Membership in the Salty Sisters
Membership Drive for 2025 has Closed!
Application Forms for the 2026 Class
will be available in April 2026
(Applicant Requirements will posted at that time!)
GENERAL INFORMATION
WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO:
The Salty Sisters of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club (SPYC) was founded in 1951 by a group of ten women interested in sailboat racing. Today the group boasts a membership of over a hundred who continue the tradition. To that end, we annually host a program for women who would like to become Salty Sisters: a program that includes eight (8) weeks of the fundamentals of sailing, racing rules, racing skills and race management. Throughout the year, we continue to improve our skills with regular seminars and classes given by members and guest speakers.
Salty Sisters sail almost every Wednesday morning. We compete with one another in prams, IODs, 420s, Sonars, Ideal 18s and Sunfish. We also compete against other clubs with similar programs. When weather or other circumstances do not permit sailing, we have education sessions given by our own members or guest speakers – followed with a luncheon meeting at the Yacht Club.
Salty Sisters participate in other activities both on and off the water: kayak and canoe trips; parties; visits to museums and attractions, and long cruises. We are also very actively involved with the SPYC sponsored sailboat regattas [making up a large portion of the race committee personnel], Friday Night Twilight racing, Saturday morning racing with the SPSA (St. Pete Sailing Assoc.], as well as other Adult Education programs at the SPSC.
WHO MAY APPLY:
Membership in the Salty Sisters is open to women members of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club who are active and physically able to enjoy the vigorous port of sailing. Applications and a General Information letter will be available at the front desk of the downtown SPYC when membership reopens. Due to a limited class size, the applications will be considered in the order in which they are received.
REQUIREMENTS:
Applicants will be required to pass [A] a Water Survival Test consisting of four parts: 1) swimming twenty-five yards; then 2) staying afloat for five minutes without a life jacket; then 3) donning a life jacket while in the water and swimming;(4) lastly climbing out of the water into a safety boat; and [B] an On-the-Water Sailing Test given by the Salty Sisters which shall include: 1) safely leaving and returning to the dock; 2) tacking, gybing and other skills applicable to sailing a boat; 3) lifting a 15 lb. anchor; and 4) show ability to climb in and out of a pram. Please feel free to contact our Membership Chairs (email below), if you have any questions with regard to any of the testing procedures.
Upon successful completion of the Water Survival & Sailing testing as described above, applicants will attend & pass eight weeks of Salty Sister sailing/educations classes. Candidates shall then have to complete ten (10) days of participation prior to the last week of September of the following year. To maintain their membership, they must participate in another ten (10) days of participation by the end of September of the second year.
After successful completion of the 8-weeks of sailing/education classes, new members are invited to take part in all Salty Sister activities and will receive a handbook and name badge. A formal welcome and charm presentation will take place at the next October Annual Meeting.
Each new member will be required to provide her own U.S Coast Guard Certified Life Vest. Information on life jackets will be available at our first meeting. Every applicant must sign a standard waiver, releasing Salty Sisters and the St. Petersburg Y.C. from liability for any injury suffered during Salty Sister activities.
CONTACT EMAIL: Membership@saltysisters.org
[The Salty Sisters are actively seeking women who are active and physically able to enjoy the
vigorous sport of sailing. If you would like to join us and are not certain of your abilities
or new to the sport, we require that you take one of our local sailing classes prior to taking our sailing evaluation –
especially the one offered by our own staff at the St. Pete Sailing Center.]