harbor island yacht club nashville

Looped In: More downtown Nashville docks could bring boaters from the 'Great Loop'

Zyg Durski is a gold looper. 

Travelers of the Great Loop, a circumnavigation of the eastern U.S., award the title to the expeditionists who accomplish the route more than once. 

Boaters journey more than 5,000 miles through the Gulf of Mexico, the inland rivers, the Great Lakes, the Canadian Canals, the New York State Canals and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. Depending on the route a cruiser makes, they will go through at least 15 U.S. states and a couple Canadian provinces.

Traditionally people spend about a year completing the route, moving in rhythm with the seasons. Boaters aim to be on the northern part of the loop during the summer months, the inland rivers in the fall, snowbird in Florida and spend the spring up the eastern portion of the route. 

Durski has a sailboat he keeps at Harbor Island Yacht Club, on Old Hickory Lake. He's made several trips down the Cumberland. 

"It's just fun to come down sometimes to the river, to be able to dock by the downtown area," Durski said. "Spend a night or a weekend, and be able to walk off the dock and be right in the middle of all the activity in downtown Nashville." 

But as locals struggle to secure slip space downtown, it can be even more difficult for out-of-town visitors. Many aren't aware they need a reservation, or end up staying at marinas further from downtown and using a rideshare service to get around. 

The lone operating East Bank slip doesn't have the amenities that overnight boaters often expect -- like restaurants, showers or fueling facilities. 

"I'll talk to loopers and they'll say you know they'd like to come to Nashville but there's no place to stay" said David Benson, owner of Nashville Yacht Brokers. 

Downtown boat slips:  Nashville area boaters want to see more spots available to dock downtown

That might soon change, as the Metro Parks Department said they are starting a 12-to-15 month process of replacing the West Bank dock that was hit by a barge in 2017.

Locals and loopers alike share a concern about Nashville's dock's security. Some cite a lack of gates, the city's homeless encampments or debris falling from the pedestrian bridge injuring people or damaging boats. 

On a niche YouTube Channel called the " Great Loop Radio Podcast ," with 4,600 subscribers, Kim Russo, the director of America's Great Loop Cruisers' Associationcalls Nashville the No. 1 side trip on the Great Loop. 

With the city's center about 170 miles off the Tennessee River, a waterway on the Great Loop, most boaters can take a three-day trip into Nashville. 

Because of the fall hurricane season, many boaters need to kill time before they head toward the Gulf, Durski said as a guest on the "A Side Trip to Nashville" episode. It's the ideal time to come visit Nashville, to watch the foliage change along the banks of the Cumberland, he said. 

"The trip into Nashville is amazing," Durski said on the episode. "You take that turn past Highway 155 and all of a sudden downtown Nashville skyscrapers open up in front of you." 

Arcelia Martin covers growth and development for the Tennessean, a part of The USA TODAY Network. Reach Arcelia at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @arcelitamartin. 

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S2 7.9 Fleet 11 boat owners are members at Harbor Island Yacht Club (HIYC) and Percy Priest Yacht Club (PPYC) . Right now, there are 10 boats in Nashville. In the summer, we sail with PPYC out of Hamilton Creek Marina on Percy Priest Lake on Wednesday evenings. In the winter, we sail out of Harbor Island Yacht Club on Old Hickory Lake, on Saturday afternoons.

In the spring and fall, we sail our boats in regattas at both clubs.  There’s usually a mix of Performance Handicap Racing (PHRF) and one-design buoy racing. The annual Equalizer Regatta at PPYC is usually one of the largest 7.9 regattas of the year, with boats traveling from as far away as Canada to enjoy some fall sailing in Tennessee. We welcome newcomers who want to have fun racing sailboats, so let us know if you’re looking for a ride.

Designed by G&S Naval Architecture of Chicago, IL , the first S2 7.9 was built in 1981 for S2 Yachts in Holland, MI. T he design was originally marketed as the “Grand Slam”. Over the next 1 5 years, 545 boats were built and the many of them are still sailing today.  The second-to-last boat ever made, hull #544, Scratch , lives right here in Nashville.

