Boating

Alameda's Sailing University

Look Like a Boat Owner Without Actually Becoming One

    For a man who has dedicated his career to introducing people to sailing, David Forbes drops a lot of metaphors about skiing. “Living in the Bay Area and not sailing is like living in Vail and not skiing,” says Forbes. “You don’t need to own the mountain to go skiing. And you don’t need to own a boat to go sailing.”
    And with one of the country’s top sailing schools in their backyard, Alamedans have little excuse for not testing the boating waters. Forbes is general manager of Club Nautique, the Ballena Bay–based sailing school and charter company. Founded in Alameda in 1980, Club Nautique now offers classes, charters and social outings on sailboats and powerboats at two locations: Alameda and Sausalito. The company tutors more than 3,000 students a year—about half of them out of Alameda—and handles between 3,000 and 4,000 charters—again, half out of Alameda. The 45 sailboats and five powerboats in the fleet range from nimble and relatively humble 26-foot sailboats with a tiller and outboard engine to a sleek 54-foot luxury yacht, perhaps the largest vessel available for private charter on the Bay. Although the company has “club” in its name, you don’t have to become a member to take classes or charter. However, an initiation fee and monthly dues get you significant discounts on lessons and charters.
    Born in Britain and with thousands of nautical miles in his logbook, Forbes says he is continually surprised by how many people he meets in the Bay Area who have never been out in a boat (other than a ferry) on San Francisco Bay, even though it’s one of the—if not the—premier sailing destinations in the world. Water enthusiasts from around the country and occasionally across the globe come to Alameda
to study and take out boats at Club Nautique, which has won national awards for its tutorials. Over Labor Day, some 50 members8
of a Texas singles sailing group invaded the Island to pick up boats for a weekend, taking their floating party all around the Bay Area. Charlie Foss, a semi-retired insurance executive who splits his time between his homes in Sun Valley, Idaho, and Portland, Ore., considered schools in various parts of the country before choosing Club Nautique to help him brush up on sailing skills that rusted after he moved from Laguna Beach to Idaho. “San Francisco Bay is the best place in the world to study sailing,” says Foss, who owns the Elkhorn Ridge Winery & Vineyards, which has won awards for its Pinot Noirs. “In any one day, you get all types of conditions.” Foss travels to Alameda about every other month to sail with Club Nautique, taking classes and chartering boats with fellow club members.
    For those lucky enough to live on the Island, Club Nautique provides a fast track to boating expertise by offering not only structured classes but also chartering options that make it possible to continue learning without buying a boat. When Alameda resident Patricia Salmon found Club Nautique online in March 2006, she had only been out on a sailboat a few times—as a passenger, not crew—and she didn’t know anyone who owned a boat. After completing the first two introduction courses, Basic Keelboat and Basic Cruising, her instructors encouraged her to get more experience before taking additional classes. She began going to Hump Nights, Wednesday evening Club Nautique events where participants can go out for a two-hour sail and a barbecue for $25, and she began meeting fellow members who were interested in splitting charter costs.
    Since she started sailing in March 2006, Salmon estimates she’s chartered more than 30 times, sailing with more than 250 different people on nearly 20 boats of varying sizes to a wide array of destinations in the Bay and along the California coast. “I’m a big believer in destination sailing,” she says. “The Bay has fascinating places to go and things to see. We go to Tiburon, Angel Island, up to the Napa River.” In addition to club members, she’s taken out friends, relatives, business associates and dates. By filling up the boats to a comfortable level, the per-person charter price is about the price of dinner and a movie in San Francisco. After running the numbers, she signed up for the Ultimate level of membership, which gives her access to enough training to pack in her day job and sail around the world, should she decide to do so.

Learn the Ropes
    Ready to test your sea legs? At the end of a one-day Discover Sailing introduction, you’ll know your bow from your stern, your port from your starboard and the best ways to fend off seasickness. Next is a four-day (two weekends) Basic Keelboat course taught on a 26-foot boat that will put you at the tiller to learn the fundamentals of making the boat go where you want it to. Also four-days, Basic Cruising puts you on a larger boat—29 to 32 feet—which is big enough to entertain eight guests (fewer if you find them annoying) for an overnight trip or short cruise. There are tests after each course, but don’t worry if you’re a slow learner—you get free review days until you pass. From there, certifications expand your range of expertise in different conditions, preparing you for longer trips.
    If sailing sounds like too much work, Club Nautique is one of the few schools that offers powerboat lessons and charters. Brace yourself for the fuel charges, but the training is fast: 16 hours to teach you everything you need to know to skipper, including docking and departures, anchoring, basic navigation and crew overboard drills. The boats are called “trawlers” because they resemble the fishing boats, but the interiors are fancy enough for entertaining those who prefer their fish rolled with rice and wrapped in seaweed or sliced thinly and served with bagels.

Exotic Vacations
    Despite the fine sailing conditions here, many Club Nautique students take classes here to prepare themselves for sailing elsewhere in the world. Most charter companies don’t require it, but passing U.S. sailing certification tests can streamline the approval process for getting charter companies to trust you with their boats. Foss, who travels to Alameda from Sun Valley and Portland, wanted to get the experience and certification he needed to charter big boats in other parts of the world. “I wanted the most challenging certifications I could get,” say Foss, who has chartered in Majorca and is looking forward to exploring new exotic sailing Meccas such as Croatia. “I’m now approved for boats up to 54 feet.”
    For Robin Adair, who lives in Pleasanton and commutes to Club Nautique for classes, sailing is a connection to her past and her plans for the future. She was in college when she went sailing in the Bay Area for the first time 26 years ago, and now her goal now is to learn enough to prepare her to buy a 34- to 38-foot boat and sail it to Mexico, where her family has a house. “I’m planning to spend some of my retirement down there, and I want that time to include sailing,” Adair says.
    Forbes has waved “adios” to many students who go even further afield. Many husbands and wives take advanced classes together before setting off cruising indefinitely—the modern equivalent of hopping into a VW van to see the country. An afternoon cruise in the Bay Area may lead to a few years cruising around the world.
    For more information on Club Nautique, 1150 Ballena Blvd., call (510) 865-4700 or (800) 343-SAIL, or visit www.clubnautique.net.

A Life of Luxury (By the Day)

    Who hasn’t waved with jealous longing at a group of people frolicking on a luxury yacht? Before lamenting (yet again) for not selling that dot-com stock at the right time, keep in mind that many of those people enjoying the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous were regular Joes yesterday and will be again tomorrow. If you’d like to entertain business clients, impress a former classmate or just treat the family, here are sample charter rates for the Club Nautique fleet. The charter day begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 8 a.m. the next day. If you rent for the weekend, you may be able to get the Friday evening for free. Here’s the fine print: Add to the price a 10 percent port charge to cover fuel for sailboats and pump-out of the onboard toilets, incidentals (trash bags, paper towels, etc). Insurance is covered (a $5 million liability policy), but in the event of damage, the charterer is liable for first $1,000 deductible.
 

—By Elisa Williams

—Photography by Craig Merrill