Lessons
(Boat School)

Beginners are welcome! Our instruction system is intended to allow students to learn at their own pace, on whatever schedule is convenient.

We offer sailboat lessons to our members every Saturday between 9 AM and noon, May through November. You may begin attending at any time, since lessons are taught on an individual basis.

Boat school includes on-the-water lessons on a boat and shore side lectures as needed. No reservations or advance notice are required, just show up anytime Saturday morning and wait for your turn.

We also offer advanced sailing clinics throughout the season, usually on Saturday afternoons.

Shore School

We hold weekly lectures on a variety of beginner and advanced sailing topics. Check our calendar to find out what subjects will be covered.

Lectures are held on Thursdays at 7 PM in Room 335 of West Hall on UM Main Campus from May through October.

Enter through the north entrance; see this map for details.

You may begin attending at any time, since most lectures do not require previous knowledge. Lectures are held monthly over the winter.

Racing

The club holds several formal regattas during the sailing season, and informal intra-club racing every Sunday morning (10:00am-2pm) and Wednesday evenings (6:30-sunset).

We also offer beginner and advanced racing clinics throughout the season, mainly on Saturdays.

We welcome people with all skill levels. You may begin attending at any time for informal weekly racing. No pre-registration is needed, just show up and ask who needs crew.

If you have never raced before, please come to the club at 10am any Sunday for brief on-shore instruction.

Please refer to our Regattas page for more information on our regattas, including registration.

Undergraduate students at the University of Michigan can join the Intercollegiate Racing Team and sail against other schools, in regattas all over the country during the school year.

Open Sailing

The club is open, weather permitting, all day every Saturday and Sunday from April through October, and weekday evenings after 6:30pm during the summer. The boats are available to all members on a first-come, first-served basis, except during instruction and racing.

In order to ensure the safety of everyone using club facilities, we maintain a ratings system for members. No boat may be sailed without a rated member aboard without explicit permission of a club skipper.

Ratings are a guide to personal progress as well as a means of regulating the use of club boats. A crew, helm, or skipper rating represents an elementary, intermediate, or advanced level of small-boat seamanship.

You can earn a rating by participating in the instruction program on Saturdays. You can sail without a rating if you can convince a skipper that you have the appropriate skills.

Other Activities

Potluck picnics and barbecues, canoing and kayaking, frisbee, croquet, and bocce ball on the lawn, campouts at the club, night sailing, evening parties, movie nights, trips to the local bars and restaurants, and lots of fun!