How to give him the gift of sailing (in San Francisco)?
May 13, 2013 4:05 AM Subscribe
Husband is a devoted new father... almost TOO devoted. For Father's Day I want to give him a chance to get out the house for a while and maybe rekindle his interest in an old hobby. In college he was a member of the yachting club and he talks a lot about wanting to get back into sailing but not having the time. Without knowing anyone with a boat, is it possible to give him a sailing experience for a day?
Ideally, I would like some sort of experience where he gets up and I tell him to report to the marina in his sailing gear, he goes out there and gets to spend the day sailing, then comes home for a nice dinner with the family. Caveat: I know next to nothing about sailing. I understand there is some sort of certification needed to charter a boat to sail himself, but he could crew on someone else's boat I think? There are lots of local sailing organizations but I'm unsure how to approach them about something like this. He knows what he's doing, so I wouldn't want anything like a "sailing tour" where he just sits on the deck — he would want to be actively helping out in some way. "This is a really stupid thing to surprise someone with" is also a legitimate answer.
Ideally, I would like some sort of experience where he gets up and I tell him to report to the marina in his sailing gear, he goes out there and gets to spend the day sailing, then comes home for a nice dinner with the family. Caveat: I know next to nothing about sailing. I understand there is some sort of certification needed to charter a boat to sail himself, but he could crew on someone else's boat I think? There are lots of local sailing organizations but I'm unsure how to approach them about something like this. He knows what he's doing, so I wouldn't want anything like a "sailing tour" where he just sits on the deck — he would want to be actively helping out in some way. "This is a really stupid thing to surprise someone with" is also a legitimate answer.
I would start calling around to the local sailing clubs/yacht clubs and ask them if a member would like to help you with this surprise.
posted by HuronBob at 4:27 AM on May 13, 2013
posted by HuronBob at 4:27 AM on May 13, 2013
Oh, and in case it wasn't clear, you shouldn't have to pay anything to crew on a sailboat. Most of these boats race with only two or three people on board, so you are definitely involved in the sailing. Just call around to local clubs and ask. I think these boats are always short on crew.
posted by ryanrs at 4:58 AM on May 13, 2013
posted by ryanrs at 4:58 AM on May 13, 2013
Another vote for suggesting that he do some crewing. Most sailing clubs that do racing are pretty much always looking for people to help out, for example. If he is able to make it for a particular week then great - otherwise the skipper will be able to find somebody else. The costs and time commitment are fairly low and the enjoyment factor can be high.
But that is not something which is ideal to package up as a gift. So instead I would look for something like a weekend course in spinnaker sailing or an introduction to catamarans. There will be a small group of people who may have done some sailing before - there will be a whole bunch of tutored hands on time. The bonus is that the sort of place which organizes these events may also be a meeting point for owners looking for crew.
posted by rongorongo at 5:43 AM on May 13, 2013
But that is not something which is ideal to package up as a gift. So instead I would look for something like a weekend course in spinnaker sailing or an introduction to catamarans. There will be a small group of people who may have done some sailing before - there will be a whole bunch of tutored hands on time. The bonus is that the sort of place which organizes these events may also be a meeting point for owners looking for crew.
posted by rongorongo at 5:43 AM on May 13, 2013
Best answer: Cal Adventures (part of UC Berkeley) offers both sailing instruction and rentals of small sailboats, and is open to the whole community: Cal Adventures sailing info
Maybe a gift certificate to there if you live in the East Bay?
posted by rockindata at 5:47 AM on May 13, 2013
Maybe a gift certificate to there if you live in the East Bay?
posted by rockindata at 5:47 AM on May 13, 2013
But that is not something which is ideal to package up as a gift.
This.
Sometimes you can get great "day sail" deals on LivingSocial. Check there? I've seen a few in NYC in the past few weeks.
posted by functionequalsform at 6:27 AM on May 13, 2013
This.
Sometimes you can get great "day sail" deals on LivingSocial. Check there? I've seen a few in NYC in the past few weeks.
posted by functionequalsform at 6:27 AM on May 13, 2013
Consider the possibility that right now he doesn't want to have a chance to get out of the house.
posted by Dansaman at 6:27 AM on May 13, 2013
posted by Dansaman at 6:27 AM on May 13, 2013
The chowder races that ryanrs mentions are also called Beer Can Races at some clubs. My friend did the series with the Coyote Point Yacht club and had a blast.
A list of local yacht clubs is here, as you can imagine there are many of them.
posted by marylynn at 11:43 AM on May 13, 2013
A list of local yacht clubs is here, as you can imagine there are many of them.
posted by marylynn at 11:43 AM on May 13, 2013
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I learned many important sailing skills during those races, such as:
1) sitting on the uphill side of the boat
2) turning cranks
3) not getting hit in the face by the boom
It was a bunch of fun.
posted by ryanrs at 4:21 AM on May 13, 2013