Race, No Doubt About it!
You don't need much to go racing? A desire to learn, to help and to exceed and you're off to a fantastic start. Grab some foul-weather gear (keep it simple to start), pair of good shoes or better yet, get some watershoes or seaboots, and gloves are a must. Sunglasses, some sunscreen and a red Mont Gay Rum hat (just add to the mystique.) The last thing you want to do is show up to the boat with a huge gear bag filled with stuff you won't use. Remember the whole weight issue?
Time to take off for a leisurely ride. You're sailing along on a fine reach back from the gate. Off your starboard side a boat appears. You eye the trim, the way the boat heals on the breeze. Next, you glance up at your sails, checking trim, downhaul, outhaul, vang, fairlead position. Then, gauge your progress down the Bay compared to the boat next to you...that's it, the race is on. You'll do everything you can to beat them to Pier 39 and when you do, you're elated!
No doubt, you need to go racing. Many people assume that the skill set for sailboat racing is demanding and out of reach. They think racing may be too physical or just a bunch of whackos yelling commands at each other. Well, all the above can be true, though generally only at the America's Cup or one of the many high-end pro/semipro regattas around the globe. In the real world the rest of us just enjoy the casual competition, the camaraderie and yes, the post race events.
Honestly, at low level club and fleet racing, showing up is half the battle. Many boats DNS (did not start) for lack of crew, last minute.
It's MUCH easier than you think to find a boat. When I first started racing I would often show up at the local club docks and just bum a ride. You sit once or twice on the rail and then a trimmer or pitman doesn't show up. Boom, you're in the thick of it. But, you bring the added advantage of having witnessed that that crew position in action. The local sailing rag, Latitude 38 has great crew parties every year. sfsailing.com (local) and sailinganarchy.com (worldwide) have very active crewlists if you are interested.
After your first hitched ride, head off to the Yacht Club for the post race party. You will get to meet some folks and I guarantee you'll you come away with more offers to crew than free hours in your day. If you look at the numbers, they're stacked in favor of crew. Even a small 25' sportboat can need up to 5-6 crew in the Bay area. We have a LOT of wind and need weight to keep the boat sailing flat (which is fast). 35 footers often have 8 or 9 and 50 feet + can have as many as 15 and more. Put 40 boats on the starting line and you have potentially 300+ sailors in action.
You'll learn so much about sailing each and every time you race. So go out, have some fun. I've been racing most of my life and there isn't a day race goes by that I don't walk away having learned something and as a side benefit, it'll make you feel great and give you a sense of accomplishment. Competition can be a very good thing indeed.
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