Expand Your Horizons at the Annapolis Spring Sailboat Show
Date: March 30, 2026
“Don’t worry, I watched a video,” is a perfectly fine thing to hear when someone is helping you assemble a bookshelf. It’s less reassuring when they’re standing at the helm or setting a broken limb. YouTube, online forums, and AI chatbots can certainly be useful tools, but they are no substitute for hands-on training. The Annapolis Spring Sailboat Show (April 24–26) is built around real experts, real boats, and real experiences. This year’s education lineup covers everything from your first sail to offshore emergency medicine, with free seminars, dockside clinics, and multi-day courses in between.
First Sail Workshop
SailTime’s First Sail Workshop is the place to start if you’ve never sailed before. A 45-minute classroom session covers the fundamentals, then you spend 90 minutes on the water putting them to use. Saturday is already sold out, so register now. Tickets are $85 and include show admission and a one-year BoatUS membership.
Ask Me Anything About Sailing
Not quite ready to climb aboard? The Ask Me Anything About Sailing panel is a free, low-pressure Q&A session for anyone new to sailing or attending the show for the first time. The panel will be discussing where to get lessons, boat types, how to get started, how to make the most of the weekend, and much more. Coffee and donuts are provided, which should settle any remaining doubts about showing up. Pre-registration is requested. Sign up here.
Free Daily Seminars, Presented by BoatUS
Every day of the show, BoatUS presents a slate of seminars included with your admission. On Friday, Captain Cheryl Duvall recaps a 101-day, 1,820-nautical-mile cruise from Annapolis to Maine and back, with enough lobster roll intel to justify the trip on its own. Saturday, Capt. Alex “Wolf” Zahn distills 30 years of gunkholing the Chesapeake into one session of hidden creeks, dog-friendly anchorages, and local knowledge you won’t find on a chart. Sunday, a panel of sailing parents from SpinSheet Magazine shares how they get their kids on the water and keep them coming back. That’s just a sample. Check out the full seminar schedule to plan your days.
Become Better Racing Crew
For sailors who want to get into racing as well as racing sailors looking to step up their game, pro sailor Jahn Tihansky and coach Aidan Gray lead a Sunday dockside clinic alongside a J/80. Small groups will work through sail handling, tacking, gybing, communication, and weight placement. Two sessions are available (10:30 a.m. and 12 p.m.); tickets are $20, admission to the show is included, and proceeds support CRAB’s racing program. Learn more.
Cruisers University
Sailors with longer horizons will want to look at Cruisers University, which runs multi-day courses in downtown Annapolis just before the show opens. The Diesel Maintenance and Advanced Diagnostics class is three days of hands-on engine work for anyone who’d rather fix a problem at sea than call for help. The Offshore Emergency Medicine course, taught by the authors of Wilderness & Rescue Medicine, prepares cruisers and racers for medical situations far from shore. Both courses include show admission.
While You’re Here
Between sessions, look for the Seven Seas Cruising Association, the world’s oldest and largest organization for cruising sailors, and Captain Papa Sailing, whose books and games are designed to get kids excited about life on the water.
Of course, there are a few other advantages to attending the show over online learning. You can climb aboard a dock full of sailboats, grab a cocktail at the No Wake Zone, and spend the weekend exploring America’s sailing capital. After all, who wants to get a pint and trade stories with a chatbot? Get your tickets today, and spend the weekend with real sailors on real boats.