Talking to Prospective Members

From CSCWiki

So you're standing around the club on a Tuesday afternoon, or maybe it's an Open House day, and someone who isn't a club member walks up to you and says "Hey, do you guys rent boats?" or "How do I go sailing here?"

Ack! What do you tell them? Over time most members develop a "spiel" they give new members to explain CSC's unique workings, but even then prospective members don't necessarily get an accurate or complete picture. This page will give you some points to make sure you cover, answers to questions they're likely to ask, and other stuff that might be helpful.

Points to Cover

• CSC doesn't rent boats. We're a 501c3 nonprofit coop. Like most coops, members are required to contribute volunteer work hours for access to the club's equipment and facilities.
• Basic membership is $60 per quarter ($55 with a valid student ID from any school). This includes both boat sailing and windsurfing.
• In addition to the membership fee, members are required to contribute 2 hours of work to the club per quarter. This can be virtually anything -- fixing boats, making copies, teaching sailing lessons, serving on the Advertising Committee. Anything.
• Just about everything that happens at the club is done by volunteers, including teaching, boat repair, yard maintenance, painting the clubhouse, keeping the books, etc.
• We operate a rescue boat to make sure beginners can't get themselves into too much trouble.
• Members are required to take various tests to make sure they know how to safely operate club equipment before they can go sailing on their own.
  • For sailboats, we have three levels in this order:
    • Junior: dingy sailing in the area visible from the clubhouse, restricted to times when the rescue boat is operating.
    • Senior: keelboat sailing in the Eastern section of the Bay , and Dingy sailing out of sight of the clubhouse
    • Cruising: keelboat sailing anywhere in the bay
• We offer Sailing lessons on Saturday mornings, and Monday and Thursday afternoons.
• We offer Windsurfing lessons Saturday mornings during the windy season (April to October)
• All lessons are first-come, first-served. They're taught by volunteers, so sometimes there are lots of instructors and sometimes there aren't enough. Bring a book.
• All of our dingy and windsurfing lessons are restricted to times when there's enough water for the rescue boat to operate. It's best to check the CSC website (click on the "tides/hours" link) to make sure there's enough water to sail before you head down to the club.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the best way to learn to sail at CSC?

Come often for lessons. Outside normal lesson times, ask skippers if you can crew. Sign up for one of the week-long FastTrack intensive programs. Come down and crew for the Sunday Morning Dingy Racing.

How log will it take before I can sail solo?

For windsurfing, usually after a single lesson. For most new sailors it take 10-15 lessons; folks with previous experience sailing often progress much faster.

Who's in charge here?

The Dayleader is the club manager who is responsible for safety and daily operations. Dayleaders are often paid work-study students -- the only paid position at the club -- but sometimes are volunteers too. The CSC Executive Committee is a group of club members elected to six-month terms and functions as a Board of Directors.

How can I make progress at CSC?

The secret is the 6 Ps: (Plenty of) Patience, (Polite) Perseverance, Public service (volunteering), and Practice, Practice, Practice. Read books, tie knots, learn the names of parts and maneuvers. Get wet. The best instruction at CSC takes the form of mentoring, and usually those who volunteer a lot, lend a hand at Open House, fix broken equipment, help the Dayleader, and treat others decently have an easier time finding mentors.

How can I pay for membership?

Cash (exact change only, please) or check. We don't take credit cards (yet).

Can I join on a trial basis?

Sure, $60 for your first three months.

So what happens if I don't like it?

Just don't renew after your first three months. Since our treasurer is also a volunteer, we have to keep things simple, so we can't offer refunds. But it'd cost you a lot more to figure out you don't like sailing someplace else - we're still the Best Deal on the Bay.

Is sailing dangerous?

Like any sport, there's always some risk. We do our best to minimize this; that's why we have a Dayleader and a rescue boat, require members to wear life jackets, and have a rigorous testing program to make sure folks get instruction in safe operation of our equipment.

Do you teach children? Can they be members?

Children as young as 12 can join and get sailing ratings with the permission of the Executive Committee, but we require a parent to be present while they sail. For a somewhat more expensive program without these requirements, see our next-door neighbor, Cal Adventures.

So you're Cal Sailing Club but not part of the university?

That's right. Sixty years ago the club was part of UC Berkeley's sports department, but in in 1979 we became an independent co-op.

How cold is the water?

Usually in the 55-60 degree range. Most club members who sail a lot end up investing in gear -- waterproof foul weather gear and/or wetsuits -- to keep themselves (mostly) dry, but we have some well-loved loaner gear you're welcome to try as well.

How much wind do you get?

When other clubs start bringing their boats back to dock, Cal Sailing is just getting started with the fun. Around 15 knots (~ 17 m.p.h.) is common in summer, and it often jumps to 20 or 25. That's when you're really sailing! If you can handle a small boat in big winds here, you can probably do it anywhere.

How can I get to CSC?

Marina parking is good. The #9 AC bus runs right to the parking lot at the club. By bike: University Avenue, then take the pedestrian/bike bridge over the highway and head west along the causeway. The nearest BART is North Berkeley on Sacramento Avenue, downtown Berkeley BART is at Center and Shattuck.

Who can I go to for advice?

Ask around. Most members are happy to give advice, and many actually know what they're talking about (or give that impression). People are generally happy to share their knowledge. The club also has an email discussion list which is a great source of advice and amusement.

Why don't you have a phone?

If we put one in the clubhouse, the Dayleader would be too busy telling callers about the current wind conditions to get anything useful done.

The Personal Touch

Over time many members come up with their own little analogies to help convery the above information. You'll often hear "If you have more time than money, the Cal Sailing Club is a great deal. If you have lots of money and very limited time, you'll probably be happier somewhere else."

Here are some thoughts from Paul Kamen:

I like to use the public radio analogy as part of my spiel: Cal
Adventures is like KQED, Cal Sailing Club is like KPFA. We're
all-volunteer, less professional, less reliable, but a much more fun
place to hang out.

From a very old CSC info flyer:

IS THE CAL SAILING CLUB FOR YOU? Joining he Cal Sailing Club is
by far the least expensive way to learn to sail on San Francisco
Bay. It is also one of the best ways to learn to sail anywhere.
However, because CSC is run by the volunteer efforts of its
members, it cannot always operate with the same degree of
efficiency that would normally be expected of a commercial
sailing school or boat rental facility.

CSC's first priority is to make sailing on the Bay accessible to
a large number of people at the lowest possible cost, consistent
with safety. This policy can sometimes lead to periods of
overcrowding. If you can afford a much more expensive program and
have very little time, or if you are interested only in sailing
larger boats (a serious mistake for the beginner), then your
needs might be better served by a commercial school or sailing
club.