Inland & ICW · Sanford
Founded 1985. Sailing club on Lake Monroe, a broad widening of the St. Johns River, with a clubhouse on Marina Island at the Downtown Sanford Marina. Wednesday Rum Races March to October, San Juan 21 and Catalina 22 fleets, and Sailfest the first weekend of December.
A one-day navigation race through the tight channels and shallows of the wetlands at the east end of Lake Monroe, where skippers may cut corners if they trust the depth.
Held the first weekend of December for more than 25 years, per the club. Multihulls, planing dinghies and small keelboats on Lake Monroe, headquartered at the LMSA clubhouse in Sanford.
Trans Monroe / Southern Challenge
The club's spring regatta on Lake Monroe, sailed from the LMSA clubhouse in Sanford.
The club's weeknight race on Lake Monroe through the long-evening months.
The members' points series on Lake Monroe, sailed from the clubhouse.
The clubhouse sits on Marina Island in Sanford, at the Downtown Sanford Marina and beside the city boat ramp. More than half the members’ boats live in wet slips at the marina, and the rest trail in and launch at the ramp next door. The water outside is Lake Monroe, a broad widening of the St. Johns River on its slow way north to Jacksonville, with Sanford’s waterfront on the south shore and open lake to the north. The association has sailed it since 1985.
The boats tell you what kind of racing this is. Catalina 22s, San Juan 21s, Precision 23s, Hunter 23s, an O’Day 19, a Mirage 5.5, a Force 5 and a Flying Scot are the names on the club’s lists, with an F31 trimaran for range; San Juan 21 Fleet 29 calls the lake home and hosted a stop on the class’s 2026 travel series, and the Flying Scot Sailing Association lists LMSA as a host site. The calendar runs on the Wednesday Rum Race from March to the end of October, a 6:25 start once the evenings are long enough, plus monthly club races for members, a Jameson Sunday Race, a Ladies on the Lake series, and the Trans Monroe distance race in the spring.
Sailfest is the event people travel for. The club has run it on the first weekend of December for more than 25 years, by its own count, and opens it to everything from beach cats to planing dinghies to small keelboats, with the clubhouse as regatta headquarters.
Membership is open to individuals and families, and you do not need a boat: the club keeps a crew finder for exactly that, and the monthly club races are the members’ series. There is no youth program, and no learn-to-sail program yet; the way in for a beginner is a crew spot on a Wednesday night.
Lake Monroe Sailing Association is open to the public: no member sponsorship required to take part. Class schedules, program fees, and any membership or annual-pass options are posted on its website.
Featured Private Inland & ICW · Eustis · est. 1953
Racing and sailing club with 60+ days of one-design racing each year on Lake Eustis, among the busiest race calendars in Central Florida. Active MC Scow, Flying Scot, Wayfarer, and Laser fleets. Partners with Lake Eustis Youth Sailing Foundation for adult and junior instruction.
Private Inland & ICW · Indian Harbour Beach · est. 1907
Founded 1907, one of the older yacht clubs on Florida's east coast. Sits at the mouth of the Banana River adjacent to the Intracoastal; relocated to its current Indian Harbour Beach campus in 1959, with the clubhouse opening in 1961.
Reciprocal Inland & ICW · Fort Pierce · est. 1980
Power, sail, and social club organized 1980, on the Indian River Lagoon at Seaway Drive in downtown Fort Pierce. Monthly offshore PHRF races plus spring, fall, and all-ladies regattas; any YCA-club member is welcomed, with transient berths next door at the city marina.