Freedom Is the Difference Sailing San Francisco Bay Makes
Another spectacular weekend on and around the water once again reminded us of how important freedom and liberty are to the human spirit. It may explain why people continue to head out on the water aboard one of the oldest and slowest forms of transportation, sailing. Sailing is estimated to be about 4,000 years old, and even though early sailors didn’t have Gore-Tex or carbon fiber, we’re pretty sure it still felt great.
The shot above from the Master Mariners weekend reminds us why we like to be on the water and why access to it is so important. Similar to trees and parks on land, a day on the Bay or ocean reconnects you to the important things in life. The people driving over the bridge have no idea how close they are to sailing the Bay. Of course, most of them don’t have a boat, but that’s true of most people sailing the Bay. People sailing the Bay for free as crew far outnumber the people who own boats. Many started crewing by signing up on the Latitude 38 Crew List.
Access to the Bay also comes in the form of junior programs with club-owned boats. The ferocious reputation of the Bay’s sailing conditions is regularly tamed by kids under 10 years old. Ask most youth sailors what they like about sailing and you’ll get an answer similar to the most experienced sailors’. It’s the freedom, liberty, escape and adventure just offshore from a congested, tense metro area. That “aaaaaah” comes quickly after you cast off the docklines. The Bay’s youth programs give kids a sense of freedom and accomplishment.
Beer can series are often the gateway drug to sailing the Bay, but there’s no reason people can’t go sailing just for the fun of it. A starting line and starting time seem to motivate people to sail when they otherwise wouldn’t, but neither is required. Still, that starting time and line give many people the nudge they need to invite some friends and get down to the water to hoist their sails.
A sunny day and breeze, combined with a quick glance at the headlines, are often all it takes for us to want to get onto the Bay. There are thousands of sailboats in slips ringing the Bay, though the water can be remarkably empty on these sunny summer days.
The summer solstice is coming up on June 21, along with Summer Sailstice weekend. There will be plenty of starting lines and starting signals that weekend for those (like us) who get motivated by them, but, like all the other summer weekends, it’s a great weekend to go sailing for the fun of it. Summer Sailstice adds some motivation for everyone to start their summer as part of a global celebration of sailing. Why not? That one stumps us. You can connect with others by adding your plan to the Summer Sailstice map here.
A lot of boats don’t go out because they can’t find crew (remember the crew list), and many people don’t go out because they don’t have a boat (remember the crew list). But there are also numerous clubs, schools and community sailing programs or volunteer organizations where you can sign up to sail for an evening, a weekend or a lifetime. You can sail on the Matthew Turner, pictured above, the schooner Freda B or the Adventure Cat out of Pier 39. There are actually dozens of options, and we try to keep all charter/school organizations listed here.
Sailors are lucky to know how much life improves from sailing under a bridge rather than driving over it. The deck of the Golden Gate Bridge is only 250 feet above the water, but it’s a world away. Right below that deck are wingfoilers, Spinnaker Cup and Duxship racers, whales and harbor porpoises.
Today is June 1 and a reminder that the days are long and the summer short. We hope you can capture the freedom of sailing San Francisco Bay soon.
Latitude 38’s June issue will be on the docks tomorrow. Go check it out!