Missing the pictures? See the April 2009 eBook!Here in the Bay Area, there are roughly 250 bareboats available for hire, but the businesses that manage them are not simply rental agencies. Almost without exception, these boats are offered by sailing schools — usually called 'clubs' — which offer a full spectrum of courses, from basic sailing to coastal cruising and celestial navigation. In most cases, you don't have to be a member of the sailing club to rent a boat, although non-members will pay somewhat higher rental prices. The first time you charter with a company you will generally have to get checked out by their staff so they'll feel confident that you're not going to run the pride of their fleet into a waterside restaurant. Our advice concerning check-outs is to drop by the rental outfit a few days ahead of time and get 'signed off', so you won't cut into your precious charter time on a busy weekend. Beyond rental discounts, there's usually added value to club membership such as dockside barbecues, 'social sails' where everyone pitches in a few bucks to cover costs, and charter flotillas to idyllic venues in the Caribbean, South Pacific or elsewhere. For folks who don't own their own boat and/or who don't have close friends interested in sailing, joining a club is a smart move. The friendly ambience of a club creates a low-pressure forum for advancing through the hierarchy of classes. And the natural camaraderie that comes with shared activities on the water often spawns lasting friendships. Even if you already own a boat or have access to a friend's, the Bay's fleet, with its wide variety of boat types, can be a valuable resource. Suppose, for example, you can go out racing with a friend whenever you like, but you rarely get time on the wheel. Renting a bareboat is the perfect solution for honing the full range of skills. We'd bet that virtually every Bay Area sailor has fantasies about chartering a boat in some tropical paradise, but if you never get a chance to take total responsibility for a boat — including anchoring — how will you ever be qualified to charter abroad? Trust us, it's a whole lot more fun to begin an expensive vacation charter if you have confidence in your abilities, as opposed to the continual angst brought on by trying to fake it. As the following list demonstrates, there is a wide variety of sail-it-yourself bareboats available for rent in the Bay Area. Compiled here are listings from the area's principal companies (listed alphabetically). We've attempted to be as up-to-date and comprehensive as possible. We regret any errors or omissions. Please note: Not listed here — due to space limitations — are university and community sailing programs which offer the use of sailing dinghies and daysailers in conjunction with their instructional programs. For a list of those programs, see www.gosailingsf.org/community.html Club Nautique J/World Modern Sailing Academy Monterey Bay Sailing OCSC Pacific Yachting/Sailing Tradewinds Sailing School & Club Spinnaker Sailing of Redwood City Spinnaker Sailing of San Francisco This story was reprinted from the the April 2009 issue of Latitude 38. To order a copy (complete with color photos), use the subscription order form, and specify the 4/09 issue, or just drop us a note with a check for $7 to Latitude 38, Attn: Back Issues, 15 Locust Ave., Mill Valley, CA 94941. Please note: After a couple of years, the actual issue may no longer be available, but we will still be able to make photocopies or PDFs of it. You can also see issues on eBook through our eBooks page. |
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