Hi from San Francisco!

[harrier]

I am new to the sailing scene, but have been boating all of my life. I made a comment about wanting to live on a boat since I was a young'n and the next thing I know I am about to take lessons!

I fly jets for a living and have already seen there are a LOT of pilots here! Yay! Now I am just trying to find a good place to learn! Started looking in the last few days. The last step is fitting the training into my schedule. The airlines don't seem to think that us pilot robots need time off. Oh yeah, gonna need a new bikini just one more darned expense.

I'm glad I found this board! I think I will have some fun here!

[Morgan Paul]

Hi harrier and welcome. Good luck with your sailing lessons and that new bikini .

Paul

[Hud3]

Welcome to Cruisers Forum, Harrier!

I've noticed that pilots seem to like sailboats, too. Lots of them name their boats CAVU. Hope you enjoy your time here.

[imagine2frolic]

Being from S.F. myself I can tell you that you are in a wonderful place to learn. Spinnaker sails at pier 40 is where I took my lessons. Over in the Berkely marina is another good club to learn

It will be rare that you will need a bikini on the bay. Unless you hide behind Angel island, and flounder around in the wakes of big boats.......BEST WISHES on you new endeavour. Once you start there is no going back.....LOLOLOLOL

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Harrier,
We have something in common. I've been a passenger on a jet! I spent a couple weeks there in and near the SF Bay starting just last month. It looks like a great place to learn to sail. Never seems to lack a bit of wind each day.
Welcome aboard!
Kind regards,
JohnL

[harrier]

Whelp I started lessons today at OCSC. I really like the instructors and environment there. First day was great!!! Sailing on the bay seems like a great place to learn. They say if you can sail here you can sail anywhere. We tell our student pilots the same thing about bay area flying, and it's true, so maybe it's true for sailing too .

Anyway, first day was a blast! Can't wait to do more. Hopefully, keep meeting great people and maybe even make some pilot connections and get a better flying gig. My instructor is an ex airline pilot himself.

Super fun!

[imagine2frolic]

harrier,

Don't believe if you can sail the bay, you can sail anywhere. I believed it, and it's not true. The currents, and wind give you a fantastic foundation. Yes, you will be able to sail most places with effeciency, but Mother Ocean is a whole other ball game.

I am not trying to discourage you. I am just giving you a heads up that once you sail out the Gate. It is a whole other ballgame. BEST WISHES in your lessons, and honing your skills.

This is me sailing out the Gate solo, and about to encounter some real sailing lessons on my way to mexico............i2f

[David M]

Harrier....that's pretty cool because I used to work for OCSC teaching sailing back in the mid 80's.

You know what I found about the people who I taught who were pilots? The pilots picked up on sailing real quick because they already had a feel for how foils work...angle of attack, stalling etc. The sails, the keel, the rudder and the propeller blades are all foils of course.

OCSC sets higher standards for their students than other sailing schools in the Bay Area. This is good because you will learn more and therefore become a more competent sailor. Their goal is not to give you a couple basic lesson so they can make bigger dollars by getting you to charter one of their boats...before you are truly ready to skipper a larger boat.

OCSC also sets higher standards because you must be a better sailor sailing out of Berkeley because of the higher winds in the summer and a shoreline that is nothing but a rock breakwater. Your boat needs to be ready to sail once you get into the chop. Its pretty analogous to going 160 knots while quickly reaching the end of the runway....your airplane had better be ready to fly.

Have fun sailing!

[Charlie]

Hi Harriet:

Welcome aboard. Born and raised in SF sailed a fair bit on the Bay. Currently have my boat in Richmond CAlifornia. Agree with what has been said about OCSC. Very nice program. Used to have a boat in their program.

Sorry but have to do this.

Originally Posted by harrier

. Oh yeah, gonna need a new bikini just one more darned expense.

I'm glad I found this board! I think I will have some fun here!

Are you Male or female. In SF they both wear bikinis. LOL.

[harrier]

Originally Posted by Charlie

Hi Harriet:



Are you Male or female. In SF they both wear bikinis. LOL.

Excellent point! Female, and it is a little cold for that. Though I think the foulies are quite flattering on everyone!

Finished BKII today. Still have the test to go. We got chasing a balloon and lost a lot of time, but had great fun.

imagine2frolic: I can't wait to get out the gate!! I'm sure it is different out of the bay but I do appreciate a challenging place to learn.

Now I need to get crewing some boats that need extras until I can save my pennies for the next round. I'm loving it. I tend to be a super mellow person so the instructor told me I did great but didn't really seem to be 'into it'. If he had any idea of how wound up I am for days after he would know I love it. I just prefer to show my love for it by staring off with a huge grin on my face while racing through the water.

[john540]

I'm also a pilot, and I only have good things to say about Club Nautique. The Vallejo Yacht Club had a good beginner sailing course too.

[harrier]

Originally Posted by john540

I'm also a pilot, and I only have good things to say about Club Nautique. The Vallejo Yacht Club had a good beginner sailing course too.

I was really impressed with Club Nautique and will probably charter from there eventually. I didn't hear about Vallejo Yacht club until after I started lessons. I chose OCSC because a family member was already taking lessons there (which I didn't know until I started investigating options.) We seem to have a lot of quality schools here in the area. I can't wait to do more and learn more!