Sara and I have long wanted to learn how to sail and this late Summer/ Fall we are heeding the call of the ocean and have begun our journey.
We signed up with Westwind Sailing Club and began our classes on Saturday mornings in Dana Point Harbor. It is a combination of in class learning the fundamentals of sailing and in the boats trying our what you have learned and getting pointers as you sail.
After learning on the land we went to our boats 14.2 foot Catalina sailboats and rigged the mainsail. Here is Sara raising the main sail while it is being fed into the mast…
Out on the water in Dana Point Harbor (Baby Beach in background) we learned the basics of tacking and jibbing within the Harbor.
Within the harbor area there is lots of activity to keep track of like stand up paddlers, kayaks, large boats leaving to go out to the ocean etc. so we had plenty of practice getting out of dangers way.
After a couple of weeks practice in the harbor it was our turn to sail on a run out to the ocean. It doesn’t get much better than a nice consistent wind on a hot morning and the bright beautiful water.
Once we got out in the open ocean we saw these guys hanging out on one of the buoys… ha they can probably swim faster than our boat..
After a day out on the water it is our job to bring our boats up on the dock – that is fun and the fold and put away the mainsail. Here is Sara showing how to get it done with our instructor.
For the people in our class here is a collage of pics from out last day sailing together …enjoy
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