It is a beautiful day—the sun is out, the radar looks clear, and there is a steady 12 to 15 knots of wind; in other words, you are absolutely giddy about the prospect of getting out on the water. Who wouldn’t be? Early season sailing on the lake is great because of the weather and the fairly strong winds.
On the other hand, because it /is/ the beginning of the season it may have been a while since you were out sailing in one of our boats.
We all love to get out on the water, but safety is our primary concern at the Community Sailing Center, so here are a few questions to consider before deciding to come down and try to rent a boat:
How long has it been since you were out sailing? Would you feel comfortable righting a capsized or turtled boat? Where is the wind coming from—would you get pushed away from or towards the Sailing Center if you were drifting on the water?
Not to worry if you decide you do not feel entirely comfortable heading out on the water on your own just yet. We have plenty of other early season options of which you and your family can take advantage!
If you feel pretty comfortable but you just want a quick rigging refresher, you should come down on a Friday afternoon at 5:30 to join us for a mini refresher followed by Sailing Center organized 420 racing. Every Friday from 6:00 to 8:00 we offer free racing on a first-come first-serve basis.
Alternatively, we offer private lessons on all of our boats (except kayaks and canoes), which can be extended to family lessons for a discounted price on each additional person on a boat. Going out for a few hours of a family lesson can be a great way to get everyone back into the swing of things before starting to head out on your own.
Finally, we offer a series of adult classes that run throughout the summer and whose dates can be found online at http://communitysailingcenter.org <http://communitysailingcenter.org/>. For the sailor who wants to jump back into it after a ten or fifteen year hiatus, taking a class can be a fun way to grease rusty cogs in your memory while you get to know a group of like-minded friends.
Fair winds and safe sailing,
