A PLEASANT SURPRISE
and West Marin Islands. Head about 295 degrees for about 2.5 miles, where you'll pass Loch Lomond Marina. If you plan to hike in the San Pedro Mountain Preserve, this marina is a good base. It's also home to the nearly 60-year-old Loch Lomond Yacht Club, as well as the new Andy's Market, which has a little bar/ café. The Marin Yacht Club, which is more than 80 years old, is right around the corner (and offers tennis courts for those of you with reciprocal rights). Working your way up the Canal, you pass Lowrie Yacht Harbor, 101 Surf Sports and the San Rafael Yacht Harbor, before dead-ending at the freeway. The 'turning basin' is home to San Rafael Yacht Club, Terrapin Crossroads and the Sea Scout ship Active (though it seems to have been quite inactive for many years). For newcomers, sailing in San Rafael is remarkably egalitarian, as public education and nonprofits have managed to open the sport to a wide range of par-
ticipants. About 35 years ago, Sea Education Adventures (SEA) got their start in Sausalito, but eventually migrated, as one does, to San Rafael. The nonprofit program, which has year-round
San Rafael is definitely off the beaten path compared to the crowded, foggy hubbub in the Central Bay.
SAILING EDUCATION ADVENTURES
The beauty of San Rafael is both obvious and in the eye of the beholder.
adult sailing as well as summer youth camps, takes advantage of San Rafael's ideal microclimate. "It'll be 55 degrees, gray, foggy and drizzling in the City, and then you'll get to San Rafael and it's 80 degrees," said Meghan Hartnett, the program director for SEA. While San Pablo Bay is known for its gnarly summer chop, the waters around San Rafael, especially in the more protected waters near the Creek, tend to be at least a little mellower and temperate. "The water is a good three to five degrees warmer than Sausalito or San Francisco," Hartnett said. SEA sails out of both Loch Lomond and Marin Yacht Club, and has a number of dinghies, as well as a Santana 22 to accommodate the roughly 180 kids taking classes throughout the summer. Those classes venture to the Marin Islands, the Brothers, Red Rock (which lies just beyond the Richmond Bridge) and China Camp. A few decades ago, Peter Brown took classes at SEA when they still operated out of Sausalito. Now retired, Brown bought a Pearson Electra five years ago, and says he loves the unique experience of sailing in San Rafael. "Just the other day I had a sail and took a big ebb to say hi to the Golden Gate Bridge," he said. "We had nice wind and tide the whole way. It just takes a little longer to get there. And you're not totally divorced from the Angel Island-Alcatraz corridor. You just have to play the tides right." Brown said that when he sails, he's often alone. "If you like solitude, San Rafael is a great place. The whole China Camp shoreline is lovely. I see the same
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