SailMaine is a community sailing center based on the Portland waterfront whose mission is to provide affordable access to the water through community sailing and educational programming. For many years, the MMC HSA has cultivated a relationship with SailMaine for our residents. Below is information from SailMaine on how to take advantage of this program.
Greetings PortPass Holders!
I am writing to communicate several key pieces of information for PortPass holders this year. Please save this email. I am the point person and you can reach me at ben@sailmaine.org.
The 2025 season runs from May 27-Oct 12. There are a few closures: June 7 (Maiden Maine), Juneteenth, July 4, Labor Day, and August 9th (boats in use for the SailMaine Fest!). And FYI: summer camp runs June 23 - Aug 15; CYC racing runs May 28 - Aug 27.
PortPass Contact Info Form: If you have not filled out the contact form, please do so now. It will help us better manage PortPass users. (And please forward to anyone you are sharing your pass with for Partner Pass folks).
Booking info:
· See info at bottom of this email
· We ask that you don't book more than about a week in advance, but if you have some key dates that you need on the calendar, go for it.
· Please be aware that boat availability is always subject to change depending on program needs etc.
Skipper certifications: To book a boat, you must be Skipper Certified by SailMaine AND have sailed a J22 in the past 2 years. If you are unsure what this means, please reach out to me.
Social Sails/BBQ: We are planning some social sails and PortPass BBQ's this summer, stay tuned for more details!
CYC Racing Info: We have 8 boats signed up to sail CYC Wednesday night races this year leaving just a few rentals available on Wednesdays from 5pm to close. Please be aware of this when scheduling your sailing time. Racers, please let me know if you have any questions.
Monday Racing Info: We will also have racing on Monday evenings, likely 6-8 boats, along with Adaptive Sailing. This will be a tight night for rentals. And let me know if you want to race!
Incident Reports: If you have an incident onboard or at the SailMaine waterfront, please click here to file a report or use the QR code at the office. Examples of incidents are injuries, boats running aground, etc.
Boat Maintenance Issues: If you are on a boat with a maintenance need, please click here to let us know or use the QR code on board the boat.
Volunteer Contact Info Form: SailMaine has lots of volunteer opportunities, please fill out this form if you want to be on my volunteer list!
WhatsApp: Many PortPass holders expressed desire for ways to connect with other sailors, particularly on short notice for a quick afternoon sail. For folks who work in/near downtown Portland, an afternoon breeze is often a tempting lure to ditch work but many folks do not have someone to sail with on short notice. This year we are continuing the WhatsApp texting group for PortPass holders. You can join the group by downloading WhatsApp to your phone and clicking this link. Please only use this for crew sharing and connecting with fellow Sailors. Joining this group is NOT required. (let me know if need help with this)
For 2025 this will be open to EVERYONE in the SailMaine community. Hopefully this encourages meeting new people and getting on the water more!
Email Communications: You are all being subscribed to a Google Group called PortPass 2025 so I can email you all easily. If you have read this far, please do not unsubscribe from this group; it's likely any updates will be pertinent to you. I have also changed the settings this year: group members can also email the entire group to use as a crew-finder. I can change this setting if things get too hectic.
Any questions? Let me know!
Booking is now live. A few easy steps to join the online booking system:
· It will either just help you register, OR it will say you are already registered.
· If you are already registered, click I was told to register again and move through the steps
· This will make sure your account is tagged as PortPass25 which makes your bookings free
And as a reminder, this is a Google email group. Please do not unsubscribe. You should be able to view the group and its previous emails using the link at the bottom of this email.