It’s easy … submit your membership form, release form, and dues to the Club’s Membership Chair. At this time, dues must be paid by check.

You must be a Club member to join a Club trip. See Members and Experience a Trip to learn more.

The Club typically has 5 to 7 trips per year, which includes a winter trip to someplace warm, and usually a summer trip to someplace cool. We also run several weekend trips on the Chesapeake Bay. Visit This Year's Trips to learn about our current offerings. You can also read about previous trips on the Trip Log Book.

Absolutely! Each spring the Club has two training sessions, On Land Training (OLT) and On Water Training (OWT). OLT addresses topics for which a boat is not needed such as Communications, Safety, Rules of the Road, and so on. OWT is a hands-on experience covering topics on the water on a boat. These topics include boat handling under power and sail, points of sail and sail trim, anchoring, etc. Additionally, every Club trip is a learning experience and our skippers and first mates love to share their knowledge with their crews. Visit the Training page for more information.

Probably not. Boat charter companies have varied cancellation policies that impact the Club’s cancellation policy; we usually must cancel boats 45 days, or sometimes even 90 days, before the start of the charter to avoid paying the full charter price. However, if we find a replacement for you, the trip leader may be able to allow a full refund less a $25 fee.

It happens to the best of us. Active members of the Club who suffer from mal de mer use various strategies and remedies. Some rely on scopolamine patches, available by prescription. Some use over the counter motion sickness medications such as Dramamine. Some rely on special wrist bands that use acupressure. No medication will make you feel better if you’re already ill, so if you suspect you’ll get sick, apply the patch or take the medication before boarding the boat. Rest assured that if you do get sick while we’re sailing, your crew mates will do what they can to make you comfortable, and most people recover quickly once the boat is anchored, moored, or docked.

First off, come sail with us. The Club has processes for members to become first mates and skippers that require sailing experiences on our trips.

Being an officer in The Sailing Club goes beyond being able to set sails and navigate a course. We ask our officers to work well with people of all skill and capability levels. Our officers must work with one another to sail in a flotilla, not as a group of boats that happen to be in the same waters. Our officers are also teachers for any crew who wants to learn.

If that sounds good to you, we want you! Visit the Training page for more information.

The Sailing Club Board of Trustees approves our trips and non-sailing activities. Trips and social events are proposed and run by members. We have guidelines for how trips and events are run to help any member who volunteers succeed. Learn more on these pages about proposing and running a trip, or about getting involved with social activities.

Note that everyone involved is a volunteer.

Children under 18 years old are allowed on Club trips. They must be accompanied by an adult Club member. All other participants on the boat to which they are assigned must agree to sail with the minor. Minors are required to wear a lifejacket at al times except when below deck.

Minors do not receive a discount on the trip price unless they will share a berth with their accompanying adult. Note that a "berth" is not a "cabin." On most boats we charter, a cabin contains two berths.

There is a rigorous qualification process to become a skipper or a first mate, including demonstrated skills and knowledge, observed and documented on at least two trips. Consequently, our skippers and first mates are highly experienced sailors. They are also very willing to help develop newer sailors.

Absolutely!

The Club welcomes members of all skill levels. When you come on board, your skipper and first mate will help you learn as you sail. Check out the trip announcements.

The Sailing Club welcomes all members, regardless of sailing experience. Our skippers and first mates make an effort to help inexperienced members learn as we sail. And members who prefer to contribute in other ways (preparing meals, cleaning up after meals, etc.) while we sail, are also welcome.

The Club board prices our trips to be as close to "at cost" as possible. Trip prices include the boat charter fees, additional costs for such amenities as slip or mooring fees, and a portion of our overhead fees for things like this website.

Each trip's price is unique to that trip based on all these factors. The trip announcements include pricing for each trip.

The Sailing Club is proud of its impeccable safety record. Skippers and First Mates are promoted based on demonstrated skills including safety best practices.

The Club's standard practices includes careful inspection of every boat we charter before we leave the dock. This includes verifying safety equipment.

At the start of each trip, the skipper reviews the location and use of all safety equipment.

For overnight trips we charter boats with bunks to accommodate at least six people. You can read more on Experience a Trip.

While many sailors sail with their pets or live on board with them, introducing your pet to life on a small boat with five strangers for a few days is a recipe for disaster.

And the risk to your pet aside, the comfort of your fellow sailors is our primary concern. They may have allergies, and may even be uncomfortable with animals.

We typically charter boats in the 38 to 45 foot range. Read more on Experience a Trip.

Generally, expect to share. Most boats are configured with two cabins and two berths in the main salon. Conditions permitting, sleeping in the cockpit is also acceptable. For more information see Experience a Trip.

No. The Sailing Club organizes charter sailing trips for its members. We do not offer formal sailing instructions.

However, we do emphasize learning and our skippers, first mates, and experienced members are always willing to offer on-the-spot instruction for specific situations.

Trips operate under most weather conditions.

Extreme conditions, such as severe storms, can dictate a need to cancel a trip. If a trip is cancelled, it is not rescheduled, and confirmed participants receive a full refund.

The Sailing Club is not a yacht club nor a boating club. We do not have reciprocity with such organizations because we cannot offer services to their members.

A monohull typically has six people. A catamaran may have six, seven, or eight depending on the size.

The Sailing Club has a rigorous certification process for skippers and first mates. We very rarely hire captains, and only in cases where there is no other way to sail in an amazing location.

The Sailing Club sails in the Chesapeake Bay on a regular basis, but we have run trips in New England, Long Island Sound, Florida (Gulf Coast and Keys), the Great Lakes, California, British Columbia, Hawaii, the Caribbean and Europe. Read about our past trips to such destinations in our Trip Log Book.

Specific needs are handled on a case-by-case basis. You can ask the leader of a trip to have a private conversation about your abilities to explore the feasibility. The boats we charter are not handicapped enabled, but that does not rule out your participation.

The Sailing Club's primary concern is always the safety and comfort of everyone on board.

The skippers for the trip allocate the confirmed participants to the boats based on sailing skill, non-sailing skill (e.g., cooking), and participant preferences.

The trip sign-up process includes an opportunity for you to specify if there are individuals you specifically would like to sail with. Not all such requests can always be honored, as the primary concern is sufficient skill on every boat.