Here’s how the Tumbleweed SAIL AWAY sailing program works…

The intent and scope: The single most significant impediment to sailing.. and sailing a lot … is the cost and commitment of owning, servicing and maintaining, insuring and docking a sailboat. It is a commitment of time and money that many enter into with all the best of intentions only to later discover that it is overwhelming. SAIL AWAY solves that.

The Boats: We are only using Catalina 25 sailboats with fixed, fin keels. The C25 is a popular, comfortable, well built boat that is easy and enjoyable to sail, roomy enough for friends and family and an all around excellent cruising boat for Lake Pleasant. And yes, they can be raced! We also have a Capri 14.2 dingy sailboat.. and  kayaks  located at Tempe Town Lake.

The Program: We will accept up to 10 skippers per boat. You do not have to sail the same boat (currently there are three C25’s in the fleet). Boat usage is confirmed using an online calendar and reservation system. You can only make one booking at a time. Weekdays are generally quite ‘open’ and weekends are on a rotation basis – you cannot book every weekend day in advance. We also allow 24 hours advance booking. This means if no one is using a boat on Wednesday morning for example, you can book it on Tuesday afternoon. If no one is sailing on Thursday, you can go sailing again just by booking on Wednesday afternoon. The idea is to make the boats as available as possible, to sail as much a you would like to but not by taking time from others.

Qualifications: If you are an IYT certified Day Skipper, you are automatically approved as a skipper. We will also accept current/valid US Sailing and/or ASA equivalent certifications. If you do not hold any valid sailing certifications but are veritably experienced, you must complete a  ‘checkout’ on a C25.

The Cost: The SAIL AWAY program costs just $1600.00 per skipper, per year. This includes a ready to sail C25 kept in a wet slip at Lake Pleasant.
Your responsibilities: As a skipper, you shall care for the boat and be responsible for anyone on the boat while you are in charge. You are responsible for any damage done to the boat by you or your guests.