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The Hoot: Fast, Light, Simple, & Affordable
In a small boat you're with the water and wind and in the water and wind. It demands all of your attention to make the boat go fast -- it is the perfect mind-clearing experience. -Doug Kidder, President of Kidder Racing, maker of the Hoot
Doug hits on exactly why small boats are fun. You are connected to the water more and the sailing is more pure. Not only are small boats more fun but since they are cheaper and easier to transport, they are more accessible than big boats.
And the Richmond Yacht Club is looking to make them even more accessible. On February 28, RYC is hosting Sail a Small Boat Day. This non-commercial program is designed to get more people sailing and hopefully to build the small boat fleets. This program is completely fleet-driven, actual sailors of over a dozen different kinds of small boats will bring them to Richmond and take you for a sail, probably giving you the tiller and letting you feel what it's like.
Marceline Therrien, one of the promoters of Sail a Small Boat Day, said that there "is a two pronged goal: 1) to give people a chance to try out a boat, and 2) to give people a chance to meet the people in the fleets." For the first, you get a chance to take a test ride on a boat you've been thinking about. For the second, perhaps you can meet skippers who are looking for crew. Either way, you get to sail more.
As mentioned, ther are going to be a lot of boats to choose from, starting as small as an El Toro (8') up to an Ultimate 20 and Santana 22, with everything in between including the Hoot, International 14, Sunfish and the Wabbit. The Ultimate 20 is a great choice, it's fast, affordable and responsive. Since it has a retractable keel, it is kind of like an overgrown dinghy. As Tom Burden says, "it will plane; oh yeah will it plane!" For the non-sailor, that means that it will go very fast. Tom and his partner Trish are taking their Ultimate 20 to Sail a Small Boat Day and will be offering rides, even "handing over the tiller."
The organizers are encouraging new and experienced sailors to come, the idea is that these are fun boats to sail and they are easy to get started in. Of course, as relatively warm as Richmond is, it is still the San Francisco Bay in February so it is important to wear warm waterproof layers or at the very least have dry clothes to change into. Bring a lifejacket if you have it. You should expect to get wet but remember that is the fun and charm of small boats.
Sail a Small Boat Day is February 28, 2009 from 11AM to 4PM at the Richmond Yacht Club (RYC). RYC is located at 351 Brickyard Cove Road, Richmond, CA. The motto of RYC is "This Club Was Built For Fun" and you can expect that to be true when you sail a small boat.
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