Get Your Vitamin Sea
A letter from Leigh Hunt, President & CEO at Modern Sailing School & Club
As the steward of a maritime business that has been in continuous operation in Sausalito for over 40 years, the waterfront has been my livelihood and passion. We bring over 1,000 people down here every year to take sailing lessons and rent boats. Thousands of recreational sailors got their start with us. Hundreds of professional captains trained here. For a lot of Sausalito and Bay Area residents, we are the path to the Bay.
But, what you might not see from shore is how a sailing school actually works. I have a fleet of boats that need constant care and maintenance. I take the boats to List Marine to get their engines serviced. I bring the boats to Spaulding or KKMI/Safe Harbor to get hauled out and have their bottoms painted. Along with many, many other vendors.
The people who spend money at my business are not just paying for a sailing lesson. They are helping Spaulding. They are helping List Marine. And it flows back the other way, too. People come sailing with us, then stay in Sausalito for lunch or dinner. My business is aided by Fish, by Le Garage, and by all the things that make Sausalito’s waterfront interesting and fun. My clients and my employees love it here because of those places. When someone takes a sailing lesson with us, they help the whole ecosystem.
That is the idea I always come back to: the ecosystem. The sailing school needs boatyards. Boatyards need the sailing school. The restaurants bring people to the water, and we put them on it. We all symbiotically depend on each other. So, when you think about our waterfront, zoom out and look at the whole picture. All of us contribute.
I have served on the Sausalito Chamber of Commerce for many years, and I have been a member of the Sausalito Sustainable Waterfront Association (SSWA) since its inception in 2024. Our town is unique because our marinas and waterfront businesses are owned by people and families, and we share a deep-rooted commitment to keeping Sausalito’s waterfront viable. Together, we are advocating for a deeper discussion about how to make our waterfront as strong and healthy as it deserves to be.
For me, that means continuing our traditions and preserving what makes my business work in an ever-changing world, to the benefit of our sailing programs and the maritime community at large. It also means embracing a wider view of service industries that make our waterfront attractive. A healthy, sustainable small business ecosystem is open-minded and welcoming. Green, blue, maritime, art, and industrial uses should all be encouraged.
Fair winds!
