Summer 2026 marks the launch of Group Nautique, offering bareboat yacht charters and US Sailing instruction on the San Francisco Bay. Longtime friends, sailing partners, and instructors formed Group Nautique, headquartered at Brickyard Cove in Richmond. Group Nautique’s start comes after completing a process that’s lasted nearly seven months, organizing boat owners, clearing regulatory hurdles, and gaining a crucial certifying approval from US Sailing.

“We are excited to see this get off the ground,” said Carla Deykin of Group Nautique. She confirmed that the club’s starting fleet includes Beneteau and Jeanneau monohulls, Colgate trainers, and even a Dolphin 460 catamaran.

Group Nautique may be new, but it continues a legacy that started more than 40 years ago. If the name “Nautique” sounds familiar to you, that’s because Group Nautique is the phoenix rising from the former Club Nautique, the venerable local institution that taught sailors to sail and provided a means for friends and families to enjoy the Bay through bareboat chartering, from 1980 until its sudden closure at the end of 2025.

“We had to find a different way to re-establish the spirit of Club Nautique, and the non-profit model seemed to work best,” said Paul Jones, a former Club Nautique instructor for nearly three decades who helped found Group Nautique as a 501(c)(7). “This ‘balanced-helm model’ will give our members a voice on how the club will be managed and it will all be completely transparent.”

“CN had the premier US Sailing instruction in the country having taught at other companies under ASA, the instructors were really top notch,” said Group Nautique co-founder Jonathan Ganz, a sailing instructor for over 20 years. “Group Nautique is going to continue that legacy. We’re interested in getting people out on the water.”

Club Nautique attracted members from as far as London and Dubai, and closer to home, offshore-certified members enjoyed unparalleled freedom for bareboat charting, allowed to skipper new Jeanneau and Beneteau yachts from San Diego to Point Arena. Club Nautique hosted flotillas to the Seychelles and Croatia, and some members even cruised the Baja Ha-ha and tackled the Pac Cup race to Hawaii. The club thrived on Delta and Monterey cruises, Angel Island barbecues, social sails like Women at the Helm and Wednesday “Hump Nights,” rallies like the Bay Buoy Boogie and Angels and Demons, and the club’s boats even hosted the occasional wedding. Many Nautiquers’ sailing adventures were even chronicled in the pages of Latitude 38, including Alex Dailey, Diana and Joaquin Barrios, and many more.

“Over 3,000 people received US Sailing certifications through Club Nautique,” since 1995, said Sarah Hawkins of US Sailing in Bristol, Rhode Island. Club Nautique stood out as the only school in the nation offering US Sailing’s most advanced certification, Offshore Passagemaking (OPM), a grueling 600-mile voyage requiring students to navigate by the stars using a sextant.

“Sailing is the university you never graduate from,” added Arnstein Mustad, a longtime US Sailing instructor at Club Nautique and delivery captain who says he logs about 15,000 nautical miles each year. Mustad will teach and serve as the new Commodore at Group Nautique. “For those people who are enthusiastic about learning, they will find a non-stop endeavor in the world of sailing. I want to impart that there is no end in this thing; it’s the journey that counts, it’s just the journey.”

“We would like to acknowledge the tragic loss of David Forbes and Colin Williams—the brains and soul behind Club Nautique (CN)—whose passing led to a closure that devastated many people,” added Mustad. “Therefore, we–the group– fully intend to carry on the legacy of Club Nautique in every way possible. To that end, we have already pre-signed nearly 300 members based on our unique offerings and the enduring legacy of CN.  And now we’re in the process of opening in Point Richmond. We have every intention of making Group Nautique the premier sailing school in America!”

– Tony Gilbert