Vancouver, WA

What is the most exhilarating, exciting and fun thing to do in Vancouver for FREE?

RACE SAILBOATS!

If you spend any time at all on the river’s edge you’ll notice sailboats fiercely zigzagging up and down the river; one minute unfurling the wildly colorful spinnaker sails and the next madly stuffing the huge sail into the hull for the down wind leg. That is a sailboat race.

I took advantage of the website www.sailpdx.com to help me gain opportunities to get on a boat. I went to the “crew list form” and listed myself as a beginning sailor and received a few emails from skippers needing crew for racing. Keeping in mind that skippers are looking for committed crew I found out which day of the week the races were and how many weeks I needed to commit to. A series is typically five-six weeks long with four-five races.

Once I signed on it was as simple as getting the date and time of the race and the location of the boat and showing up. Races are usually during the week and the first horn is at 6:30pm. The race lasts between 1.5 and 2.5 hours depending on weather conditions. I have always been back to the dock before dark. Sailboat racing doesn’t require special gear but I did make sure I brought water; packed a warm hat & jacket, sunglasses and a waterproof windbreaker; and wore long pants and closed-toed shoes with non-marking soles (you don’t want to make black scuff marks on the boat). I also made sure the boat owner had a life jacket for me. The rules of racing are: don’t flake out, arrive five minutes early and bring beer–or something to share. I always bring homemade chocolate chip cookies and am always invited back “anytime”. The goals of racing—at least on my boat—are: safety, fun and looking good (aka seamanship).

The first time I went to meet a boat on race day I found figuring out where the marina was, trying to arrive on time and the awkward moment when I couldn’t get down to the dock because the gate was locked a tad stressful. Not knowing what to expect or who the crew were was also disconcerting. I was the only female and the least experienced crew member but the guys left me to my tasks and didn’t take over which was impressive under the competitive circumstances. I quickly learned that to be successful in racing everything must happen in a fluid, well-timed sequence. And I had FUN.

I was a trimmer and when not trimming I was railmeat (one who puts their weight on the high side of the boat to level it and make it go faster). There were many precarious moments as I dashed from one side of the boat to the other and scrambled to the rail or hopped down to jump to the other side. Precision and balance were important as was the ability to move very quickly one moment and brace yourself the next. The following day my arms and back were sore and I found a lot of bruises on my legs, but I could hardly wait to do it again.

Racing sailboats is exhilarating, it is one of the best ways to learn to sail and meet new people, and just as the sailor needs a boat the skipper needs crew so the ability to show up is all you need to start a new and exciting sport.