16. Baltimore Area Triathlon Club
City: Baltimore, MD
Category: Parks & Recreation
Description: This local organization offers support to athletes who like to run, swim, and bike fast. Track workouts are held weekly and their Web site includes area races.
17. Baltimore Road Runners Club
City: Baltimore, MD
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (410) 377-7327 (24-hour hotlin
Description: For more than 30 years, this club has promoted running for recreational and competitive runners. Some members run occasionally, others are marathoners. Some runs are 100 meters long and others 10 or 20 miles. Relays are on the schedule, too. Some events have no fee; others are minimal depending on whether or not you’re a member. Membership is $25 for an individual and $30 for a family.
City: Baltimore, MD
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: 400 Key Hwy.
19. Baltimore Public Docking
City: Baltimore, MD
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (410) 396-3174
Description: The city’s docks are always crowded, but the locations at the Inner Harbor and Canton can be among the best for sightseers or for those seeking to be seen. High visibility comes at a high price at this 16-foot-deep marina. Electricity and showers are available, along with ice. Other services, including grocery stores, pharmacies, shopping, and restaurants, are near each dock.
20. Inner Harbor East Marina
City: Baltimore, MD
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (410) 625-1700
Address: 801 Lancaster St.
Description: This marina, which has been in the midst of Legg Mason and Four Seasons hotel construction for much too long, has 188 floating boat slips. It’s a 15-minute walk to the Inner Harbor or 10 minutes to Little Italy and Fell’s Point. Transients are welcome and slips are $2.10 a foot per night and $2.75 per foot if you need a T-head. An electrical hookup is $16 a night. This is also home of the Canton Kayak Club (www.cantonkayakclub.com).
21. Middle Branch Marina
City: Baltimore, MD
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (410) 539-2628
Address: 3101 Waterview Ave.
Description: Under the Hanover Street Bridge, about 1 mile directly across the Patapsco River from the Inner Harbor, this 365-slip marina is one of the most affordable for all the amenities it provides. With a transient rate of $1.50 per foot and facilities for everything from a dinghy to a 60-footer, it’s hard to go wrong. The 6-foot-deep, protected cove provides safety, security, and access. Among the amenities are water and electricity ($5 a day) connections to each slip, shower rooms, a full-service repair yard, a ships store, and a do-it-yourself service area, where tools are provided at an hourly rate. Gas and diesel service and pump-out facilities are also available.
22. Tidewater Yacht Service Center
City: Baltimore, MD
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (410) 625-4992
Address: 321 East Cromwell St.
Description: If you can float it, Tidewater Yacht Service Center can fix it—at a guaranteed rate established before the work begins. Located now at the Port Covington Maritime Center, Tidewater specializes in cleaning and detailing, bottom painting, engine and generator repairs and sales, fiberglass and blister repair, woodworking, awlgrip refinishing, varnishing, air conditioning and refrigeration, electrical service, sail repair, and canvas installation and repair. Since 1965 the facility has provided service to boats weighing as much as 60 tons or with beams as long as 20 feet. Towing services are also available. The fuel dock is still located near the domino sugar sign at Key Highway. They are a BoatUS cooperating marina.
23. Getaway Sailing
City: Baltimore, MD
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (410) 342-3110, (888) 342-3709
Address: 2700 Lighthouse Point (Suite 905)
Description: Getaway Sailing offers a fleet of sailboats from 9 feet to 34 feet at the Lighthouse Point Marina, on the Patapsco River in Canton. Rentals vary depending on the size and type of boat and on how long you decide to spend sailing it—so call ahead for details. Baredeck and skippered charters and cruises are available. Owner Dick Mead also offers afternoon and overnight cruises to the Eastern Shore. In addition to rentals, the company provides lessons.
City: Baltimore, MD
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: 1809 Thames St.
25. Blue Goose Yacht Charter Service
City: Baltimore, MD
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (410) 647-2583
Address: 2501 Boston St.
Description: This charter service, based out of Anchorage Marina in the Baltimore Harbor, has five trawlers in its fleet. The yachts come fully equipped—complete with linens, towels, and utensils. Early boarding is allowed the night before, at no additional charge, if the schedule permits. They like their boats to stay in the upper Bay area. They do not like them to go south of the Choptank River, east of Cambridge on the Eastern Shore, south or west of the Solomons on the Western Shore, or near the C&D Canal. Discounts for charters lasting longer than one week and for repeat customers are offered. Blue Goose operates from late April or early May through the end of October.
26. North Baltimore Aquatic Club
City: Baltimore, MD
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (410) 433-8300
Address: 5700 Cottonwood Ave.
Description: Yes, the NBAC is where Bob Bowman coached Dr. McSwimmy as he swam his way into history. They’ve formed a partnership to operate this pool, where Phelps began his training at age seven and the Meadowbrook Aquatic Center. If you (your children) want to rub hand paddles with future swimming stars, you can start with lessons here.
27. Baltimore Rowing Club
City: Baltimore, MD
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (410) 355-5659
Address: 3301 Waterview Ave.
Description: Get up and go near the Hanover Street Bridge south of the Inner Harbor and you might see the slim rowing boats of the Baltimore Rowing Club—or the sculls of local high school and college teams—breaking the still waters of the Patapsco River. If you’ve ever seen these graceful vessels and wanted to take your turn at an oar, the Baltimore Rowing Club offers lessons and regattas. You’ve got to get up early; classes begin at 5 a.m.
28. Chesapeake Paddlers Association
City: Baltimore, MD
Category: Parks & Recreation
Description: With more than 300 members from the Maryland, Delaware, and District of Columbia, the Chesapeake Paddlers Association offers a forum for sea kayakers who’d like to discuss techniques and common interests, improve paddling skills, and experience the beauty of the Chesapeake Bay region’s waters. Membership costs $10, and while the organization has no telephone number, you can learn more about it by sending a letter to the listed address or by checking the Web site.