Basic Keelboat Sailing with Spinnaker Sailing

Date: 21-22 July 2012 (Weekend)

Place: San Francisco Bay (Out from Pier 40)

Boat: Santana 22

Sailing Class by: http://www.spinnakersailing.com/

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My First Foray into Sailing: From SF Bay Dreams to Hands-On Learning

Sailing wasn't even on my radar until I saw those graceful sailboats gliding across the San Francisco Bay. Watching them from a large ferry, I had a "this is so stupid, I should be down there" moment. That's when the desire to try sailing truly sparked. Though, initially, I wanted to go sailing, not necessarily do the actual sailing myself.

Luckily, my cousin Sanjay and his wife Vidya are avid sailors. To my immense fortune, my cousin found me a fantastic coupon that slashed the price of a four-class course from a hefty $800 to just $395! I'm writing this after completing the first two classes and am now incredibly eager for the final two this coming weekend.

My cousin, his wife, and I arrived at the Spinnaker Sailing office. We waited a bit for the fourth person, Jeremy, and then our veteran instructor, Stuart. The first lesson was all about knots: bowline, figure-of-8, double overhand, and clove hitch. After mastering those, I received a detailed explanation of a keelboat's components—everything from the keel, mast, jib, boom, and tiller/helm, to the main sails, jib sail, fairlead, cleat, fender, winch, and halyard. Then came the Points of Sail (close haul, beam reach, run), followed by intricate details on how to raise and lower the sails and maneuver the boat out of the harbor. It was a fun-filled theory class.

At 11:00 AM, we finally headed out to the boat for some practical training. I learned how to complete the basic checklist, get the sails up, and then bring them back down. At 12:00 PM, we took a break for lunch. I was fortunate to have both Vidya and Sanjay with me, and they had even prepared some delicious sandwiches. After lunch, we ventured out into the bay for some actual sailing! I quickly learned how challenging yet fun it is to control the sail, realizing that sailing is truly more than a one-person task, unless you're on a highly automated cruise sailboat. We learned to tack and gybe, and even how to heave to. We dropped the main sail to reduce our speed, and I was genuinely amazed at how fast a sailboat can travel by simply harnessing the sheer power of the wind.