National Sailing Hall of Fame Honors

Redeeming great news! Two days following her April PAW memorial, Elizabeth “Sally” Helme ’75 was elected to the National Sailing Hall of Fame ... the fifth Princetonian so honored.

Sally’s commitment to serve the nation and the world, to preserve and transmit the cultural heritage of the past, for a meaningful life and career with high levels of service and civic engagement mirrors Princeton’s mission statement.

Since alumni having a passion for sailing, golf, or tennis spend their lives in service and civic engagement while still participating in their sport: Can Princeton better fulfill its mission by placing a higher priority on life sports, particularly since they are part of its cultural heritage, having founded them 90+ years ago?

David Brooks concludes in the Atlantic article “How the Ivy League Broke America” (11/14/24), “We want a meritocracy that will help each person identify, nurture, and pursue the ruling passion of their soul.”

Princeton Sailing has won 12 national championships, the last four being by Sally’s women’s team (’73-’76). To reclaim this Princeton cultural heritage, and help the team rise above its current 51st national rank, the athletic department can do much more to help the team, which is now restricted by “club sport” policies while competing on a full schedule vs. varsity teams like Yale and Harvard which are consistently top five nationally, not just Ivy League.

Amazingly, Princeton has 13 inductees in the Intercollegiate Sailing Hall of Fame vs. Harvard’s 11, Brown’s nine, USNA’s six, USCGA’s five, Yale’s three, and Dartmouth’s one.