Hatteras Sailing Organization
Inspiring independence, seamanship, and respect for nature.
Hatteras Sailing was formed in 2020 and is a US SAILING Community Sailing Program based in Buxton NC on Hatteras Island. Our programs serve local year round families, friends and visitors to the Outer Banks of all ages. Because we want maritime training and sailing education to grow for generations and be sustainable we have a big focus on creating affordable access and training to local youth. We are a member organization but open to the general public. We love our beach visitors and are here to help them have safe and fun access to the wonders of the Pamlico Sound and Cape Hatteras National Seashore! Please come visit us in Buxton. Rent a boat, take camp or a lesson, do a sunset sail, or participate in one of our many social events! We would love to meet you and help you get out on the water.
New “Cape Select” Program for Island Homeowners !
Homeowners ! This is an Amenity your customers will really appreciate and probably start looking for before they make their booking! Mark your property as a member of Hatteras Sailing’s new “Cape Select” Properties. This conveys a wonderful membership package to your guests that goes way beyond boat ramp access and dockage, it strikes the heart of the matter and helps make boating on Hatteras Island’s Pamlico Sound safer and fun for visitors with boats or who want to get out on the water as part of the vacation here. It includes chart briefings, local knowlege of daily weather, tides and shoal areas, important fish and wildlife regulations, towing assistance, filing float plans and check in times, youth programs and camps, social events and access to waterside ammenities that might not be available if they didnt book a house on the water ! Its a great package and membership goes a long way to supporting the community program that is helping insure Hatteras Island keeps is maritime nature by nurturing seamanship with year round youth.
2025 Kids Opti Sailing Programs – Registration is Open
Learn to Sail – 8 to 12 years old
Our Opti Sailors from last year are all coming back again this year which should tell the tale! Its great fun. This year we 4 spots currently open in our Spring Opti Team Program!
For kids that have never sailed before, we start them out very gradually in shallow water where the coaches can stand. We teach the kids to drive their own boats all by themselves and work on building their self confidence through progressive learning of one basic skill after another, step by step. All classes are intentionally designed to be learning experiences while also being adventurous and fun for the kids. But this is sailing and it does have its dose of effort, safety skills training, and responsibilities to fellow sailors and to take care of the equipment….. which is all part of the learning experience.
If you are unsure if your child will enjoy sailing, that is understandable! We offer beginners introductory 5 half day camps so they can get a feel for the sport and see if its something that they like! We highly encourage local families to give it a try. Everything thing on the Outer Banks that we do one way or another involves the Sea, Wind, Waves and Water. Sailing is one of those skills that Island Youth should at least take a crack at ! There is no better place to learn.
SAILING LITTLES ! Ages 5 to 7 Summer Camps
Introduction to sailing for little ones is all about making sailing fun and learning to love sailing. We want each little one to go away wanting to sail more and learn more about sailing. As such, we will not be learning on the Optimist and sailing in a boat by ourselves. Through the course of camp, we will use larger boats and sail with instructors as a team. We may use any or all of the bigger boats in the fleet during introduction to sailing depending on the weather: Sabre 42, Stiletto 27, Melges 24, and Hobie 18. We will introduce the optimist with double handed sailing and fun capsizing the boat.
Come Sailing With Us
Open to the public: Visitors & Residents are invited to sail with Hatteras Sailing
Visitors
Go Sailing while you are on the Outer Banks. Learn To Sail or Take A Sailboat Charter with one of our experienced crew on the beautiful Pamlico Sound. Hatteras Sailing is open to all visitors and offers a variety of boats large and small for all ages, agilities, and skill levels. Sailing on the Pamlico Sound is a must-have Outer Banks Experience.
Residents
Learn how you can get involved in the many programs Hatteras Community Sailing puts together each Spring, Summer, and Fall for full time and seasonal Outer Banks Residents. Learn to sail, get an introduction to sailing, or just hop on for the boat ride during one of our community sailing events. In 2024, Hatteras Sailing has a jam packed calendar of programs for all ages.
Sailing School
For Individuals And Family Groups Open To The Public
Looking for a sailing school? Earn your sailing certifications and learn to sail while your family happily lounges on the Outer Banks national seashore. Our sailing school offers a similar curriculum to Offshore Sailing School or JWorld right here on Hatteras Island. Our entry level and performance courses last most of the day and leave you enough time to enjoy the beach and dinner with your family after lessons are done for the day.
