The Cal Sailing Club is a non-profit, volunteer-run sailing club in Berkeley
Membership costs just $99 for 3 months ($89 for students and seniors) plus 2 hours volunteer work and there are no charges for lessons, equipment use, cruises, or other club activities. Choose About CSC for more information, to join, See plans and pricing.
Once you've signed up, you'll need your Membership # from your invoice or confirmation email. If you forget that, check with the dayleader (they have the list of current members) or better yet, login again with your username and password and go to Account Info .
Welcome aboard! Welcome to CSC!
ABK Windsurfing Camp - Thursday July 26 - Sunday July 29
We've been doing this for several years, but it's different this year. This year's camp is Thursday, July 26, through Sunda7, July 29. It is 4 days, and the club discount is $375 each. The location is the Rio Vista Delta, about an hour from the club. More detailed information on the instruction is here. Andy is one of the best windsurfing instructors in the world and teaches at all levels.
You will be able to camp. There may not be water on site, but town is 10-15 minutes away.
This year will be more limited than in the past, with a hard limit of 10 people. We may be able to setup a second session from August 2-5.
Payment in advance will be required. You're interested, contact Peter Naulls, and he will supply more details.
CSC Promotional Video - Check it Out
Courtesy Min Lee (his Senior Project).
We're in the Cruising Season!
We've already had several, both keelboat and dinghy. Here's a photo from the recent dinghy cruise to Richmond Marina Bay.
Don't miss out on Club cruises. There will be a lot this year, as a number of Seniors are going for their Cruise Skipper rating, which requires, well, doing cruises. If you're logged into the website, you can go to Activities->Cruising->Cruise List to see what's scheduled. Better is to be on the Cal Sailing Announce email list, where they are announced (see here for how to subscribe).
This is a great Club benefit, sailing to interesting places on the Bay. Go out and do it!
Next Junior Fast Track June 4-8
The next Cal Sailing Fast Track will be held from 6/4 through 6/8 from 5pm to about 9pm. Fast Track is a week of intensive lessons designed to prepare students to take their Junior Skipper practical test. There will be testers available later in the week for those who are ready and a hot meal and refreshments will be served each night.
To enroll you must finish several prerequisites by dock time on Saturday, June 2. These include:
Junior Written Test
Rigging Test
2 extra volunteer hours (beyond those required for membership)
It is also strongly recommended that students have had 3 plus lessons, be comfortable handling the main sheet and tiller, and have read the dinghy sailing manual on the club’s website.
You must also commit to showing up all 5 nights (teaching if you pass your test early), helping with cleanup, and contributing $20 for refreshments.
To sign up email Alan Ostreicher, the Fast Track Coordinator. If you do not have email, as the Day Leader to contact Alan.
If more students sign up than we have room for, students will be prioritizes by when they get their prerequisites completed, so don’t wait to long to get them done.
Please contact Alan if you would be so amazingly awesome to want to commit to being head chef one or more nights during the week. Signup for instructors and testers will be set up later.
Windsurf Lessons Now on Summer Schedule
Basic lessons on Saturdays from 10:30 am to 1 pm and on Sundays 11 am to 2pm. More info here. We're getting into the windy season, so come out and learn.
Advanced Dinghy Classes for 2018, Starting May
Advanced Dinghy will start of Monday, May 7, and will be held on every Monday evening from then until the end of August, except for US holidays and Fast Track weeks. These classes are intended for Junior Skippers working on their Senior rating. They will cover the required skills and much more. Here are the classes for May:
May 7 - Introduction, Follow the Leader
May 14 - Sail Trim
May 21 - Docking and Man Overboard
May 28 (Memorial Day) - Special session with two lessons. 3pm Dodge Ball in dinghies, and 5pm Flying the Spinakker on a JY
Junior Skipper Fast Track Dates for 2018
We will be offering five Junior Skipper Fast Tracks this year. These are 5 day (Monday through Friday) intensive dinghy lessons, 1 on 2, from around 5pm to sunset. They are designed to move you closer to your Junior Skipper rating (which you may even get that week, but even if you don't, you'll be a much better sailor at the end of the week). Details will be announced within a few weeks of the start of each. Participants should have all Junior requirements completed except for the on-the-water test.
