Choosing a sailing school is the most important step in a new sailor’s exciting journey leading to a superior level of seamanship.

At The Gratitude Sailing Institute, we recognize this and have infused decades of experience into a curriculum led by a team of the finest sailing professionals. The result is a program embodying key elements of sailing success – your personal safety, education, and enjoyment. These values and our commitment to our students are never compromised.

Candidates searching for a shortcut school that crams critical concepts and necessary sailing skills into abbreviated classes for the sake of volume and profit should look elsewhere. Gratitude is different. And we build sailors who are different. From the moment they step aboard, Gratitude’s students learn seamanship skills needed to avert or, if unavoidable, handle sailing pitfalls both safely and skillfully. At Gratitude, we are passionate about what we do, and we expect an equal commitment from our students.

Gratitude is not a diploma mill. We build seamen and seawomen who are capable and confident on the water. Further, our Instructors are the backbone of our organization. They are all U.S. Coast Guard Licensed Master Captains and committed professionals governed by and practicing a code of excellence that is in their DNA and permeates our curriculum. They teach candidates patiently and thoroughly, without forcing or pressuring students into unsafe and abbreviated classes. As recognized leaders in their field, our instructors have amassed thousands of miles of sea time on bodies of water worldwide. They enjoy teaching sailing, and that enthusiasm is contagious; it permeates our Captains’ interactions and relationships with our students. Further, they must consistently achieve outstanding student reviews to maintain their status as an esteemed Gratitude Sailing Institute Instructor.

A key element of sailing is teamwork. We specialize in offering visionary organizations the opportunity to utilize sailing to experience the enhanced and effective team-building metamorphosis that naturally occurs among sailors. With an emphasis on personal safety, education, and enjoyment, our executive leadership and teambuilding program, in conjunction with our Captains, creates a total team environment among participants. In this venue, team members can pursue an “Introduction to Sailing” diploma or a “Basic Keelboat Certification” from American Sailing. Both are springboards into organizational dynamics and a lifetime of learning unlike any other.

Gratitude is located on the tranquil shores of the Chesapeake Bay at Markley’s Marina, north of Baltimore, Maryland. Sailing conditions vary depending on the season, but we are greeted by wind anxious to move us along, and oftentimes rather briskly. Our classes traverse the middle and upper reaches of the Bay, offering many student-determined “port of call” experiences.

Our boats are sound, ocean-ready seacraft maintained to the highest maritime standards. Classes are often conducted in a “liveaboard” environment where our students experience life at sea.

We are highly honored to be a prestigious American Sailing affiliate, and we urge you to consider all aspects of your instructional options as you survey the broad field of sailing schools. Careful evaluation will reveal that The Gratitude Sailing Institute has the highest commitment to your personal safety, education and enjoyment offered by none other. This is our promise to you from the moment you step aboard, and it will accompany you throughout your exciting sailing journey with us.