| Course Description (link to registration) | Boat | Schedule | Hours Instruction | Course Fee | #Sailors |
| Basic Keelboat | Melges 24 | 3-Days: 8am – 5pm | 21 | $895 pp | 4 |
| Performance Keelboat | Melges 24 | 3-Days: 9am – 2pm | 15 | $595 pp | 4 |
| Basic Catamaran Sailing | Stiletto 27 | 3-Days: 9am – 4pm | 21 | $595 pp | 5 |
| Basic Liveaboard Cruising | Sabre 42 | 5-Days: Live Aboard | 120 | $1250 pp | 5 |
Sailing Camp
Youth & Kids Sailing Camp
The Cape is surrounded with water, the Atlantic Ocean on one side and Pamlico Sound on the other, so our exploration takes us to the water! We use our sailboats and coach boats to take the kids to hidden bayside beaches and sandy clam shoals where they can play in the shallow water and learn to sail. We learn basics of sailing on the same boats our sailing team sail and we get out on the big boats too. A week of jam packed water sports fun.Taught by Hatteras Sailing Coaches and junior sailors as assistant coaches. We learn to sail and have lots of fun with a variety of activities including
- exploring
- sailing
- paddling
- swimming
| Registration Link & Description | Ages | Boat | Schedule | Hours Instruction | Course Fee | #Sailors |
| Intro To Sailing | 5-7 yrs | Big Boats | 3 Days: 8am-12noon | 12 | $300 pp | min 4 / max 8 |
| Anytime 3-Day Sailing Camp | 8-12 yrs | Optimist / Stiletto 27 | 3-Days: 9am – noon | 9 | $279 pp | min 4 / max 8 |
| Anytime 5-Day Sailing Camp | 8-12 yrs | Optimist / Stiletto 27 | 5-Days: 9am – noon | 15 | $375 pp | min 4 / max 8 |
| Anytime 3-Day Sailing Camp | Teen – Adult | C420 / Melges 24 / Hobie | 3-Days: 9am – noon | 9 | $300 pp | min 4 / max 8 |
| Anytime 5-Day sailing Camp | Teen – Adult | C420 / Megles 24 / Hobie | 5-Days: 9am – noon | 15 | $500 pp | min 4 / max 8 |
Recent News
Stay In The Loop
Hatteras Coaches Junior’s Week at Colington Yacht Club
Coaches and Sailors from Hatteras Sailing travel to Kill Devil Hills to coach the 2023 Colington Yacht Club Junior’s Week Clinic. Jay and Meg Phillips spent last week coaching Outer Banks Youth during the 2023 Colington Yacht Club Junior’s Week. The clinic lasted all day for five days. Eight kids from 8-12 years old learned on the Optimist Sailboat and 6 teenagers learned to sail on the C420. Read More
Hatteras Sailors Demonstrate Skill and Growth at Optimist Nationals
“It am proud to see Hatteras Sailors competing on the national stage with sailors from Chicago, San Diego, and Annapolis. Every time we enter a regatta these kids make lifelong relationships and treasured memories they will carry with will them for the rest of their lives” says Hatteras Sailing Program Director and Optimist Coach, Meg Phillips. Read More
Hatteras Sailors Heading to Optimist Nationals
Two sailors from the Hatteras Community Sailing race team, Beau Phillips (age 9) and Seaton Hawpe (age 11) will compete in the 2023 Simmons Boatworks Optimist US National Championship hosted by Hampton Yacht Club in Virginia from June 30 – August 4th. Read More
HCS Is Officially 501(c)(3)
Congratulations to Hatteras Community Sailing with special thanks to Gerry Linder. Back in 2020 when a group of parents launched Hatteras Community sailing, we never dreamed how challenging it would be to get non-profit status with the IRS for a kids sailing program … Read more
- High School Team Sailing Melges at HYC Hospice CupThis weekend 4 of our High School Sailors will be competing on the Melges 24 at the Hampton Yacht Club Hospice Cup Regatta! This is the first opportunity the kids will have this year to step up to a bigger grand prix style racing platform by racing one design against some of the best adult… Read more: High School Team Sailing Melges at HYC Hospice Cup
- 2024 Interscholastic Sailing SeasonOBX NOW HAS HIGH SCHOOL SAILING! Sailing is a lifelong adventure like no other. Hundreds of kids from all across North Carolina are participating … and now so can you. Open to 8-12th graders from First Flight, Manteo, Hatteras, Ocracoke, and Homeschools => Last year Hatteras Community Sailing and Colington Yacht Club leadership worked together… Read more: 2024 Interscholastic Sailing Season
- Fri Sep-23, 2023: CHLOD Regatta Weather Update420s Will Sail on Sunday Each of the three weather forecasting models that we use here on Hatteras line up and predict the wind to be decreasing for sailing on Sunday. Phillips family is planning to head to the sailing center Saturday afternoon to begin clean up and prep for regatta sailing on Sunday. If… Read more: Fri Sep-23, 2023: CHLOD Regatta Weather Update
- Thu, Sep 21, 2023: Regatta Weather & Schedule UpdateThe National Hurricane Center has issued a Tropical Storm Warning and a Storm Surge Watch for all areas of the Outer Banks due to the expected impacts from an area of low pressure off the southeastern coast of the U.S. This developing system—which is currently identified as Potential Tropical Cyclone 16 by the National Hurricane Center, and which could… Read more: Thu, Sep 21, 2023: Regatta Weather & Schedule Update
- Sep-19, 2023: Lighthouse Regatta Weather UpdateSep-19 08:30 am: A Weather Update from PRO, Jay Phillips At the moment, there is no low pressure system off of Florida or North of the Bahamas. While there are some pretty ugly forecasts for the weekend, they are regarding storms that do not exist yet and are very speculative. There is a very good… Read more: Sep-19, 2023: Lighthouse Regatta Weather Update
Our 2024 Sponsors
Hatteras Sailing is a sponsor and member supported organization. Thank you to all our local business and individual sponsors.
Support Hatteras Sailing
Become a Member
Hatteras Community Sailing (Hatteras Sailing) is a member-based organization, open to all, created to encourage sailing and competitive opportunities for our Island Youth.
Hatteras Sailing is a nonprofit community organization focused on inclusion of youth and adults who have a desire to learn more about our Island’s wonderful natural assets!
Sponsor Youth Sailing
Hatteras community sailing offers a wide variety of sponsorship opportunities. We need support to establish a firm and sustainable future for the Hatteras Sailing Organization’s US Sailing juniors program. Sponsorships are acknowledged in a variety of ways including a banner ad on our website, t-shirt logos, and recognition on our social channels. Click to learn more.