Unique Mix of Citizen Science, Photography & Adventure Sailing - Join Us

What is "Base Camp"?

It's a perfectly fitting name for our expedition style sailing. ​​Base Camp is where the adventure begins. It’s a place of safety, shelter and protection where planning and preparation happen before heading out on the adventure.
​We are excited that our photo was selected for the cover shot! Thank you Chesapeake Bay Magazine. We are honored.
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Check out the 2017 Chesapeake Bay Cruising Guide cover photo of us on Base Camp.
THE CHESAPEAKE BAY
- 200 miles long
​- 3 to 35 miles wide
- Largest estuary in the US
- Fed by 100,000+ streams
- 12,000 miles of shoreline
​- Average depth of 21 feet
- Deepest 174 feet deep
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Base Camp at anchor in a beautiful location on the Chesapeake Bay.

Sail with Us on the Chesapeake Bay
Offering Sail Charters, Lessons and Photography Workshops​

Exploration of the Chesapeake Bay can be endless! To accomplish our unique voyages, we always utilize our Base Camp 31 foot Pearson sailboat that takes us to new and different places. We observe dozens of amazing lighthouses that line the channels. The pristine open waters allow us to tweak and tune our sails to accommodate every condition. Unspoiled gunk-holes await our anchor, and quaint towns like St. Michael's call us to walk and explore. Protected birds of prey like Osprey and Bald Eagles are nested along the way. And in addition to all of these discoveries, we experience amazing sunrises and sunsets. The photographic opportunities are limitless!

Cruising, learning and exploring the bay is our passion aboard Base Camp. We strive to provide a safe and enjoyable bay experience for you. Whether it's a sunset sail, day-long adventure or multi-day expedition, we teach, share, learn and laugh as much as possible. We work as a team to teach sailing and leadership skills. Or if you prefer, just sit back and enjoy the view.

Sprinkle lots of environmental stewardship into the mix and we make lifelong friends every day we are on the water. In fact, fellow travelers often return to Base Camp Sailing to challenge themselves and go further out on the water.

We do lots of Chesapeake Bay sailing with our new friends: Choptank, West, Rhode and South River. In addition, we're happy to announce the recent addition of some more complex and rewarding adventures, which include a single-handed 450+ mile circumnavigation of DelMarVa and a fully crewed Atlantic Ocean passage from St. Martin to Bermuda.

If you like what you see and would like to join our adventures, request additional information at Sail with Us

Adding Purpose to Our Adventures 

Engaging in environmental stewardship activities as citizen scientists has transformed our passion for adventure and the outdoors to a new level. We are educating local high school students on Chesapeake Bay water qualities issues that are occurring in their own backyards. By teaming up with researchers and taking water samples while sailing the bay, we are helping to map microplastic ocean pollution issues worldwide. We are also joining forces with NOAA and their Marine Debris Program and Adventure Scientists.

At Base Camp Sailing, we have teamed up with ​Adventure Scientists to help with their worldwide ocean microplastics study. We are collecting water samples throughout the bay aboard our environmentally friendly wind-powered sailboat. The researchers then analyze each of our sample for microsplastic quantities. The surprising results from our samples and other adventures worldwide are then mapped. Take a look at the Citizen Science tab above for details on gathering these samples and learning about sources of the plastics and microplastics in waters throughout the world.

You can join us for a sail and help gather a water sample or even request for us to speak with your club, group or class about our adventures and research on the Chesapeake Bay. We can present our dynamic and interactive photo-presentation with details on the microplastics issues.

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