San Fransico Bay Sailing Charter

[DrB]

My wife and I are most likely going to spend our 10 year Anniversary in San Fran. She has never been, so I would like to take her. We'd do the City/Winery tour stuff. Planning about a week in San Fran area.

I would like to charter a sail boat and sail in the bay specifically around The Golden Gate. I don't want to sail the boat myself, since I am unfamiliar with the waters and winds. I just want to hire a skippered charter for 4 to 6 h, sail around, take the helm when I want, have my wife take the helm when she wants, and then basically have the skipper do the rest of the sailing and be friendly to us, knowledgeable about the area and the sailing community. Don't need a gourmet meal or champagne or anything like that while out.

Want to go out on a comfortable boat to (30 to 40 ft range) that will perform and gets us around safely. We own a 33 ft boat, so we are comfortable sailing and have good experience.

Does anyone know of anyone that could provide this service that is good and reliable? Heck any of you San Fran SailNet folks that would take us out, I could help pay your slip fees for the month (provided we get back in one piece! : )

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EDIT: Looking at mid to late June 08 for trip to San Fran
DrB

[bestfriend]

This is the only one I can recommend by first hand experience:

http://www.rubysailing.com/

Friend of a friend:

http://www.sailsf.com/

Met this guy once, very nice.

http://www.adams-sailing.com/rates.nxg

[Fstbttms]

Post an ad on the San Francisco craigslist in the "Boats" section. You will get many responses and you can pick and choose your skipper and boat.

[T34C]

I was going to suggest a certain 50 Tri, but you did say "good and relieable". Oh, never mind.

[Acedia]

Ten years ago, I sailed for an afternoon with Modern Sailing Academy of Sausalito. I just paid for a spot with three or four others (who were together) and a very knowledgeable skipper on a 36-foot boat (probably one of their charter boats) so it didn't cost very much. I'm sure they could do a private thing, too. We ducked out beneath the Golden Gate Bridge (I still have a favorite picture of myself looking very happy in my foul weather gear with the bridge behind me). It was a nice SF day, but still cool and a bit choppy through the pass (and calm and warm inside the headland). I must have liked it, because a year later I sailed with them for three months around Hawaii, down to French Polynesia and around Tahiti, Rangiroa, Bora Bora, etc. (It's so much fun to be able to say that!) How depressing that it's 9 years later and instead of being out their cruising I'm sitting here at 2 a.m. lurking on Sailnet! (MSA and John Connolly still do two week charters around the world, I think, but I don't think they do the long open water passages anymore, btw.)