Membership

Our stated purpose is ”to foster participation in yachting and the preservation of well designed, properly constructed and well maintained classic and traditional wooden sailing craft…”

If you have a traditionally designed sailboat, built with traditional methods and materials, you may be eligible to join the MMBA as a Regular Member.

Members are encouraged to participate in any and all events; however, you need not sail your boat to every event to participate. With so many activities, volunteering at events is an excellent way to meet some good people with like interests and become part of San Francisco’s history.

The membership process starts by filling out an application form, submitting a current photo of your boat under sail, paying the application fee, inspection of your boat by a Board Member or delegate, and the approval of the MMBA Board.  

We also have a:

• Cruising membership for non traditional craft that don’t qualify for Regular Membership, yet welcomes them to join in our social events and cruises.

• Friend membership for people who don’t currently have a traditional boat but would like to support and participate in the Master Mariners‘ activities.  

If you are interested in finding out more about joining the MMBA, please contact us and we will send you an application form, or you can download it below and mail it with a check to our Membership Chair, Neil Gibbs.

Membership Brochure

Member Application Form

membership@sfmastermariners.com

The MMBA Annual Regatta

The Master Mariners Regatta is the MMBA's crowning event that takes place every year on Memorial Day weekend. The regatta consists of a full-day of racing on the bay between 80 and 100 classic wooden sailing vessels in over a dozen different classes. The regatta start is in front of the St. Francis Yacht Club, and all boats finish near Clipper Cove behind Treasure Island after traversing the bay according to class courses. Many boats fly the house flag of a local sponsor who is also honored at a formal luncheon the week before at the St. Francis Yacht Club.  A post-regatta raft-up, party, and dinner with music and dancing takes place at the Encinal Yacht Club in Alameda.  Many boats spend the night and sail home the following day after a pot-luck breakfast. 

Originally a race between the working boats of San Francisco Bay sponsored by the Boatmen’s Protective Association as part of the Fourth of July festivities beginning in 1867, the event continued on and off under the Master Mariner’s Benevolence Association until 1891. The revelry started with lively wagers and thousands of cheering crowds on deck, on shore, and from Telegraph Hill and concluded with the gala ball where the winners were awarded a silken Champion pendent emblazoned with a strutting gamecock. The event continued until steam technology overtook the age of sail at the end of the late 18th century.

After being nearly forgotten for over seven decades, the spirit and tradition of the Master Mariner’s Regatta was revived in 1965 for National Maritime Day and has continued uninterrupted every year since. The modern MMBA regatta has been primarily attended by classically built wooden pleasure craft rather than the hay scows and lumber schooners of previous generations. The National Historic Landmark scow schooner Alma, berthed at Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco’s National Maritime Historic Park, represents the last of an era of the working boats that originally raced in the Master Mariners Regatta.   

Wooden Boat Show

The Annual Wooden Boat Show is one of the highlights of the San Francisco sailing season, and one of only a few West coast wooden boat shows.

Open to the public and generously hosted by the Corinthian Yacht Club in Tiburon, this unique event is an once a year opportunity to enjoy one of the most beautiful Yacht Clubs in the world, and dozens of the most elegant and delightful traditional sailing boats from the Bay and beyond.

View and board classic sailing vessels, meet their skippers and learn of the unique history captured in their stories. The outdoor bar and grill of the CYC is open to boat show visitors to enjoy along with live music and boat building activities for kids.

Proceeds from the entry fee benefit the Master Mariners Benevolent Foundation, a 501c3 which supports a range of activities including scholarships and related expenses tied to youth sail-training, maritime-related vocational training, and occasional 3rd party events which raise appreciation for the uniqueness of our nautical heritage and classic sailing vessels.

MMBA Board of Directors & Officers