The S2 7.9 is 25’ 11” long with a 9’ beam. Cored with end-grain balsa wood, the boats weigh about 4, 20 0 lbs and most have a lifting keel. A handful of boats were built with fixed keels, including Midget Ocean Racing Club (MORC) champion Little Feat , which spent a few years sailing on Old Hickory Lake before moving to Florida. For one-design racing, the lifting-keel boats carry a main, spinnaker, 155% genoa and 105% jib, handled by a crew of five. Locally, they have a PHRF rating of 168.

Annual S2 7.9 fleet events include National Offshore One-Design (NOOD) regattas , the Class Championship Regatta (CCR) and the Equalizer.

The Utilitarian Design of the S2 7.9 Remains Sought After Three-Decades Later -- Sailing World

S2 7.9 -- Sailing Magazine

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Vanderbilt University Sailing Club

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The University’s Oldest Club Sport, Founded 1962.

Welcome to the Vanderbilt Sailing Club

Member of the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association

Mission Statement

The Vanderbilt Sailing Club welcomes sailors of all skill levels, including students without prior experience, to engage in competitive and recreational sailing. Through weekly practices, a regional schedule of competitive regattas, and travel opportunities, the Vanderbilt Sailing Club fosters a close community between its members.

All are welcome to join the team for our weekly practices on Sundays. Generally, practices are conducted aboard our fleet of 8 FJ dinghies accompanied by either of our 24 foot keel boats and a safety whaler. The Race Team Captain coordinates a practice schedule designed to build basic sailing aptitude while also preparing more experienced members for intercollegiate competitions.

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Club teams are very common in College Sailing. While not all teams are the same, the Vanderbilt University Sailing Team is lucky enough to be provided partial funding from the University. The remainder of funding is provided through yearly dues and alumni donations. More importantly, club teams are student run operations. Although there are important faculties provided by alumni and the University, the team is largely organized and run by its student membership through its executive board headed by the Commodore. This provides rewarding leadership experiences for those who are interested in working to make the team a success.

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Closure of long beach facility.

The marina we operate out of in Long Beach has not been able to negotiate a lease extension with the Hotel Maya and the hotel has decided to close the marina. We are therefore forced to close our Long Beach club and are in the process of moving the fleet back to San Diego. There are unfortunately no other marinas in the Long Beach/Los Angeles harbor that can accommodate the fleet along with an office to run the operation. We regret having to close the Long Beach club but at this point we have no other viable options. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call us at 619-291-7245 or email at [email protected]

Harbor Yacht Clubs offers sailboat rentals, US SAILING instruction, learn to sail packages, private and group sailing lessons, skippered and bareboat sailing charters, catamaran rentals, and catamaran instruction in our Southern California location:

Harbor Island Yacht Club in San Diego

For over 35 years, we have catered to sailors of all levels of experience with our award-winning sailing school and the largest, newest fleet of sailboats available in the area. We carry over 60 of the most popular sailboat models from Hunter, Beneteau, Catalina, and Lagoon. We teach the highest standard of sailing instruction at our sailing school through the internationally recognized US SAILING Keelboat Certification System. Whatever your sailing needs and goals may be, you can be sure that you will enjoy the best sailing experience possible at Harbor Yacht Clubs.

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Membership at Harbor Yacht Clubs entitles you to discounted rates on all of our sailboat rentals as well as our US Sailing classes.

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HYC provides the national standard for quality sailing instruction through the US SAILING Keelboat Certification System. Learn to sail anything  up to 45′. Private & Group Classes are available.

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Already have sailing experience? Bareboat charters are available to the public as well as to our club members.  Upon completion of our  qualification process, you are ready to set sail.

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Our Lagoon 380 catamaran “In the Shelter” is perfect for day sailing in the San Diego area with a large group or a weekend excursion to Catalina Island.

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Youth sailing in nashville for more than 30 years..

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