I had the thought this afternoon to try and create an organization that could have a couple acres donated to it in order to have a sailing club/marina. Does anyone have any good advice on how to get started with something like this? I have some local contacts I will bounce ideas off of, but wanted your ideas/experiences too.

There are no good places to keep catamarans/kayaks etc. along the water, and my local marina is not ideal for sailing into/out of. It is for local fisherman and is entirely bulkheaded. I have located a piece of land that would work, and it happens to be owned by the single largest land owner in the area. It is also is a low area that would not make a desirable location to develop; thus, I'm looking to create an organization that could approach the land owner about a land donation. The organization would have small annual dues to build and maintain a fence, and probably some fill dirt to start.

Whatcha got?

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Hobie Getaway
Prindle 18 - Sold
South Padre Island, TX
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Years ago we did something similar for dirt bike riding... we got some land in Acton, CA for a MX practice track etc....

We knew the owner, but we still had to enter into a lease agreement where he stipulated our club as the operator of the land... In legal terms the word operator means you the one getting sued when something happens and they have no exposure.

Incorporate and IRS filing... make yourselves a 501 (c)(7) non-profit social club. You'll also need this for the insurance.

Get insurance... you will be the operator of the land therefore the liability falls on your or the club's shoulders... I would go for a $1.0M liability you would be surprised how cheap it is... Also, check with USA sailing for Burgee Insurance

Make sure there are no environmental barriers or impact studies needed...

After that you should be good to go.....

All in all there were 20 of us paying $25.00 monthly... about $6K a year... This enabled us to pay the rent, insurance, put a picnic area, a porta potty (believe it or not and insurance requirement), use the water/irrigation system, and bring in a tractor once in a while to clean things (owned by one of the members).

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John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
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Thanks, John. That is exactly the kind of info I was looking for!
The environmental aspect of the site could be an issue. The Corps of Engineers have a tendency to categorize most everything as wetlands around here.

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Hobie Getaway
Prindle 18 - Sold
South Padre Island, TX
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