Thanks in large part to YOUR financial support and through the support of our many corporate sponsors, The Downtown Sailing Center had a successful YGR fundraiser that places us in a strong position to improve upon the good work we are already doing.

Consistent and high-quality fundraising is essential to our organizational sustainability. But it is only one piece of the puzzle. Our Sailors make up the majority of the puzzle, and our program structure facilitates our efforts to live out our mission.

Our DSC culture has long focused on providing affordable sailing opportunities to the average adult. We have also been well-intentioned in our efforts to provide sailing access for people who have often been denied the opportunity, especially people of color, people with disabilities, and people who have limited financial means. After all, "Sailing is for Everyone!"

But it is one thing to have a sailing club that does outreach work and it is another thing entirely to be a true Community Sailing Center where every sailor has an equal stake in our organization. Together, we are striving to be that center.

In order to be that central space, we must continue to improve upon our following efforts:

How quality shapes our efforts

Quality is in our mission statement and it is a word we live by. Yes, we are thrifty. But we can still produce the highest quality product, like that favorite shirt you wear on every adventure, without succumbing to exclusivity or elitism.

Each of our sailors deserves to have a pleasant sail on a clean and functional boat. The experience should be equally positive for all persons, regardless of a person's background or experience, and the education program and sailing opportunities should feel natural and welcoming to all people. As The DSC matures, we are learning how to take better care of our space and our people.

We are also learning how The DSC is more than just a place to go sailing. It is a water access point, a space for people of diverse backgrounds to gather as friends and as equals, and it is a community that celebrates the best of Baltimore. We recognize what we have, and we are putting in the effort to make The DSC even better.

It is one thing to be open for all and another thing to be desirable for all. For instance, our Thursday Night Racing program is open to all. But is the program structured to be inclusive? Is there an educational component that gives everyone a true chance to improve? Are there low-commitment pathways to join?

It is one thing to have programs that provide sailing to people with disabilities or people of color; it is another thing entirely to have a community sailing center where people of all walks (and wheels) of life feel they have an equal stake and an equal shake. Taking that concept a step further, it is one thing to have a program for people with disabilities and another thing entirely to have a program where people with disabilities participate as equals alongside their able-bodied peers. It is possible, and we are working to provide this type of inclusion in all of our programs.

As to some of the changes we are making, we are re-examining our programs to identify areas of bias. For instance, rather than framing the history of sailing through square rigged ships, we have an opportunity in our education courses to also reference Asian junks and sampans, Middle Eastern and Indian dhows and feluccas, and the Pacific proas and sailing canoes.

Our Cruising Program leadership has worked with the office to reevaluate its skipper checkout expectations to better account for the different types of leadership. The traditional sailing leadership role is one of vigorous assertion, but leadership from the helm can also be through a calm, measured, and collaborative approach. The cruising program is addressing the need to shift its guidelines while also taking active steps to recruit women, people of color, and younger sailors.

We are following suit with all of our programs.

And in general, The DSC team is beginning to address the fact that sailing is simply not perceived to be accessible to the average person. As a community sailing center, what can we do to bring people in who do not believe that sailing is for them? What alternative pathways can we provide?

In order for our organization to be truly sustainable, we need to make sure that we are doing all that we can to protect and promote aquatic recreation. It is challenging to promote aquatic recreation when the water is not consistently safe to swim in.

Water quality is not just an issue for Baltimore. It is an issue for cities and towns across our country and the world; it is a major issue for our sport, too. The Downtown Sailing Center is committed to playing a bigger part in our harbor restoration efforts, and we appreciate your engagement with us in our growth process. For the remainder of this year and moving forward in 2021, The DSC will take a stronger stance in supporting our water justice partners like Blue Water Baltimore, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and Trash Free Maryland.

Fitting the puzzle pieces together, we must hold ourselves accountable to provide a structure and a culture at The DSC that draws all people in.

We realize that people won't want to sail in Baltimore if the harbor is full of trash or unsafe to swim in. We realize that we must break the stereotypes that many Baltimoreans have of the harbor, stereotypes that at once cast our harbor in the grainy light of our industrial past and in the Technicolor sparkle of the new present. We recognize that we must provide a pathway to sailing, and that sailing is simply a vehicle for human connection and personal renewal.

We must counter the stigma that surrounds our sport, foster natural member connections, and provide a supportive environment for all of our sailors.

We want to live out our motto. Yes, it takes fundraising support to keep our ship on course. It takes members who believe in our mission, and sailors who decide to volunteer in our programs, and passionate minds and voices to express their dreams for The DSC. It takes concerted efforts to discover our complicities, our biases, and our shortcomings. And it takes tenacity, creativity, and courage to overcome the many challenges we face.

Together, with your help, we are creating true community through our Community Sailing Center. Together, through our collective efforts, we are creating a sustainable path for The DSC. Thank you for your continued support, and for your personal involvement with The Downtown Sailing Center.

Sincerely,

-Stuart T. Proctor, Executive Director