Adam Witham, a professor of entrepreneurship, economic growth and development at Salve Regina University, in Newport, will discuss ‘How building cross-industry ties is good for business.”
How can AI help the sailing industry?
Plenty of businesses see promise in AI, but Cove says SAIC speakers will look at “the pitfalls as well as the advantages. We need to be careful and aware of when to use it and when not to use AI.”
In a presentation on “AI at work in sailing: the technical side,” Adam Murphy, VP of product management at Raymarine/FLIR will discuss how AI and computer algorithms are being applied on the water, from augmented reality navigation to advanced imaging systems.
Day two at SAIC will kick off with the keynote ‘From AEO to ChatGPT: the new search for customers’. Presented by Josie Tucci, vice president of marketing and North American general manager for RightBoat, the talk will address how AI-powered search and discovery tools are reshaping the ways customers find boats and services and what marine businesses must do to stay visible.
Sail America Focuses on ROI
The Sail American Industry Conference has evolved in recent years, with the format shortened from three days down to two and more emphasis placed on ensuring a return on investment for attendees, according to Cove. “We used to have one day for a fun event, like mini golf or a regatta, but we’re skipping that this year, mostly because it’s March in Newport,” says Cove. “We can’t promise good weather, but we think the format will help maximise everyone’s investment of time.”
Sail America will also share a ‘Sailing and recreation by the numbers’ quarterly report at SAIC, detailing the latest state of the industry. It’s an update on sales and consumer data that the trade group previously only reported annually.
Cove (pictured left) says: “During last year’s Sail America Industry Conference we took recommendations from our members, and one of the things on their wish list was more timely data on the state of the industry. So this year we’re going to start sharing our economic outlook data in quarterly reports.”
Another outcome of last year’s SAIC was a ‘Start Sailing Now‘ pilot programme aimed at introducing the sport to potential new customers. Patterned after the ‘First sail’ workshops offered at the Annapolis Sailboat Show, Start Sailing Now was launched at last year’s Chicago International Boat Show in August, combining a short classroom session with an instructional session on the water.
Sponsored by SailTime (the fractional boat ownership franchise), Yanmar, and Superior Charters, the Start Sailing Now programme took six people out at a time with a captain on a 35ft boat provided by SailTime. The program ran for three days during the show and nearly 70 people participated.
Sail America is looking to add more sponsors and shows and scale up the Start Sailing Now program in 2026. “If we had three boats, all of a sudden you can have 200-plus people go out sailing,” says Cove. “These are highly valuable leads for the industry.”
Sail America is powered by the volunteer efforts of its members and member organisations. The trade group itself has a low profile, but Cove says Sail America’s power is in the networking and collective effort and influence members can bring to bear.
“When you start to add all the followers for Sail America members—all of us together— we can have quite a massive impact,” says Cove.
For those interested in joining Sail America or in supporting Start Sailing Now programmes in 2026, visit the Sail America website.
Images courtesy of Sail America
