WELCOME TO SAIL SALEM
A Salem Community Boating Center
Register to reserve your spot:
Youth Camps & Adult Program
Fun, safe and accessible sailing!
Based in Salem, Massachusetts, Sail Salem is a community sailing program that conducts summer sailing camps with educational programs for children. We have introduced the sport of sailing to thousands of children from Salem and its surrounding North Shore towns. Sailing lessons are conducted in Salem Harbor right out of Salem’s Winter Island. We bring a love of sailing to many children who otherwise would not have the opportunity to be on a boat. Scholarships and financial aid are available for Sail Salem programs. For details, see Youth Sailing Programs.
Sail Salem also has Adult Learn-to-Sail programs, covering the basics, using our 23-foot Sonar keelboats. For details, see Adult Sailing Programs.
The youth sailing programs are supported, in part, by generous donations; by the Sail Salem Pursuit Regatta, sponsored by the Boston Yacht Club; and by the Snowflake Regatta, a fun ski race for sailors and powerboaters.
“My oldest boy is on his third year with Sail Salem. It is by far his favorite camp! It will be my younger boy’s first year this season and he can’t wait. Sail Salem… you ROCK!”
2024 Adult Learn-to-Sail Programs
Sail Salem also conducts Tuesday evening sailing programs for adults.
News from Sailors for the Sea
The North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endangered large whales on the planet. They were named for being the “right” whale to hunt because they were often found near shore, swim slowly and tend to float when killed. Their populations first crashed due to whaling until hunting this species was banned in 1935. Now the two greatest threats to North Atlantic right whales are entanglements with fishing gear and collisions with ships. Emerging threats like seismic airgun blasting, a process used to search for oil and gas deep below the seafloor that creates one of the loudest human-made sounds in the ocean, puts the species at even greater risk.
For more information, visit our page on Sustainability.
The Value of Sailing
“Sailing is a sport and is amazing in the life lessons that it can teach students. It’s all about leadership, empowerment, and respect for the environment. It also teaches teamwork by working with a crew through, sometimes, some real frustration depending on the levels of the wind and what the environment is doing on a given day.“
“There are always opportunities for racing sailboats, which we like to introduce to our sailing students. But then there’s also this world of just being on a boat, fishing, or just traveling along a coast with a crew of often many personalities.“
– Keegan Whitehair, former Director of Sail Salem
Our 8-year-old took beginners camp here and loved it. He is shy but had a great time with the counselors. I hope he can do it again next year. Its great and so very affordable!
Thank you, Sail Salem, for a wonderful sailing experience. Our kids from California wanted to learn how to sail while visiting Salem. Your program was well organized, safe, and most especially fun. We will definitely sign up again next year. Please let your wonderful sail instructors know they did a superb job!