Where Sailing is Fast, Fun, and Friendly!!!

The STYC was founded more than 25 years ago by a group of live-aboard and free spirited sailors who wanted to create a yacht club the right way.  From the club's inception over beers at the Sloop Tavern, the STYC has been a special place that has attracted sailors with a sense of fun and adventure.

The club has always been a wonderful place for those new to sailing and new to racing that's why we've always had non-flying sails races (even though we now include spinnaker classes for some events). You can race with a much smaller crew single-handed in fact when rounding the weather mark just means easing the sheets.

And . . . the club has always been home to some of the finest and most ferocious sailors on Puget Sound. Our members have won great honors in events ranging from the Duck Dodge to Tri-Island, to Whidbey Island Race Week, to Swiftsure, to Victoria-to-Maui, to TransPac, and Pacific Cup. Our members have always been sailors who love to cruise their part of the globe, often for years at a time.

In addition, STYC supports the less fortunate with the annual Blakely Rock Benefit Regatta.  Valued contributions from the Sailing Community are raffled off and the proceeds, along with the money received from the traditional breakfast and race entry fees, are donated to a local charity.
From all this racing, from all this cruising, and from our wonderful sense of goodwill, good humor, and good seamanship, the Sloop Tavern Yacht Club has become endearingly known and respected in harbors great and small around the world.

Grant Fjermedal   Commodore 2000-2001

Benefits of Joining

When you join the STYC you get Membership in a recognized PIYA Yacht Club that allows you to race in sponsored events,
Free Racing in all STYC Races (except Blakely Rock Benefit Regatta where there is a nominal donation)
Opportunity to interact with fellow sailors
STYC Burgee to fly proudly
Reciprocal Moorage at several other Yacht Clubs
Club Membership Directory and Bylaws and Membership Card

Racing Cruising

The racing schedule is comprised of handicapped races in Puget Sound, offering competition in flying and non-flying sail classes.  We start in February with the Iceberg Regatta.
Our other popular races include the Ballard Cup Series, formerly the Six Pak Series, in which we have joined with Shilshole Bay Yacht Club to provide a series of ten races on Monday nights during the Summer.
We sponsor one of the five races in the Jack & Jill Race Series for male/female couples, and the STYC Single-hand Race for solo sailors.
Two or more times a year, our members get together for informal cruises on the pretext of a race and enjoy a potluck dinner and the company of other sailors at a predetermined location in beautiful Puget Sound.
In April we sponsor the Blakely Rock Benefit Regatta, our annual fund-raiser for the community.  The day starts with a benefit breakfast, then we race around Blakely Rock, and end up at the Sloop Tavern in Ballard, where items generously provided by supporting businesses are raffled off to support the designated charity for the year.

The Details

Voting Membership is open to anyone with equal ownership in a qualified cruising boat of not less than 20'.
Associate Membership is available to those who do not meet the boat ownership criteria.
STYC is an affiliate of Pacific International Yachting Association (PIYA) which is the local "arm" of US Sailing.  Although our members are not required to join PHRF, we strongly encourage PHRF membership as part of our support for local sailing.  PHRF membership is required for participation in most organized racing sponsored by other yacht clubs.
We have two general meetings a year, one with a dinner in the fall, as well as a year end party where the next year's Board Members are elected.  To join STYC, there is a $50 one time initiation and a $50 annual membership fee for Voting Members or $25 for Associate Members.

Testimonials

Hear how STYC members feel about the club:
I enjoy the club because its membership is made up of relaxed racers …
This club is substance, not fluff. No fancy club house, no social schedule. We actually get out to race and cruise!  I do a lot of cruising and, with reciprocal moorage, I figure my benefits exceed dues by $150 a year or so.…
Even though we race pretty intensely, we like the Sloop's lower key approach ,..…
I see our main mission as a place where people can come with friends and family to race we don't feel like we have to have 5 America's Cup sailors on our boat to do well .…