These are the dates:
April 30 - May 4
June 4 - 8
June 25 - 29
July 30 - August 3
August 20 - 24
Open House Dates for 2018
During Open Houses we offer FREE introductory sails to the general public aboard our fleet of keelboats and dinghies. Children must be at least 5 years of age and accompanied by an adult. Each Open House runs from 1-4pm on the dates listed above. More detailed information is here.
Please try to arrive promptly at 1 pm when the signups start. Depending on the conditions and the amount of people, the sign-up/rides may end before 4pm.Come on down and get out on the bay! Already a member? Come on down and help out! The 2018 Open House Schedule is below:
Sunday, February 4
Sunday, March 11
Saturday, April 14 - Coincides with the Berkeley Bay Festival!
Sunday, May 13
Sunday, June 17
Sunday, July 15
Sunday, August 12
Sunday, September 16
Sunday, October 14
Sunday, November 11
Junior Dinghy Skipper/Windsurfer Tests Now Online
Until now, you had to take your Junior Dinghy Skipper and Junior Windsurfer Written at the Clubhouse. No longer. It's now available on-line. You can take it on the Clubhouse computer or at home. You can also go through the test to prepare yourself before taking it.
You need to be logged in to look at or take the test.
Both are closed book, so please honor that and don't look up the answers while you're taking the test, but feel free to go through the exam ahead of time.
If you pass, that will be recorded automatically, and you will get an email of the results. If you don't pass, you won't be told what you missed, and you'll have to wait a day to take the test again.
Note that you must take the test online, at the Clubhouse or elsewhere. You can no longer take it on paper. This gives the Day Leader more time to monitor the South Sailing Basin.
The Novice Windwurfer and Racing Skipper tests have been available online for some time.
News
New Instructional Video on Rigging a Quest
Jack Chen produced this, and it covers inspecting, rigging and reefing a Quest, including putting the boat in the water with the hoist. You can also find it in our library of instructional videos at Lessons->Sailing->Videos.
Photos of Berkeley Reef at Ultra Low Tide Show Why to Keep a Safe Distance
Sheldon Coad took these photos with the help of Bobby Arthurs, and the club skiff. They circled the Reef and took photos in several directions. Pretty impressive when you see it, and pretty dangerous when you can't.
Windsurfing Rating Requirements Updated and How to Get to Senior
Click here for a more detailed description of the windsurfing rating requirements. We have also started something to help you get your Senior rating. To see how it works, click here.
Want to get a rating/sign-off but don't know who can do it?
Click here to see who can sign off on which ratings/tests/check-outs (e.g., the Day Leader can sign off on Novice Windsurfer written and self-rescue). If you are logged-in to the website, you will be able to see a list of members who have the qualification needed (e.g., a list of those signed-off on the Laser who can then sign-off others). This link is also visible when you look at your White Card on the website.
Sailing Lessons on Demand is Back
Can't make the normal Monday, Thursday, Saturday sailing lessons? Or just want some extra focused time in smaller groups? Then this is for you. A small number of instructors are making themselves available for lessons outside the normal sessions. To see the details and a list of instructors and what they teach, go to Lessons->Sailing->Lessons on Demand. You will have to login to the site to see the contact information for the instructors.
Lessons
Beginning Dinghy Sailing lessons on Saturday mornings and Monday and Thursday afternoons.
Keelboat lessons on Wednesday evenings.
Windsurf lessons are held on sunny, breezy Saturday mornings, and on Sunday mornings too when the warm weather begins.
Please see the lessons page for more information. Get to the club early!
