A weblog for San Francisco Bay sailors

The Thiel Fellowship-
A radical re-thinking of what it takes to succeed, the Thiel Fellowship encourages lifelong learning and independent thought. With $100,000 and 2 years free to pursue their dreams, Thiel Fellows are changing the world one entrepreneurial venture at a time.

Check out some pictures of their Sailing Adventure here at OCCS…

Dear Friends,

I am excited to announce this new project that I whole heartedly endorse — an online experience called SUSTAINABLE HAPPINESS.

This “course” provides a practical roadmap to create more joy for yourself, for the people around you, and for the environment. The SUSTAINABLE HAPPINESS will give you a route to contribute to the world’s well-being and to find greater happiness, resiliency, and control in your life.

And because I’m so eager to share this with you we have set up a 25% discount for OCSC Members and Friends on this great course. It brings the course rate down to only $15!

The special code you will need is:  OCSC2011
Offer expires November 31.

I hope you will enjoy this as much as I did.

Anthony Sandberg, President OCSC Sailing

Tuesday, November 01, 8:00 pm (doors open at 7:00 pm)
Featuring Marcos Silva, Dee Bell, Mimi Fox, Wayne Wallace All-Stars, Clairdee, Denise Perrier, & special surprise guests
$24.50 advance / $26.50 at door

Merrille Trost

Merrilee Trost is the all beloved mother in law of Rich Jepsen, CEO of OCSC Sailing. This will be a huge life moment for Merrilee and we can be assured it will be a sublime evening for jazz lovers.

In 1969, Merrilee Trost recalls, “I fell down the rabbit hole into the magical world of jazz. I had no idea that it would take over my life. I’m so lucky to have met the most interesting, creative, and exciting people in the whole universe—those who inhabit the jazz world.” Tonight’s very special concert, produced by the Jazzschool, honors Merrilee with music from a superb lineup including many of her favorite performers and friends.

Featured acts include the Marcos Silva Quartet (Mary Fettig on reeds, bassist Scott Thompson, and Phil Thompson on drums); Mimi Fox Trio (Bill Douglass on bass and Akira Tana on drums); vocalist Dee Bell; the All-Star Group (Wayne Wallace on trombone, Anton Schwartz on tenor sax, Mike Olmos on trumpet, David Mathews on piano, bassist Marcus Shelby, and Akira Tana on drums); vocalist Clairdee with the Ken French Trio (pianist Ken French, Ruth Davies on bass, and Jim Zimmerman on drums); and vocalist Denise Perrier (with David Mathews, Marcus Shelby, and Akira Tana). Special surprise guest artists will be featured as well. Wayne Saroyan, founder and editor of JazzWest.com, will emcee.

Born in Stillwater, Oklahoma in 1929, Merrilee embarked on her jazz career while living in Birmingham, Michigan in 1969, when she started a big band jazz series in the auditorium of the local high school. After relocating to the Bay Area in the 1970s, Merrilee worked as vice president of publicity for Concord Jazz Records, and subsequently continued to contribute her talents throughout the jazz world, helping to establish Monarch Records, producing concerts, working on communications for the Monterey Jazz Festival, and spending seven years as the Jazzschool’s publicist.

“Merrilee is beloved by the entire Bay Area jazz community,” says Susan Muscarella, Executive Director of Jazzschool, Inc. “She has worked tirelessly and unconditionally to promote jazz for most of her adult life—simply because she loves the music.”

We thought you would enjoy seeing a new addition to the OCSC Family… Congratulations to Jaime Ferrerosa!

The Greek Isles are one of the most popular chartering destinations in the world and OCSC has brought flotillas to the islands over 10 times.  In September of 2011, seven boats filled with OCSC staff, members and friends cast off from Lavrion, Greece for a two week sailing vacation.

Different boats visited different islands in the archipelago, from Mykonos and Paros in the Cyclades (pronounced Ki klad’ez by Greeks) Islands to Aegina and Hydra in the Saronic Gulf.  All crews had the time of their lives and fell in love with Greek culture, archeology, food and weather.  In the Saronic Gulf, the islands are closer together and the sailing is milder;  in the Cyclades, it is more of a sailing adventure with stronger winds, more open water and less crowded harbors.  The boats that went to the Cyclades got the advertised conditions and mainly great sailing, although with strong enough winds to keep them in Mykonos for three days.  Some secured their boats and took ferries from a southern island to the Isle of Santorini, an extinct caldera, flooded by the Aegean, that is one of the breathtaking sights of the Mediterranean.

My boat, Mabel, a Moorings 50.5, with six of us aboard, spent her time mainly in the Saronic Gulf.  We visited wonderful islands, spending a couple of days at each, exploring ancient archeological sites, sampling wonderful Greek Taverna food and swimming in some wonderful swimming holes we found along the way. Our first night out of the Moorings Base in Lavrion we moored at Vouraki on the island of Kea, right at the boundary between the Saronic Gulf and the open Aegean, where the Cyclades are located.  We only spent a night at Vouraki and set sail for Hydra before dawn.  This early departure provided us with a wonderfully sublime experience, sailing west, out of the harbor, into a full, setting moon, turned deep orange as it marched toward the horizon.  We had 20 knots of breeze on the beam, hot coffee in our hands, and the moon to steer by (as well as the chartplotter, of course!)  What a wonderful ride!

