CMCS Sailing Club

Sailing Southwest Florida & Beyond

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About Us

Our Mission

The purpose of the Caloosahatchee Marching and Chowder Society, Inc. (CMCS) is to organize and promote sailing activities with emphasis on offshore sailing, racing, and cruising.

In support of this mission the club organizes and conducts:

Offshore cruises lasting ten days or more
Coastal cruises lasting three to five days
A series of distance races in the Gulf of Mexico
A series of buoy races in the Gulf of Mexico
Monthly membership meetings with the purpose of conducting very limited club business, and a primary purpose to promote camaraderie among the membership
More than a half dozen social gatherings

Additionally, in support of this mission, CMCS is a non-profit organization which conducts limited fund raising. Moneys raised are donated to youth sailing educational programs in Southwest Florida. The club has been very successful in this endeavor, to the point of being recognized by US Sailing as the 2012 winner of their Outstanding Organizational Support Award.

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* Membership level

Crew Member - $85.00 (USD) Subscription period: 1 year, on: January 1st No automatically recurring payments A membership for an individual person without a boat. This is also known as an INDIVIDUAL membership

Regular Member - $145.00 (USD) Bundle (up to 2 members) Subscription period: 1 year, on: January 1st No automatically recurring payments A membership for your household (family members living in your home), with a boat. This is also known as a FULL/BOAT membership. A one-time $30 Burgee Fee will also be applied to the to new memberships.

CMCS is a 501(c)6 non-profit organization. PO Box 101268, Cape Coral, FL 33910

Our History

The Caloosahatchee Marching and Chowder Society

The sailing club with the very unusual name formed around 1970 at Cape Coral, Florida, with sailors from all over Southwest Florida as charter members. The unique name came from an effort to make it forever obvious that this was not a “Knife and Fork yacht club,” but a group of offshore sailors who wanted to race, cruise and explore the coasts of Florida, the Keys, the Tortugas, and the Bahamas. The name also describes the offbeat informal humor of the offshore sailor. It consists of folks from all walks of life who unite in their love of the sea.

The fleet of CMCS grew until now it numbers close to one hundred vessels and several hundred sailors and their family members. It consists of folks from all walks of life who unite in their love of the sea. For many years, CMCS did not even have a clubhouse, but finally obtained one in the late 1970’s at Rankin’s Anchorage. In 1996, the growth in membership prompted our move to a larger facility in Salty Sam’s Marina. By 2005, our membership had doubled to over 250 members. The clubhouse, now bursting at the seams required us to seek a “new home” with adequate facilities for our crew. We are now located at the Cape Coral Yacht Club, 5819 Driftwood Pkwy., Cape Coral, Florida.

In 2012 U.S. Sailing recognized CMCS with the Outstanding Organizational Support award. The award is given annually to an individual or organization that has made notable contributions to promote public access sailing in the development and organization of sailing programs. Our little Society earned the award due to philanthropic work led from fund raising activities produced by our Summerset Regatta.

This award seems to be a first for any Florida maritime organization. In addition, CMCS member Ross Webb won the Excellence in Instruction award for his work with the Edison Sailing Center.

The Caloosahatchee Marching and Chowder Society is one of the largest, oldest, and most active sailing clubs in Southwest Florida. It is unique, with its fame spread across the nation and across the ocean. But its most endearing quality is the informal friendliness of the sailors of its fleet, who welcome everyone, everywhere, to join their love of the sea. After all, with a name like this, you know we don’t take ourselves too seriously.

To review the Society’s most honored participants, please enter our Trophy Archives.

Click to view our History of Officers.

To learn about our club’s mission click here.

Browse: Home / 2020 Officers & Directors & Committees

Our 2021 Officers, Directors, and Committees of the Fleet

Our Officers
Commodore: Gary Blessing
Vice Commodore: TBD
Past Commodore: Jim Slager
Rear Commodore Racing: Art Schuler & Scott Milligan
Rear Commodore Cruising: Diane Fowler
Vice Commodore Summerset: TBD
Purser: Julia Robinson
Yeoman: Bev Duff

2020 thru 2021 Directors:
Scott Milligan
Cindy Naumann
Art Schuler
2021 thru 2022 Directors:
Jean Blessing
Jason Pim
Glen Vetter
Roger Wood

COMMITTEES of the FLEET
Annual Yearbook: Cindy Naumann
Awards & Recognitions: Carol Pim
Chowder Chatter: Cindy Naumann
Club Development Committee: TBD
Clubhouse Programs: TBA
Fleet Recruiter & Membership: Jean Blessing
Historian: Carol Pim
Ladies Bridge Club: Joan Perkett
Legislative Liaison: Jason Pim
Liberty Ashore: Cindy Naumann
Public Relations: Jason Pim
SailMate: Bev Duff
Storekeeper: Pat & Gay O’Keefe
Sunshine Over the Yardarm: Sigrid Diedricksen
Website Guru: Glen Vetter & Jon Hart
Communications Committee: Glen Vetter
2020 thru 2021 Directors:
Scott Milligan
Cindy Naumann
Art Schuler
2021 thru 2022 Directors:
Jean Blessing
Jason Pim
Glen Vetter
Roger Wood