Celebrating Martin Luther King Day on the Bay

On Martin Luther King Day we want to pay tribute to all those who are making a difference by reaching out to communities that are not part of the traditional sailing demographic. We can’t possibly name all the organizations, or all the volunteers who have worked for decades to invite underserved communities, and those who would not normally have access, to have a chance to sail the Bay.

These organizations are everywhere around the Bay and include folks like Rocking the Boat, now operating out of the new park at India Basin in San Francisco and getting members of the San Francisco/Hunters Point community out onto the Bay. Marie Rogers continues her work in Southern California and on the board of US Sailing to bring sailing to Black and woman sailors. Programs at Sailing Education Adventures (SEA) in San Rafael, the Bluewater Foundation in San Francisco, Treasure Island Sailing Center, Sea Scouts, and Pegasus Sailing in Berkeley are making sailing accessible to more people all around the Bay. We attempt to keep up with all the good people doing good things for others on our Heeling Power of Sailing page.

Another organization continuing to do good things for people and the Bay is I Heart Oakland and Alameda Estuary, which is organizing an MLK Day of Service to help protect the Oakland Estuary on January 24. Learn more here. 

A quote from Martin Luther King Jr.’s essay “A Testament to Hope” says, “The past is strewn with the ruins of the empires of tyranny, and each is a monument not merely to man’s blunders but to his capacity to overcome them. While it is a bitter fact that in America in 1968, I am denied equality solely because I am black, yet I am not a chattel slave. Millions of people have fought thousands of battles to enlarge my freedom; restricted as it still is, progress has been made.” All these organizations know they are contributing and making progress, but like Martin Luther King Jr., they know there’s still a long way to go.

Spring is on the horizon, and sailors who have slowed down their activity for the winter (not everyone does!) will have an opportunity to share the Bay with more sailors as the season picks up. Idle boats are there to give friends old and new a chance to sail the Bay. Any of the organizations on our Heeling Power of Sailing page would welcome volunteers and contributions to support their efforts to bring sailing to more people of color around the Bay.

Many boats struggle to sail for lack of crew, and many people struggle to get onto the Bay or the ocean because they don’t have a boat. This is an obvious mismatch that endless volunteers are trying to resolve. Latitude 38 hopes, in some small way, our Crew List and Crew List party (next one coming to Golden Gate Yacht Club on March 5) can also help connect more people to sailing.

If you’re lucky enough to have Martin Luther King day off, we hope you get to sail the Bay today — it’s beautiful out there. We also want to give thanks to all the people working to make a difference. The hope expressed by Martin Luther King Jr. survived because, despite setbacks and challenges, he kept his attention on action toward progress. We thank all those striving to overcome obstacles to continue the mission.