The past 2 weekends we've been out on the sea. This was very exciting for me because I've always loved any and all water sports. I first learned how to sail a dinghy at the Berkeley Marina. I had a great time with the Cal Sailing Club, and will always hold fond memories of the experiences there and folks I met. If I were ever to be in the East Bay again, I would definitely join their ranks.
Relearning to sail here was pretty simple for me because I had heard the terms and vocabulary before. I took this to mean I could skimp on studying, but regardless, the class and instructor were great and I would recommend the class to you too. The lingo is pretty easy to pick up once you get some turns on an actual boat. The RRS did not look at any study materials prior to the class (even though we were told to do so), so he was making a flurry of faces as the instructor spewed out more and more things to know. He makes a lot of faces in general, but he was making more than usual here. Sometimes I'm pretty sure he has no idea he's making a face.
The MAC has a lot more traffic than where I learned. We had to be constantly turning away from motor boats or other sailboats in designated passageways. In the Bay, you could go for ages in any direction without any other boats around you. The most entertainment was probably the capsize drills. I remember this was what we would do all day during the low wind days in the Bay. Lucky for you and me we only needed to do it once here.
We went through the whole course to get certified with US Sailing to sail small boats up to 14 knots. Thus dawns a new age of recreational activities for us. As soon as we came home, he started looking up boats for sale and boatwear. Ever the struggling swimmer, we'll have to invest in a PFD for the RRS before we start talking boat shoes.
The RRS remarked that he had a lot more fun than he was expecting. This seems to always be his reaction when I pick things to do.
longingly ashore,
jt
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