Sailing in Boston Harbor

[MABristol22]

Hi all. Looking forward to warmer weather, after all the snow. I bought my first sailboat two years ago, 1976 Bristol 22' that's small but a lot of fun. Currently it's at the BHS&M, which is safe and secure but very expensive for my simple taste ($5k/yr). Don't need electric & water hook up, so I'm looking for a mooring, now. I've read here about many YCs in the area, I'm hopeful one will let me join. They seem a bit remote (membership info on the website says fill out the application, find a sponsor, and send in money, then we'll put you on the wait list), but maybe I'll get lucky and find something in Eastie (Jeffries Point or Orient Heights) or Winthrop (Cottage Park or Winthrop Yacht Club). If anyone has advice on how to get on a YC waiting list, please advise. My plan is just to start telephone-ing, and pray for something by Spring. I started sailing in Boston Harbor at Piers Park Sailing in Eastie, five years ago, and it's still a great place, especially for kids. Looking forward to meeting other sailors, and finding a community. Safe journeys!

~ Yvette

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"I keep sailing on in this middle passage. I am sailing into the wind and the dark. But I am doing my best to keep my boat steady and my sails full."

- Arthur Ashe (1943-1993)

[JKCatalina310]

We keep our boat in Hingham. It costs us $110 a foot for the summer and $55 a foot for the winter. The best deal I have seen at our marina is $60 a foot for the marginal pier.

You might want to check some of the marinas. Marina Bay for instance has a less the 25 foot special that wasn't bad. I would recommend going to the boat show and see what people are advertising there for rates. Talk to the people and negotiate.

Hope to see you sailing on the Harbah this spring.

[MABristol22]

Oh my goodness, the south shore is so far away! Thanks JK, I will continue to look around at the marinas, especially while I'm "wait-listed" up here. There's a very small marina called Crystal Cove Marina in Winthrop that has their summer rates posted on the website at around $95/foot, which is well below the BHS&M at around $118/foot (which is cheaper than Admiral's Hill in Chelsea, or Constitution Wharf in Charlestown, but not by much).

BHS&M is great, nice people, nice views, but I don't use half the resources there (my sailboat doesn't even need gas but once a year, if that). They offer a "marginal pier" too, but the boat has to be under 20 feet, which I'm just over (length on the water line doesn't count, ha).

Marina Bay in Boston Harbor looks cool. I'll try to stop over there and check it out. Looks way bigger than anything in Eastie or Winthrop! I'm kindof "in the channel" here, and there's not a lot of room for the marinas, especially with all the tankers these days. The way Boston is laid out, I guess I'm on the north shore, and Dorchester is about as far south as I can get easily. I did look at Wollaston YC, and the Quincy shore is beautiful, but I'm going to hold out for something closer to home. Us city folk like to sail, too, don't ya know.

On a side note: the New England Boat Show is a big deal around here, isn't it?! I haven't gone in years past because my sailboat is 35 years old and I'm not interested in the high end, so much. I'm looking forward to it this year (Feb 26 thru Mar 6, 2011). Seems there's a lot of networking there, and now that I've got a couple years of sailing in the harbor down, I'm more interested in the sailing communities, too.

Anyway, I see some folks are out, even in winter!! My Bristol is in the water, but I think it's time to brush off snow, before the next storm hits this week (what?! 22 inches of MORE snow? No way. sigh).

Dreaming of warmer weather.....