Tampa Bay · Sarasota
Community sailing club on the widest part of Sarasota Bay. Grew out of the Sarasota Yacht Club's youth program in the late 1930s by sailors who couldn't afford the YC dues; chartered independently 1947 after a wartime hiatus.
The Squadron's longest-running invitational regatta, sailed on Sarasota Bay since 1946.
Second annual poker run at the Squadron on Labor Day Monday, capping the Labor Day Regatta weekend.
NACRA 15 Youth World Qualifier
Youth catamaran qualifier for the Nacra 15 class, run with Sarasota Youth Sailing on Sarasota Bay.
Invitational multihull regatta on Sarasota Bay.
Invitational memorial regatta on Sarasota Bay.
Opening event of the Squadron's Viper 640 winter series on Sarasota Bay.
Second event of the Squadron's Viper 640 winter series on Sarasota Bay.
Sarasota Bay Multihull Regatta
Multi-day multihull regatta hosted by the Squadron on Sarasota Bay.
Final event of the Squadron's Viper 640 winter series on Sarasota Bay.
E Scow class midwinter championship on Sarasota Bay; practice race on the opening day.
Spring invitational regatta weekend at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron.
Melges 15 fleet regatta on Sarasota Bay.
Casual weekly evening racing out of the Squadron on Sarasota Bay.
Named club regattas (Great Pumpkin, Drumstick, Commodore's Cup, Snowbird, Cherry Pie, Pot O'Gold), dated on the season schedule PDF.
The Squadron sits on Ken Thompson Parkway out on City Island, with Sarasota Bay on one side and New Pass (and the Gulf beyond it) a short reach away. That position is why the racing works: flat bay water for one-design starts, and open water within reach when a fleet wants it.
The fleet list is the real measure of the place. Alongside PHRF handicap racing there are Flying Scots, Melges 15s, MC-Scows, E-Scows, American 18s, and Sunfish Fleet 154, a numbered, chartered class fleet rather than a handful of boats that happen to be the same shape. Seven active classes on one bay is a lot of starts to organize, and it is the kind of depth that takes decades to build and a season of neglect to lose.
Youth sailing runs through Sarasota Youth Sailing, which the Squadron describes as covering the whole span “from starting up to coaching at the highest levels of junior sailing”: beginners through the national junior circuit, and then the coaches those sailors go on to become.
For adults starting out, the Squadron keeps certified instructors and a fleet to learn on, so you do not need to arrive owning anything. That, and the open membership, is the difference between this and the private clubs across the water. The Squadron was founded by sailors who could not afford those dues, and it has stayed that kind of place.
Sarasota Sailing Squadron is open to the public: no member sponsorship required to take part. Class schedules, program fees, and any membership or annual-pass options are posted on its website.
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