Stonington Harbor Yacht Club

What Stonington Harbor Yacht Club does

Stonington Harbor Yacht Club (SHYC) is a private membership-based yacht club founded in 2002 and headquartered in the historic Monsanto Building at 32 Water Street, Stonington, Connecticut. The club serves approximately 300 member families across boating and non-boating segments, offering a year-round portfolio of waterfront and shore-based services: membership access, deep-water dockage (vessels up to 175' LOA and 8' draft), 12 moorings for boats up to 45 feet, launch service, a full-service restaurant and bar, private event hosting, and a structured on-water program slate that includes cruising, PHRF and small-boat racing, a six-boat Ideal 18 keelboat fleet, and dedicated Ideal Women and Ideal Guys sailing programs. SHYC holds reciprocal privileges with more than 75 yacht clubs in the US and abroad (including Hong Kong and South Africa), allowing members to use affiliated clubs up to three times per year.

The club operates on a hybrid revenue model combining recurring annual membership dues with transactional ancillary income. Dues are not publicly disclosed; ancillary pricing is transparent — transient dockage at $6 per foot per day, launch service at $10 per person, harbor cruises at $15 per person, and public Ideal 18 sails at $28 per sail. Go-to-market is primarily sales-led and community-led: prospective members initiate contact by email and are sent a membership packet, while community reputation, regattas (SHYC Spring Series, Red Lobdell Regatta, Big Jack Block-Island Pursuit Race, Fall Series), and the reciprocal club network drive referrals. Technology is a thin layer of best-in-class SaaS — Clubessential for club management and the member-facing website, DockWa for transient dock and mooring reservations, and TheClubSpot for race registration — rather than a proprietary platform.

Strategically, SHYC competes on geography (it occupies the only Connecticut port with direct Atlantic Ocean access), asset quality (deep-water slips, historic clubhouse, sustained 4.7-star customer satisfaction), and brand reputation (eight consecutive years of Boaters' Choice Elite Fleet recognition through 2025). The club is governed by a volunteer Board of Governors with Flag Officers and run day-to-day by a small professional management team led by General Manager Tina Policarpo. Revenue, headcount, dues pricing, and waitlist data are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Stonington Harbor Yacht Club

Legal name

Stonington Harbor Yacht Club

Website

https://shyc.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Stonington Harbor Yacht Club is a private, membership-based yacht club in Stonington, Connecticut serving 300+ member families with deep-water dockage, moorings, dining, racing, sailing programs, and reciprocal access to 75+ affiliated yacht clubs worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Yacht Club Services

NAICS

Marinas (713930), Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Sailing & Water Sports Teams/Clubs (Sailing, Rowing, Surfing) (MPAKABAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Yacht & Luxury Boat Charters (With Crew) (THAJALAE), Private Charters & Yacht Experiences (Crewed, Bareboat, Day Charters) (THAJAJAB)

Keywords

• Yacht club memberships
• Marina dockage services
• Sailing instruction programs
• Harbor cruise excursions
• Reciprocal club access

Headquarters

HQ city

Stonington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees for families, providing access to club facilities, dining, sailing programs, and dockage services
2. Dockage and Mooring Fees: Daily dockage at $6 per foot for transient vessels; moorings available for boats up to 45 feet with launch service included
3. Dining and Bar Services: Full-service restaurant and bar serving lunch and dinner to members and reciprocal club guests
4. Launch Services: Per-trip launch service at $10 per person for vessels moored in harbor rows 1-39 or anchored in outer harbor; seasonal subscriptions available
5. Harbor Cruises: Scenic harbor cruises offered at $15 per person
6. Sailing Programs: Public Ideal 18 sailing experiences at $28 per sail; sailing program fees for Ideal Women, Ideal Guys, and other club sailing activities
7. Event Hosting: Private event hosting services including banquets, corporate events, and social gatherings with various venue configurations

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Stonington Harbor Yacht Club operates as a private, membership-based yacht club offering annual family memberships that grant access to waterfront clubhouse facilities, full-service dining and bar, deep-water dockage, twelve moorings with launch service, a fleet of six Ideal 18 keelboats, multi-track sailing instruction (Ideal Women, Ideal Guys), racing series and regattas, cruising programs, harbor cruises, and reciprocal access to 75+ affiliated yacht clubs worldwide. Day-rate public sailing and dockage, plus private event hosting, are offered to non-members as supplemental services.

