Big News! Inspire Sailing and Modern Sailing to Merge
Ahoy, Sailor! Happy New Year!
We have some big news to share about our plans to help get you on the water in the years ahead. After careful deliberation, we’ve determined that the best way to provide an exceptional sailing school and club experience to is to merge Inspire Sailing in Berkeley with Modern Sailing in Sausalito. Our combined vision is to build the best sailing school and club in the San Francisco Bay Area, and one of the best in the world.
What is in it for you?
More sailing courses with seamless product offerings on both sides of the Bay
Single log-in to view charter boat availability on both sides of the Bay
Single calendar view for Berkeley and Sausalito instructional programs
Broader base of members for crew list and Club Sail activities
Sharpen your sailing skills by sailing out of different marinas
Access a bigger fleet with a variety of boats to choose from – sportboats, cruising boats, and catamarans
You no longer pay the higher monthly dues for a Dual Site Membership - a single membership fee now covers both sites
Here’s the plan.
We will fully merge Inspire Sailing with Modern Sailing School & Club. The merged entity will be named Modern Sailing. Inspire Sailing's signage, website, and outbound marketing will all be converted to Modern Sailing in the first quarter of 2023.
We will expand Modern Sailing's booking and client management system, Mindbody, to include both the Sausalito and Berkeley sites. This will allow a single log-in for all clients so they can easily book boats, Courses, and Clinics on both sides of the Bay.
We will convert our Berkeley school from US Sailing to the American Sailing Association (ASA) certification system. This promotes cross-site educational activity by easing the portability of clients and instructors from one site to another. We have developed certification pathways for our clients to easily convert from US Sailing to ASA.
As of March 1, 2023:
All events scheduled with Inspire Sailing and all items purchased from Inspire Sailing will be transferred to the systems of the merged entity. There will be no impact to existing enrollments and charter bookings.
If you are already Fleet Rated to sail at Berkeley and/or Sausalito, the merger will not impact your ability to sail with us.
Current One Site members at Berkeley and Sausalito will be upgraded to All Site benefits with no change in current monthly membership dues.
Current Dual Site members’ monthly dues will be reduced to $50/month individual, $65 partner.
The monthly dues for all new memberships (initiated after March 1) will be $65/month for Individual and $80 for Partner Memberships.
The $500 Membership Initiation Fee will remain the same and will include membership benefits at both locations.
We've put a lot of thought into ensuring this change is a positive one. We have come up with simple and free ways for members who have started with US Sailing to convert to ASA. US Sailing courses will continue to be offered for a limited time, based on customer demand. To address additional questions you may have, we have created a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) document. Of course, we encourage you to call or come by to discuss your situation and how we can make sure your sailing needs are taken care of through the transition.
Leigh Hunt
President and CEO
Modern Sailing, Inspire Sailing