Cal Sailing Club

What Cal Sailing Club does

Cal Sailing Club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public benefit corporation operating since its founding as a community sailing and windsurfing organization at the Berkeley Marina on San Francisco Bay. It delivers dinghy sailing, windsurfing, and keelboat instruction through a progressive rating system from novice to senior levels, supplemented by racing, cruising, and youth programs. The organization also runs roughly ten Open House events annually that provide free introductory sailboat rides to the public, with individual events delivering between roughly 217 and 432 rides.

The club operates from a single Berkeley waterfront location under a municipal partnership with the City of Berkeley, supported by an annual grant from the California Department of Boating and Waterways (Parks & Recreation) for safe-boating education. Core technology is limited to a self-operated WeeWX weather station integrated with Weatherflow Tempest Websocket feeds, webcams, and tide predictions to drive club open/close scheduling. Day-to-day commerce runs on commodity tooling including PayPal, Stripe, and Givebutter for payments, Amazon SES for email, and Google Analytics for traffic monitoring.

The business model combines subscription membership dues (regular, student/senior, family, and minor tiers priced $1–$450 annually), tax-deductible donations, and a work-for-membership program that lets members exchange 10–38 volunteer hours annually for dues. The paid workforce is only 6 employees; operations are delivered primarily by volunteer instructors, day leaders, port captains, and committee members. Customer concentration is diffuse across roughly 1,000+ individual members and broader public participation through Open Houses and youth outreach, with no enterprise anchor customers.

Name

Cal Sailing Club

Legal name

Cal Sailing Club

Website

https://cal-sailing.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cal Sailing Club is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit sailing and windsurfing club at Berkeley Marina that delivers dinghy, windsurfing, and keelboat instruction, racing, cruising, and youth programs to community members and the general public through membership dues, donations, and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recreational Sailing and Windsurfing Club Services

NAICS

Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (71394), Sports and Recreation Instruction (61162)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Sailing Experiences (Lessons, Regattas, Day Sails) (THAJAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Surf, Kitesurf & Wind Sports Adventures (THAJABAK), Surfing & Kitesurfing Experiences (Lessons, Camps) (THAJAJAJ)

Keywords

• Community sailing lessons
• Windsurfing instruction
• Sailing club membership
• Dinghy sailing programs
• Recreational boating education

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual and quarterly membership fees providing access to club facilities, boats, windsurfing equipment, and lessons. Membership plans range from 3-month to annual terms with different pricing for students/seniors versus regular members.
2. Donations and Grants: Tax-deductible donations from members and supporters. The club receives annual grants from the California Department of Boating and Waterways (Parks & Recreation) for teaching safe boating programs.
3. Work-for-Membership Program: Members can exchange volunteer work hours for membership, providing labor for club operations while reducing cash requirements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cal Sailing Club is a volunteer-run, nonprofit community sailing and windsurfing club located at the Berkeley Marina on San Francisco Bay. It sells memberships that grant access to club facilities, sailing dinghies, windsurfing equipment, keelboats, and instructional programs ranging from novice to senior ratings, supplemented by open house public events and youth outreach programs.

