In Praise of Small Boat Sailors

Renowned Bay Area author and sailor Jack London famously said, "Barring captains and mates of big ships, the small-boat sailor is the real sailor."

The Bay Area is famous for its hearty, challenging and blustery Central Bay conditions, but this high-visibility arena masks the more diverse sailing settings, styles and conditions available for small-boat sailors. If you enjoy dropping a 12- to 20-ft sailboat into the water in order to enjoy for sailing in moderate conditions, where do you go to launch and sail? 

We’d love to hear from small-boat sailors about their favorite Northern California launch points: Please tell us their locations and what you like about them — and if possible, send along a few photos. We’ll share your input with Latitude 38‘s readers in an upcoming article.

To get the conversation started, below are a few popular spots that are already on our list. If you are familiar with them, we’d like to hear the pros and cons of using them, as well as any specific tips that might be useful to small-boat sailors:

• The ramps at the end of Grand St. in Alameda
• The ramp behind Encinal High School in Alameda that is also home to Alameda Community Sailing Center
• Ramps along the Oakland Estuary
• Ramps along the Petaluma River provide great access gentle inland sailing conditions
• Shoreline Lake in Redwood City hosts easy-to-access small-boat sailing in the heart of Silicon Valley

Thanks in advance for your input.