Cliff Fitzgerald | Modern Sailing

Cliff Fitzgerald

Instructor

Cliff grew up in a family that sailed on Long Island Sound. At the age of eight he got his start at skippering and racing in a summer youth sailing program. Dinghies led to small centerboard sloops, which led to keelboats of all types ranging from twenty-two to fifty feet. By the time he was in college, Cliff was crewing on coastal passages from New York to Nova Scotia and also teaching in the same summer program he had come up in. His family continued sailing throughout, including bareboat chartering in the British Virgin Islands.

Cliff joined the OCSC instructor team in 2015, and except for the time of COVID restrictions, has been teaching ever since. He is delighted to be back in Berkeley working with the rest of the Modern Sailing team to continue growing the school's legacy of excellence in sailing instruction. 

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  • Alisa Driscoll, Dual Site Member

    Here are some snaps of Our Saturday, August 20, 2022 Modern Sailing Expedition with Captain Robert Bivin, who was outstanding. Please convey photos and thanks to him. He is an outstanding individual, leader and sailing instructor. His knowledge and experience made us all feel safe and our Farallones Day Trip educational and just amazing. 

  • Esther C

    I took ASA 101 with them recently. They have the best customer service I've ever seen! I mistyped my address when I signed up online so didn't receive the textbook. I called and the lady immediately sent me another copy! Everyone at the club is super friendly.

  • Danny Collins

    The office staff was very accommodating in meeting my availability.

  • Lisa Butzer Wilde

    Thumbs up to (Club Skipper) Geoff (Love) and his wife Laura. I went on my first Club Sail on Sunday, January 18, 2026. They were terrific!

  • Mike, Santa Rosa, California

    All of the courses and my instructors (JT and Stan) were extremely professional and full of knowledge and experience. I found I was able to learn from their experiences beyond the scope of the courses, and look forward to future opportunities to do so. I would highly recommend Modern Sailing to anyone.

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