Yesterday was our second day of Basic Keelboat Sailing 1 and I had a great time. Our instructor gave us the key to the dock in the morning and had the four of us set-up the boat and start the motor on our own while he grabbed a cup of coffee.  Once he joined us, I started at the helm and steered our way out of the slip and into McCovey Cove where we put up the sails. The wind was light at first so there was a lot of waiting, tacking, and jibing until we caught a decent breeze.

Unfortunately, we weren’t really getting anywhere so we started the motor and headed out to Central Bay, which is basically the water between the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge. The water was choppier and the air was colder and wetter but it was great for sailing.

It was so awesome to see the city from the water. It’s a perspective that I don’t get everyday. We sailed under the Bay Bridge and towards Treasure Island before we started tacking back up towards the shore. We also saw the Maltese Falcon, which was a gigantic sailboat that looked like a really big spaceship with plastic sails. (By the way, it’s for sale if you have a couple million dollars to throw away.)  We also spent some time riding the wakes of the tugboats and ferries that passed through the bay.

We had spent all day rotating through all the stations and had a good idea of how the wind was moving so we all took turns sailing solo. This involved holding and turning the tiller and fiddling with the two lines that controlled the jib. I gave it a try and it was pretty fun. I sailed a boat all by myself!! Woo hoo!!

Here are the photos from the weekend.  We’re signed up for Basic Keelboat Sailing 2 (next month), which will end with a written test.  If we pass, we’ll be able to take the 20-ft sailboats out on our own.  Sweet.