Charles Ballowe (lower left).
What Charles Ballowe likes best about the Chesapeake Boating Club (CBC, in Annapolis and Baltimore) is not owning a boat. “The club is easy. No hassle, no work. You just get on your boat and sail.”
How did you get into sailing?
Although my parents had a sailboat when I was a baby, I came late to sailing. They sold their boat when I was two years old. I got back into sailing in college through the Georgia Tech Sailing Club. After that I became a member/instructor at a nonprofit sailing center in Washington called DC Sail. I went on to get all my U.S. Sailing certifications at OCSC Sailing on the San Francisco Bay. Through the experiences I’ve gained with this sailing club and through charters abroad, I’ve been able to earn a captains license, an RYA Yachtmaster Certificate. I continue to sail with this club because it’s the least costly, easiest way that I can get my friends and me on the water as often as I go!
What’s the best part about being in a sailing club?
It’s just so easy. I can hop on a boat any day without any effort and count on the club to have made the necessary maintenance and preparation. One year I sailed 55 days with the club. That year, I would have been able to be one of your SpinSheet Century Club members (largely thanks to the CBC), but I wasn’t aware to apply at the time!
Can you tell us about one interesting person you met through sailing?
That’s tough. To me it’s all about the community. I will say that I enjoy talking to one of the guys who works at the club: Alex Berg. He has a wicked beard and makes things easy out there.
Anything else you would like to share with SpinSheet readers about your sailing adventures?
I’ve sailed in a lot of places now: Croatia, Gibraltar, the British Virgin Islands, San Francisco, and more. I find nowhere as relaxing as sailing out of Annapolis. I believe that the team at CBC has really contributed to that sense of comfort. I’ve never had any maintenance issues on the club boats: no engine trouble, no rigging issues. That is remarkable given that I’ve sailed upwards of 50 days per year with them.