Photo by John Hess

We were to Hydra by early afternoon and easily found a spot at the quay.  We dropped our anchor out in the middle and backed in, Med Style, to the quay.  It’s always easy to find a spot in these busy harbors, if you get in early.  However, we got to enjoy a real show as many boats chose to arrive in Hydra at 5PM or later, making for some adventurous maneuvers in Hydra’s harbor.  Armed with Gin and Tonics, we sat on our foredeck and took in the show.  By 730PM, there were four rows of boats moored out from the quay, bow to stern, probably 40 boats in total!  Everyone on the other boats was cheerful and helpful as each boat helped another with her lines.  It was so exotic to hear German, French, Norweigian, Danish, Turkish and Russian languages all in play while boats were getting moored.  In fact, the entire trip was filled with great conversations with our quay neighbors – luckily for us they all spoke some English, at least.

We saw many wonderful sights while on our trip;  A beautiful ancient amphitheater at Epidavros where the acoustics were incredible; a fun and beautiful scooter ride around the entire island of Spetses; and an overland bus trip to Nafplion where we enjoyed three different fortresses, including one on a small island in the harbor.  We had a number of beautiful and romantic dinners under the stars, including one on my birthday that included a late, red rise of that full moon…….  The Saronic Gulf was a complete blast and I’m so glad we went!

We’ll be back to Greece in two or three years, so stay tuned if you are game for a visit to romantic Greece!

-Rich Jepsen

Photo by Rita Gardner

Photo by Rita Gardner

This Post was originally published on Save the Bay by Sandy Linder.

Last Thursday afternoon, 15 Save The Bay supporters and staff were treated to a perfect sail on San Francisco Bay, by OCSC Sailing, the well-known sailing school and charter club located at the Berkeley Marina. The group included about half of the committee members dedicated to the success of Splash! Save The Bay’s 50th Anniversary Celebration, to be held on November 3rd at the City View and Terrace in San Francisco.

After our group’s working meeting earlier in the afternoon, OSCS owner Anthony Sandberg, a Save The Bay Advisory Council Member, outfitted us in the stylish sailing suits shown, and we were off with a great crew on the Cat known as The Mahi.

We enjoyed a rare September summer day, with warm temperatures and a steady wind that carried us from Berkeley to Point Richmond and back.
Skimming over the Bay, whether tucked warmly aft or exposed to the salt spray on the foredeck, each of us enjoyed the company of others who love the Bay and tangibly renewed our understanding of the Bay’s many gifts to our lives.

Please join us for an evening of inspiration, fun and local fare at our 50th Anniversary gala — Splash! 50 Years of Making Waves — on Thursday, November 3, 2011.
- Sandy Linder, Board Member

Hello all,

Thought you might want to see where the OCSC vibe
has been lately………

When we last left off it was the Irish sea on a very cool
July morning……..now it’s the warmth of southern Spain in
October and Gibraltar as the gateway to the Med.

After a recent trip back to the states, I’ve started again
heading east toward Italy……..working the southern
Spanish coast now.

Best Regards,
Steve

“OCSC’s Women Sailors is a group of women who enjoy sailing, adventure and other activities at OCSC. They invite all interested women to join them at anytime. You don’t have to be an OCSC member, you just need enthusiasm.”

If you click on the image below you’ll get to the recently published article about the OCSC Women Sailors in the “International Lifestyle Magazine“.

And if you’re interested in joining the fun just Email Alicia. She’s excited to hear from you!

Enjoy!

This is a chance to spend a few hours sailing on a performance yacht, enjoy a nice lunch and then have an up close experience during the Blue Angels show.  Guests are welcome to participate in sailing the boat under the guidance of Kailani’s professional crew, something that anyone would no doubt enjoy. Kailani is owned and skippered by OCSC Instructor Harley Earl.

To sign up call Harley directly at 1-415-272-5056

Dates: October 8 and 9
Depart Sausalito: 1100 (arrive at 1030 at the dock)
Return Sausalito: 1630
Itinerary: Wind dependent, however we expect to sail from 1100 until 1230, anchor for lunch, sail from 1330 until 1500 arriving on the west end of the exclusion zone in time for the Blue Angels.
Amenities: We provide lunch and non-alcoholic beverages.  Guests may bring their own wine and beer.
Cost: $125.00 per person (maximum of 6 guests)

If you’re interested in seeing the boat and meeting the crew: Kailani will be at our BBQ on October 15.  They’ll arrive on the fuel dock around 11AM, take up to ten interested people out for a brief sail and then tie up before half tide.  The boat will be open for tours all afternoon and through the early evening.