Society for the Education of American Sailors - We're All About Sailing

Cruising, multi-day sailing excursions, is an important part of SEAS Monmouth's sailing activities because it allows us to have it all - opportunities to sharpen and test our sailing skills, adventures with different boats and often unknown waters, ample occasions for relaxation and fun, and the comaraderie of our boat mates. Throughout the year at our local sailing sites, on our familiar boats, daysailing is usually a leisurely activity, well within our comfort zones. But cruising, on larger (35-45 ft), chartered boats, in new waters, for sometimes up to a week, provides plenty of challenges, even for experienced skippers and crews.

Cruising is a unique experience compared to what most of us experience in our daily lives. You travel to places 20, 30 or more miles apart, but since you're on a sailboat, you get to hear the sounds of the wind and the water, and feel the satisfaction of getting there through your own skill in harnessing natural forces. You have to be self-sufficient, but you're not alone; you're part of a five or six-person crew working together to sail the boat safely and comfortably under the watchful eye of an experienced skipper.

Cruising has been compared to camping, but on the water, usually for a weekend or a week or more. You pack your food provisions, clothing and sailing gear, drive (or fly) to the "camp ground", and set up. Only in this case the "camp ground" is a river, bay or ocean; the structure you live in isn't a tent, but rather a sleek sailing vessel with many more conveniences; and in the course of the cruise you'll travel to many different locations - ports and quiet anchorages that you would probably never see otherwise. And you usually don't go camping with as many as 60-70 people sailing on five to ten boats - the makings for a great social event at boat raft-ups and going to shore.

SEAS members have cruised in many locations, both domestically and internationally. Favorite domestic locations include Martha's Vineyard, Chesapeake Bay, the Florida Keys, and the San Juan Islands, with the Chesapeake Bay the location of the annual SEAS Columbus Day weekend cruise. International locations have spanned the globe (see previous cruises), although the Carribean is certainly a winter favorite.

You may remember sitting at dockside restaurants in Annapolis or St. Michaels, or New Jersey, watching boats dock and sailors disembarking, wondering what it would be like to be part of it all. Well, here's your chance! We invite you to take a look at our inexpensive, upcoming cruises below.

Upcoming Cruises

Previous Cruises

Cruising Photos

Cruising fun far and near ...

Whether we're cruising the Chesapeake Bay, our annual Columbus Day weekend tradition, or sailing the Caribbean and beyond, we always have fun, comraderie and lots of exciting stories to tell back home.

Our Annual 3-Day Chesapeake Cruise

Getting ready for departure from Haven Marina in Rock Hall, MD as part of our annual 3-day Columbus Day weekend cruise.

A beach party on Petit Bateau in the Tobago Cays, south of St. Vincent.

Anchored at "Bestas Limani" (also known as Cold Water Bay) located off Fethiye Bay in 2011 Turkey sail.