Product overview

Cal Sailing Club is a volunteer-run community sailing and windsurfing nonprofit offering a comprehensive suite of instructional programs and recreational activities. The organization operates from Berkeley Marina as a 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation. Core offerings include dinghy sailing lessons (using 420s, JY-15s, Toura, and Venture dinghies), windsurfing instruction, and keelboat instruction, each with progressive rating systems from novice through senior levels. Specialized programs include Dinghy Fast Track for accelerated learning, Advanced Dinghy classes covering boat handling and racing tactics, Windsurfing Fast Track for certification, and a Racing Program with Sunday races and study groups. The club also offers a Cruising Program for certified skippers, Open House introductory sails for public outreach, and Youth Programs partnering with local schools. Additional services include kayak and SUP rentals, a member blog with educational content, and real-time weather/tides information. Members can pay via standard memberships or volunteer work hours.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dinghy Sailing Lessons Instruction in small sailing boats including 420s, JY-15s, Toura, and Venture dinghies. Programs include Novice, Junior, and Senior ratings with progression through skills like small circles, capsize recovery, crew overboard, slow sailing, trapezing, and gennaker use.
• Windsurfing Lessons Instruction in windsurfing (sailboarding) with novice lessons starting on Saturdays and Sundays. Includes progressive ratings from novice through senior windsurfer, with fast track programs available.
• Keelboat Instruction Year-round keelboat lessons, often on Wednesday evenings, preparing students for advanced training necessary for the keelboat senior rating. Requires Junior Skipper certification to enroll.
• Dinghy Fast Track Intensive multi-day program for rapid progression to Junior dinghy rating. Typically runs for one week during summer months with hands-on instruction and testing.
• Advanced Dinghy Program Senior-level skills training held Monday evenings from early May through August. Covers boat handling, sail trimming, racing tactics, and advanced maneuvers including rudderless sailing.
• Windsurfing Fast Track Multi-weekend intensive program for windsurfing certification, with students earning Junior windsurfing ratings after completing tack, gybe, and up/downwind sailing skills.
• Racing Program Dinghy racing nearly every Sunday during summer. No prior racing experience required. Includes racing study groups, rules training, and tactics classes.
• Cruising Program Keelboat cruises to destinations including Angel Island, Treasure Island, and Clipper Cove. Requires skipper certification and includes overnight camping options.
• Open House Public Sailing Rides Monthly introductory sailing experiences for the public offering free sailboat rides. Held nearly every Sunday with community events including Berkeley Bay Festival participation.
• Youth Sailing Programs Learn-to-sail clinics for youth from nearby schools and community organizations, providing affordable access to water activities for underserved and minority youth.
• Membership Subscriptions Annual memberships ($450/year for regular, $450/year for student/senior) or 3-month memberships ($150/$119). Alternative payment through volunteer work hours (38 hours annually or 12 hours for 3 months). Minor memberships available for those under 18.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 1,000 members served
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• City of BerkeleycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal partner supporting community access to waterfront recreation. The club operates at Berkeley Marina under city oversight.
• Berkeley and Albany Fire DepartmentsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSC partners with local fire departments to train rescue swimmers, sending fleet out for training exercises where sailors simulate scenarios for emergency responders.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Corinthian Yacht Club: Berkeley-based sailing and yacht club operating on San Francisco Bay, offering sailing instruction, racing, and youth programs. Closely comparable community sailing operation in the same immediate East Bay geography.
• Mission Bay Yacht Club: San Francisco-based small yacht club offering sailing education, racing, and cruising on the Bay. Similar small-membership sailing club operating in the same metropolitan market.
• St. Francis Yacht Club: Major San Francisco sailing club with sailing instruction, junior programs, and extensive racing. Comparable in core offering (sailing lessons and racing) but larger and more established; broader incumbent in the same Bay.
• Community Boating Inc. Nonprofit community sailing center on the Charles River in Boston. Highly comparable volunteer/community-based mission, instruction programs, and accessible-sailing model.
• Encinal Yacht Club: Alameda-based yacht club with sailing school, junior sailing programs, and racing on San Francisco Bay. Directly comparable membership sailing club with community focus in the same Bay Area market.
• Sausalito Yacht Club: Marin-based sailing club with racing, cruising, and instruction on San Francisco Bay. Comparable community yacht club offering similar windsurfing and sailing exposure.
• Hudson River Community Sailing: NYC-based nonprofit providing affordable sailing instruction, youth programs, and accessibility initiatives. Closely comparable nonprofit community sailing model and mission.
• Santa Cruz Yacht Club: Northern California yacht club offering junior sailing, lessons, and racing. Comparable community sailing model, though in a different coastal sub-region.

Broad incumbents

• US Sailing: National governing body for sailing in the U.S., setting instructional standards and certifications. Broad incumbent that frames the regulatory and certification ecosystem in which CSC operates.
• Annapolis Sailing School: Larger for-profit sailing school offering paid ASA-certified instruction. Represents the for-profit alternative model competing for the same novice sailor demographic.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/calsailingclub
• Facebookfacebook.com/cal sailing club
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cal-sailing-club

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cal Sailing Club