Sail America Industry Conference wraps up in Annapolis, MD
by Sail America 5 May 2025 06:33 PDT
April 22-24, 2025
Sail America Industry Conference 2025 © Sail America
The annual Sail America Industry Conference (SAIC) landed in Annapolis, MD, in mid-April, bringing the industry together for an engaging two days of camaraderie and learning.
Attendees hailed from around the country and enjoyed all that Annapolis has to offer. After a day of beautiful weather and variable wind conditions on Tuesday afternoon, the highly contested industry regatta was held at The Annapolis Sailing School, followed by an awards ceremony and opening reception for all attendees. We opened on Wednesday at the Annapolis Yacht Club Sailing Center with a presentation from our keynote speaker, Michelle Alexandrowicz of Engage. Her keynote, "Recruit and Retain Your Talent, Team Culture and Communication in the Workplace" was followed by Chris Watson of KVH, who spoke on "AI for Maritime: Applications, Ethics, and Guardrails for Use". The afternoon was filled with lively panels, including "Today's Business Environment: How Tariffs are Affecting your Business", "How to Bring Your Best to a Boat Show", and "Finance and Insurance". The day concluded with Kevin Williams, NMMA, on "How Discover Boating's Work on Behalf of Our Industry is Designed".
Following an exciting day of content, attendees moved to a reception and raffle with prizes generously donated by Sail America members and conference attendees. Our featured raffle item was a six-night, seven-day bareboat yacht charter aboard a 45' sailing monohull in the British Virgin Islands—a trip valued at up to $8,000!
The conference continued Thursday with a short morning of panels and presentations before attendees explored The Annapolis Spring Boat Show in the historic seaport of Annapolis.
The next Sail America Industry Conference, with dates and location, will be announced early this summer.
This year's conference was presented by YANMAR (VETUS, Maxwell, Flexofold, Smartgyro) with additional sponsor support from Shore Premier Finance, SailTime, National Marine Manufacturers Association, The Moorings, Jeanneau, Hilb Group New England, Madeplus, and Gill.