San Diego sailing?

[BoulderBill]

Hi all,

I'm looking for opportunities to build time and experience in San Diego a few times a year.

My wife and I are just starting out with ASA 101 and 103, but we happen to be 'stuck' up in the mountains in Colorado with no oceans in view, as far as I can see. Apparently there used to be one.

I have family in San Diego and our goal is to visit, drop the kids with grandma, and get on the water!

Trouble is, it seems like we are up against some roadblocks: (1) Most clubs/rental outfits seem to require membership which doesn't make sense for us. (2) The limited number of places that rent boats we'd like to get practice on require experience skippering boats of a similar size. We don't have boats of a similar size in Colorado. And I can't build time on a boat I can't rent.

What am I to do? Anyone have a recommendation? Is anyone here local to San Diego?

Above all, I'm glad to be on the forum and I hope this post is appropriate for the forum. Thanks!

[alaskanviking]

most of the beer can races are on Wed in San Diego. you can go to the pre race meeting, and raise your hand when they ask for anyone looking to crew. if you have military affiliation Navy Yacht Club, San Diego does this and you can usually get on a boat. offshore stuff is more north bay, maybe southwest Yacht Club.

Otherwise there are a couple meetup groups and you can find opportunities there. not sure if there are any facebook groups for San Diego but it would be worth checking out. you might be able to find something on craigslist but i dont know if id be comfortable with that, probably more difficult to schedule. may be able to do find partnership owners looking to sell though.

option B is get a cheap older Catalina 30'-32'. its usually a hell of a time getting big boat slips, but there are usually 30' slips available. slips in San Diego are not the cheapest. ~$12 a foot. Chula Vista marina, navy MWR marina, are two of the cheaper ones, but a lot of the others have better rates on 30ft slips. this is a more expensive option - slip fees, maintenance, insurance. it may be your better option if your traveling from out of state regularly as this guarantees you a boat will be available.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Bill.