A Sense of Place

This 2010 picture is blurry but you can click HERE for a great video about the Ya Gotta Regatta that showcases the old 'B dock'... and our purpose.

The DSC has always been about the people. But every community needs a home, and every home has a story to tell.

When I moved to Baltimore in May of 2011, my first assignment was to help this guy "Doug" drag sections of the deteriorating 'B' dock into vacant slips. 'A' dock was undergoing a major renovation, and the new adaptive sailing platform would soon become its focal point.

Winter 2015/2016, just prior to demolition

'B' dock required demolition and all operations were moved to 'A' dock. But Doug had a plan. Canton's floating promenade was ours... if we were able to move it. So with more gumption than sense, a crew of volunteers and I hitched up our three little boats and wrestled the concrete slabs up the harbor. The wind held back and we squeaked by without major incident.

Few images still exist of what the 'B' dock graveyard looked like, but it was a hodgepodge of derelict boats, broken wooden docks, and mangled concrete floats. What we lacked in funds we made up with willpower, and we believed that, with a focus on the people, the money would eventually figure itself out.

The 'B' dock marina, September 2021

The story rambles on. After six years of hard work the marina project is nearly finished - including the payment of our debts. 11 years on one project; 20 years of dreaming, forming partnerships, working deals, and making it happen; 26 years of volunteer dedication to sailing in Baltimore.

What some folks might not know is this: The DSC has waterfront access expressly because we are focused on providing sailing to Baltimore youth and to people with disabilities. Both marinas are designed, with purpose, to make sure that "Sailing is for Everyone" in Baltimore.

With our robust summer camp, adult sailing school, and many low-cost membership options, it is easy for many to overlook the simple fact that our place is built upon our mission-driven purpose. We have a mighty membership, but we are so much more than a sailing club.

The CIT Program learned on 'B-3' in order to stay cool in the shade and reduce the risk of coronavirus infection, Summer 2021

What's more, our purpose goes beyond charity as we are growing toward a more inclusive and diverse community.

In 2021, We gave away 20 camp scholarships so that disadvantaged youth have the same opportunities as their more affluent peers.

We kept our Siebel Sailors program free to eliminate need-based stigma associated with "charity" work.

We integrated our S.I.T. workforce development program with our junior counselors system into one cohesive CIT program. Our summer staff is 90% home grown and more than 50% of our counselors identify as people of color.

We redoubled our efforts on our adaptive sailing fleet in both time and volunteer labor, and we are safely offering 12 no-cost Access-ability Saturdays this year in spite of the ongoing pandemic. We are committed to the same high quality standards for our adaptive sailors that we dedicate to our other programs, including coaching, materials, and resources.

A returning Siebel Sailor teaches a new crew how to hike and hold the tiller extension, Spring 2021.

We are mission driven in our membership efforts, too.

In 2020, we expanded our Junior Skipper opportunities to make it easier than ever for young people to join us at a reduced membership fee. Many of the junior skippers are volunteer leaders in our Women on the Water program and in racing.

We spent another winter poring over our education materials removing euro- and male-centric teaching methods.

Our cruising program has pressed itself to include more women, younger adults, and people of color in its skipper-pathway program.

We even bought kayaks to make the sailing center a more welcoming, accessible place to call home.

A Wednesday kayaking orientation, summer 2021. The addition of kayaks - also stored on 'B' dock - is an effort to make our sailing center more welcoming and even easier to access for folks who may be intimidated (at first) by sailing.

We still have a long way to go to achieve our vision of becoming a world class community sailing center. But with your help, we'll get there.

To date, roughly 260 individuals have donated over $60,000 to our critical fundraising campaign. More than a dozen corporations and foundations, large and small, have pledged an additional $25,000 through our Ya Gotta Regatta. We are still $40,000 shy of our overall goal.

This place requires more than just gumption to make it happen. Donate today.

Sincerely,

-Stuart Proctor, Executive Director

PS - if you would like to know the specifics of where your fundraising dollars go, click HERE and follow the link.

'B' dock was again used for adaptive sailing from 2018 through 2019 as our 'A' dock marina underwent structural repairs. YGR 2019