Product overview

Stonington Harbor Yacht Club operates as a membership-based yacht club offering a unified portfolio of services centered on waterfront recreation and hospitality. The core offerings include membership access, dockage/moorings with launch services, and dining facilities. The product ecosystem encompasses on-water programs (cruising, racing, Ideal 18 sailing fleet, Ideal Women, Ideal Guys, Oar & Paddle) and shore-based services (dining, private events, reciprocal club access). Members pay for the base membership, then add dockage, moorings, launch subscriptions, and participation in specific programs. The club's Ideal 18 fleet serves as shared infrastructure for multiple programs (Ideal Women, Ideal Guys, public racing, sailing experiences), while the reciprocal club network extends access to members when traveling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ideal Women: Women's sailing program open to all women members, seeking to improve seamanship and on-the-water confidence through instruction, recreational sailing, and friendly competition.
• Ideal Guys
• Ideal 18

Products and services

• Membership
• Dockage, Moorings & Launch
• Dining Services
• Harbor Cruises
• Ideal 18 Fleet (Public Sailing)
• Public Racing
• Ideal Women Sailing Program
• Ideal Guys Sailing Program
• Oar & Paddle
• Cruising Program
• Event Request & Private Events
• Reciprocal Club Program

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• American Yacht Club (Rye, NY)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReciprocal club relationship allowing members to visit up to 3 times per year with membership card or letter of introduction.
• Annapolis Yacht Club (Annapolis, MD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReciprocal club relationship allowing members to visit up to 3 times per year with membership card or letter of introduction.
• Fishers Island Yacht Club (Fishers Island, NY)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional reciprocal club relationship with nearby Fishers Island Yacht Club, facilitating access between clubs in the Sound region.
• Mystic River Yacht Club (Mystic, CT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReciprocal club relationship with nearby Mystic River Yacht Club, supporting regional sailing community connections.
• Women on the Water (WOW) of Long Island SoundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHYC Ideal Women Sailing Program is a member of WOW, an enthusiastic group of over 400 women sailors from 15 CT and NY area yacht clubs who love to sail, race, learn and socialize at events, regattas and workshops throughout the year.
• DockWacoreTechnology or IntegrationOnline reservation platform for dock and mooring bookings, allowing transient boaters to reserve SHYC dockage directly through DockWa.
• 75+ Reciprocal Yacht Clubs (Worldwide)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHYC maintains reciprocity with over 75 clubs throughout the world including clubs in NY, CT, MA, RI, MD, FL, NJ, SC, ME, Hong Kong, South Africa and other international locations. Reciprocal club members may visit up to 3 times per year.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Newport Yacht Club: Established Northeast yacht club with a strong racing tradition; serves as a broader incumbent peer reflecting SHYC's ambition for sail racing and regatta programming.
• New York Yacht Club: Established, prestigious Northeast yacht club with a broad portfolio of sailing, social, and reciprocal programs; serves as a higher-end incumbent peer reflecting where SHYC members may upgrade.

Direct peers

• Larchmont Yacht Club: Direct peer private yacht club in Larchmont, NY, with a similar Long Island Sound focus, offering membership, racing, sailing instruction, dining, and reciprocal arrangements.
• Riverside Yacht Club: Direct peer private yacht club in Riverside, CT, with a parallel Greenwich/Fairfield County membership base and similar sailing, racing, and social programming.
• Mystic River Yacht Club: Direct reciprocal peer located in Mystic, CT, just minutes from SHYC; offers parallel membership, racing, and cruising programs to overlapping Connecticut boaters.
• Annapolis Yacht Club: Direct reciprocal peer and one of the largest private yacht clubs on the Chesapeake; shares membership, sailing instruction, racing, and reciprocal-club business model with SHYC.
• American Yacht Club: Direct reciprocal peer and fellow private yacht club in Rye, NY, offering comparable membership, dining, dockage, and racing programs to a similar Northeastern boating clientele.
• Indian Harbor Yacht Club: Direct peer private yacht club in Greenwich, CT, operating in the same western Long Island Sound market with comparable membership, dockage, and racing offerings.

Emerging players

• Storm Trysail Club: Sailing-focused private club running offshore sailing events and safety-at-sea programs; partial overlap with SHYC's racing and sailing instruction offerings for serious sailors.

Regional players

• Fishers Island Yacht Club: Regional reciprocal peer serving Fishers Island, NY; comparable private yacht club model focused on the Fishers Island Sound boating community with seasonal operating cadence similar to SHYC.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/281497223670
• Instagraminstagram.com/stonington_harbor_yc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stonington-harbor-yacht-club

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Stonington Harbor Yacht Club