Windworks Sailing Center

Located on Puget Sound at Shilshole Bay Marina, Windworks Sailing Center is one of Seattle’s Premier Sailing Clubs and Sailing Schools since 1992.  Shilshole Bay has always been a favorite location of mine for both daysailing and weekend cruising, given the large variety of great cruising destinations to the North, South, and West.  You can also usually count on the wind picking up around 3:30 or 4:00pm even on the calmest of days.

Windworks offers sailing lessons as well as a club membership which allows you to charter sailboats for daysailing or week-long charters (and anything in-between).  Both are reasonably priced and allow you great access to the water.

Sailing Lessons utilize the US Sailing Keelboat building block teaching approach on a variety of boats in their 30-vessel fleet.  This “learn, sail, learn, sail” method of teaching can be done at your own pace, and will take you all the way from daysailing a 25-foot sloop to cruising a large 43-foot sloop through the San Juans for weeks at a time.

Lesson costs are quite reasonable, and range from $232 to $556 per lesson series (These are member rates, which are at a 50% discount to non-member rates. 

Sailing Classes include:

• Basic Keelboat - “Crew” (12 hours, $232 member rate)
• Basic Keelboat - “Skipper (12 hours, $284 member rate)
• Basic Cruising (24 hours, $524 member rate)
• Coastal Navigation (16 hours, $310 member rate)
• Bareboat Cruising (30 hours, $556 member rate)

The Windworks Sailing Club Membership has a one-time initiation fee of $295, and then runs only $40/month.  This doesn’t actually get you any time on a boat… that comes with an extra per-use charter fee that ranges from $105 (Catalina 25′) to $628 (Beneteau 47′) for a weekend day during prime season, depending on what type of boat you select.  The good news?  This pay-as-you-go system ensures that if you don’t get the chance to get out and go sailing, you don’t pay anything beyond your $40/month.

Windworks also does a good job at promoting socializing between club members through club events, and their WindShare program that serves as a tool for members to meet other sailors with similar interests.  Their fleet of boats is definitely one of the nicest around, and both the owners and employees share a commitment to quality service that is hard to beat.  And what do you do on the calm days where there’s no wind in sight?  Don’t spread it around, but their fleet of cruising powerboats is quietly growing as well!