The Spa Creek Club is a
membership owned sailing club compromised of 20 members, each owning a 5% stake, who share three (3) sailboats between
Annapolis and Herrington Harbor.
The Boats:
1. Breezin, a 2000
Catalina 34 MK II, located at Herrington Harbour South in Deale MD
2. Gabbiano II, a 1994
Catalina 320, located at Watergate Pointe Marina,
Annapolis MD.
3. Carry On, a 2003
Beneteau 311, located at Watergate Pointe Marina, Annapolis MD.
All three boats are well equipped for daysailing, weekend trips, and week long cruises around the
Chesapeake Bay.
The
Marinas:
In addition to use of the boats, you also get full use of the Marina facilities at both Herrington Harbor South and Watergate Marina. This includes access to the pools, fitness center, beach and club houses. Watergate Marina is located in Eastport which has lots of nearby restaurants and is a 15 minute walk to Downtown Annapolis. Herrington Harbor South is a
destination unto itself with lots of amenities and a very nice onsite restaurant and bar.
Cost:
The one time cost to buy the
membership is $6,000 and you get this
money back whenever you leave the Club. The cost of the membership is set by the club each year at the annual Club meeting. It cannot be negotiated. It's been $6000 for the past several years, but may increase in 2021.
The annual membership dues are $2,725 per year. Every
member pays the same amount and this
money is used to pay for marina expenses,
insurance, and
repairs and
maintenance. A portion of the dues each year are also held in a "New
Boat Fund" so that about every five years the Club has the resources to sell one of its older boats, and buy a
new boat for club use.
The rules for reserving the boats are as follows:
1. You can reserve up to five (5) consecutive weekdays at at time and one (1) weekend day at a time. As an example, you can reserve the six day period of Monday-Saturday or Sunday-Friday, but you can't reserve Saturday to Saturday.
2. Once you use your reservation, you are free to make another one immediately. There is no limit to the number of times you use the
boat and there is no extra cost for using the boat as many times as you want.
3. You are also allowed to make additional reservations on a last minute basis if boats are unreserved, even if you already have your own reservation on the Calendar for a future date.
4. All reservations are made online using a Club calendar on groups.io
5. You can sail with anyone you want (i.e. your wife/husband,
kids, friends etc.) but the Club prohibits single-handing the boats, so you have to sail with at least one other person. Club members frequently sail together as well. If two club members reserve the boat together, they can combine their reservations for a longer
cruise.
It's rare that all three boats are reserved for any given day. Generally, you can always get one of the three boats for any day you want.
Membership Requirements:
1. You must have experience sailing on boats of similar size to the Club boats.
2. Every
member performs 16 hours of
maintenance per year. This can be done individually on your own time, or at one of the sponsored Club "work parties."
3. Whenever you decide to leave the Club, you are responsible for selling your membership share (just like I'm doing right now)
4. While not a requirement, there are opportunities to take on leadership roles in the Club if you want. Club officers include President, Vice President/Secretary, Treasurer and Boat Chair (there are 3 boat chars, one for each boat). Officers are chosen each year at the annual membership meeting which is typically held at a local bar/restaurant but this year will be done via Zoom.
General Remarks:
The Spa Creek Club is a great way to sail without the full responsibility of boat
ownership. It's a member operated club, so there is no middle man taking a profit. Technically Spa Creek Club, Inc. is a non-profit. It's been around for about 40 years. The Club has members from the age of 30's-70's. I've been in the club for 4 years and it's been a great experience. I'm selling because I've decided to "take the leap" and
purchase a boat of my own.
Please
email me with any questions you have. I'm also happy to set up a
phone call to discuss the Club and meet you at the marina(s) to show you the boats.