2023 was a year to remember, presenting many big "firsts" in Modern Sailing's history. Throughout this year, we've come together as eager newcomers, seasoned skippers, and everything between. Diverse as our backgrounds may be, our shared commitment to ongoing education and simply enjoying the pleasures of skillful, artistic sailing has brought us together as a community.
Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to our students and members for sharing our passion for sailing and enabling Modern Sailing to offer a wide variety of opportunities for sailors of all stripes to explore the joys of sailing San Francisco Bay and beyond. Thank you!
Here is a look at some of our favorite highlights of the past year.
Member Awards and Achievements
In February, we recognized the previous year's most dedicated students and charterers with our 2022 Member Awards. Our Top Student was Christopher Dang and Richard Pon was our Top Charterer. For the first time, we thanked two club members for their extraordinary contributions to the club with the Ambassador Award - Kent Carter and Paolo Juvara. We also inducted 16 members into the Commodores Club.
In September, we graduated 4 new Club Skippers from our Club Skipper Clinic. Thank you to Regina Riordan, Rueben Dobbs, Christoper Dang and Richard Pon for joining our team of member Club Skippers and taking the lead on our Club Sails!
Modern Sailing and Inspire Sailing Merged
In March, Berkeley's Inspire Sailing merged with Modern Sailing, easing access for sailing students and club members to enjoy the widest variety of boats and sailing opportunities available in the Bay Area.
A Bunch of Boats Joined the Berkeley Fleet!
This year, the Berkeley location welcomed the addition of several exciting boats to its fleet - J/105 Chao Pescao in March, Bavaria 41 Moondance in May, Lagoon 40 catamaran Folie à Deux in June, J/88 Fly in July, and J/99 Mymble in November. These boats would become pivotal to the launching of some fantastic sailing programs in 2023.
Catalina 30 Sophia also moved from Sausalito to Berkeley in February. Later in the year, Chao Pescao moved across the Bay to facilitate Modern Sailing's Club Race Team program in Sausalito.
As Modern Sailing continues to grow and as we strive to expand our programs to meet the needs and ambitions of a diverse sailing community, our efforts to recruit more boats to join our fleet via our Yacht Management Services are ongoing.
Racing Program Leaps
In the realm of racing, 2023 was a huge year for Modern Sailing!
In January, two Modern Sailing boats raced in the 2023 Three Bridge Fiasco, Team Nirvana consisting of Captain Katie Cornetta and member/racer Barbara Briner, and Team Resolute with Captain Kira Maixner and Sausalito GM Phil Strause. Formally inviting a club member to join this race with one of our captains was a first, which would spark even more firsts for the Racing Program this year.
For the first time, Modern Sailing entered J/88 Fly in the September 2023 Rolex Big Boat Series, crewed by a hand-selected team of Modern Sailing racers. Racers were selected based on their past participation and contributions in our Racing Program.
Paolo Juvera, owner of Chao Pescao, also entered in the Rolex Big Boat Series, joined by his very own hand-picked crew of fellow Modern Sailing racers.
The Rolex Big Boat Series experience lead to the genesis of the Modern Sailing Club Race Team Program - another first! The Club Race Team program offers sailors a way to take their racing skills to the next level by being part of a cohesive racing crew aboard a competitive one-design racing boat.
Other New Sailing Programs and Opportunities
Launched in June, the Crew Corps is a group of Modern Sailing members who volunteer to help with crewing on Private Lessons, Custom Courses, and Private Fleet Rating Checkouts when the client (student or member) isn't able to bring crew of their own. Crew Corps volunteers support the development of their fellow members and students while enjoying cost-free time on the water.
Facilitated by the addition of Moon Dance and Folie á Deux to its fleet, Modern Sailing Berkeley ran its first ASA 104, Bareboat Cruising and ASA 114, Catamaran Cruising courses this year.
Another first! Lead by Captain Bill Moreland, we ran an ASA 106, Advanced Coastal Cruising in the Caribbean in partnership with Modern Sailing instructor Captain Scott Bonder. The course was held aboard Wild Rumpus, Scott's 53' Xquisite catamaran. We love being able to provide invigorating sailing opportunities and novel destinations to our students and members, so we are offering this course again in 2024 - enrollment is open now!
We were also extremely excited to reintroduce ASA 108, Offshore Passagemaking to our advanced students in 2023. This October marked our first ASA 108 in a decade.
Pacific Coast Expeditions and Global Destinations
After a delightful flotilla on the Italian Amalfi Coast in 2022, our first Global Destinations trip following the pandemic, our Global Destinations team went on a roll! 2023 was a busy year with the September Sail Croatia 2023 flotilla successfully brought to fruition and fully booking our upcoming Windward Islands of the Caribbean 2024 flotilla. The roll continues with the Tahiti and the Society Islands of French Polynesia flotilla, which was announced in December. Enrollment for the Tahiti flotilla opens in February 2024.
In 2023, many Modern sailors were eager to explore the waters beyond the Golden Gate. Our Farallones Day Trips and Half Moon Bay Trips were in high demand! A whopping nine Farallones Day Trips sailed out onto the Pacific in 2023, fully booked almost every time. Four fully booked and waitlisted Half Moon Bay Trips also sailed down and up the coast, a new record for Modern Sailing.
Out and About in the Community
This year, Modern Sailing representatives had fun getting out into the Bay Area community, making new friends, and gabbing about our favorite subject. Our participation in four events this year may have set a new record for us. To all of you who visited with us at our booth - thanks for stopping by! We truly enjoyed visiting with past and present students and members and hearing about your favorite memories and experiences with Modern Sailing. We equally enjoyed meeting those interested in learning to sail and helping them discover a world of sailing opportunities available right here at home in the Bay Area.
In April, we were happy to join Svendsen's second annual Spring Fling Boat Show in Alameda. In May, the rain couldn't dampen our enthusiasm for being present at the revived Pacific Sail and Power Boat Show in Redwood City. In October, our CEO Leigh Hunt and Berkeley GM Mark Showalter chatted up the local business community at the Berkeley Today and Tomorrow Event. To cap it off, we were thrilled to be a part of the Sausalito Boat Show's inaugural event.
What did our social media followers "like" the most in 2023?
MODERN SAILING INSTAGRAM
2023's #1 Most Liked Instagram Post:
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#3 Most Liked on Instagram:
MODERN SAILING FACEBOOK
2023's #1 Most Liked Facebook Post:
#2 Most Liked on Facebook:
#3 Most Liked on Facebook:
Following us on Facebook and Instagram is the perfect way to stay current with all the latest Modern Sailing news and articles. We love to see you out there having a great time sailing, so we'll love it if you tag us when you post your sailing photos.
Thank you again to everyone who helped make 2023 an incredible year. We're so excited for the opportunities and adventures that 2024 will bring!
