You don’t need a passport to enjoy a spectacular sailing vacation. There are plenty of great places to charter right here in the States. Whether you want to go north, east or west, you’ll find fantastic cruising areas just waiting to be explored.

Here are five of them...

San Francisco Bay 

Best Time to Go

The weather is pretty mild all year, though it gets chilly in the spring. If you dress appropriately it’s always a good time for sailing.

What to Watch For

In addition to the fog, there is plenty of commercial and ferry traffic to watch out for. Due to the area’s geography, conditions can change quickly from calm to blustery.

Anchoring & Mooring

North of San Francisco in the Marin County area there are several places to anchor or grab a slip.

Charter Companies

Club Nautique, clubnautique.net 

Modern Sailing School and Club, modernsailing.com

Pacific Yachting and Sailing, pacificsail.com

Read more about chartering inSan Francisco

San Juan Islands 

Best Time to Go

June to October, but book early as August and September can be sold out way in advance.

What to Watch For

Fog. If possible, charter a boat with radar.

Anchoring & Mooring

Plenty of free anchoring available everywhere. Mid-week, slips can also be found at the main marinas.

Charter Companies

Anacortes Yacht Charters, anacortesyachtcharters.com

Ship Harbor Yacht Charters, shipharboryachts.com

San Juan Sailing (Bellingham), sanjuansailing.com

Read more about chartering inSan Juan 

Grand Traverse Bay

Best Time to Go

June through September are best, but for those who don’t mind layering, “shoulder season” can be great.

What to Watch For

All-in-all a pretty easy and straightforward place to go sailing: navigation is line-of-site and there’s little, if any commercial traffic. Fog can be a problem on occasion.

Anchoring & Mooring

Plenty of free anchoring available everywhere. Mid-week especially, slips can also be found at the main marinas.

Charter Companies

Great Lakes Sailing Co, greatlakessailingco.com

Read more about chartering inGrand Traverse Bay 

Chesapeake

Best Time to Go

May to September are the peak season. If you don’t mind bundling up, April and October can be outstanding.

What to Watch For

Shallows in the creeks and crab pots, which unlike their New England brethren have small, hard-to-see buoys.

Anchoring & Mooring

Anchorages abound, but slips can be scarce in the high season, so call ahead.

Charter Companies

Annapolis Bay Charters, annapolisbaycharters.net

Cruise Annapolis, cruise-annapolis.com

Dream Yacht Charters, dreamyachtcharter.com

Fair Wind Sailing School, fairwindsailing.com

Horizon Yacht Charters, horizonyachtcharters.com

Sail Away Catamarans, sailawaycatamarans.com

Read more about chartering inChesapeake Bay

New England

Best Time to Go

June through September. In July and August, these waters can be crowded. Locals know that September is a great time to cruise here.

What to Watch For

Occasional fog, strong currents

Anchoring & Mooring

You can pay $2 or more a foot for a slip in the peak summer months, and moorings can be pricy too. Either way, you’ll need to book ahead. Anchoring, thankfully, is still free.

Charter Companies

Bareboat Sailing Charters, bareboatsailing.com

Bluenose Yachts, bluenoseyachts.com

Horizon Yacht Charters, horizonyachtcharters.com

Swift Yacht Charters, swiftyachts.com

Read more about chartering inNew England