What I Love About Sailing

I started sailing a windsurfer in 1984 when I was living on a lagoon in Foster City, CA.  I thought it was so cool that I could move across the water with this amazing invisible force (wind!).  When I started to sail on the bay, I felt the freedom of skipping across the water at 20-25 knots that I had always yearned for.  Now that I have been taken by the sport of sailing a 30 foot boat across the bay, I realize the true meaning of what sailing brings into my life.  Yes it's still that invisible force, but in many ways, it's about bringing me back to our natural surroundings.  The sun heats the earths surface which creates the high and low pressure areas and gets the air molecules moving in the form of wind.  The blue sky with its ball of fire burning brightly. The waves that help move the boat if you are sailing in the right direction.  The thousands of dolphins and porpoises that I have seen on the ocean and in the bay.  I really enjoy watching the sunsets and sunrises from the boat and the different light that it brings into the cockpit of the boat.  I have seen the Green Flash several times from the deck of the boat and those were all highlights.  Out at the Farallons, we had a humpback whale cross our bow and we have had a gray whale cuddle up to the boat inside the bay way back when.  One of the other reasons I enjoy sailing so much is that it also has brought many of my friends out on to the bay to share an afternoon sailing in these beautiful waters.  With some music, food, and a little wine, we have shared some magical moments on the San Francisco Bay.  Our Newport 30 has done a wonderful job of keeping us safe as well as being very forgiving when we make mistakes.  As we enter our 11th year of ownership, we could not have picked a better boat for our purposes of day sailing and the 5-6 day sojourns on the bay and beyond.  Even though I sail once a week, as soon as I get off the boat to start heading home, I am already thinking about the next time I will feel that invisible force pushing us across our beautiful waters.  If you have any interest in exploring the world of sailing, I encourage you to start talking to people in the sport and getting involved in this amazing endeavour.  It may change your life and bring you the joy that I have found in getting out on the water.