From the San Francisco Chronicle Schmoozing Can Lead to Sailing
Parties offer crew chance to meet captains05 April 2001
Trick question: What's the one thing you don't need, in order to become a yachtsman on San Francisco Bay? Answer: A yacht.
For more than a decade, "wannabe" sailors have enjoyed a fine local alternative to haunting marina docks and beseeching rides. That alternative: Annual Crew List parties run by Latitude 38, the popular Bay Area journal of recreational sailing. In fact, one such soiree will take place this very evening, at the Corinthian Yacht Club in Tiburon.
"We had about 300 people attend last year," said Andy Turpin, a "Lat 38" senior editor. "Skippers who want crew wear one color of name tag; sailors without a boat, looking to come aboard, wear their own color. Many simply use it as an excuse to mingle with old friends. It's really a giant schmoozerama, with a sort of cocktail party atmosphere.
"People who are forthright, who just introduce themselves and start chatting, generally get a berth pretty quick," Turpin said. "It always amazes me how many great opportunities there are."
Opportunities range from casual cruises to serious racing. They include chances to board a voyage to Mexico, the Caribbean, Hawaii, the South Seas or some other marine Shangri-La.
Boats naturally create propinquity. You may be out on the vast bosom of the sea, but movement is circumscribed by the stem, stern and rails. So adventures aboard can also include winning strong, new friendships or uncovering virulent incompatibility.
For Andy and Marianne Kopac, a casual Crew List meeting six years ago led to sailing, romance, marriage, a child and -- now that they live together on a 38-foot, blue-water ketch -- the chance for much more sailing. Like, to Mexico.
Then, Micronesia.
Andy, 39, a technician at Intuit, grew up in Northern California, and worked his way from El Toros and Hobie Cats up to a Catalina 30. Marianne, 42, a special projects manager for the city of San Francisco, crewed on her parents' boat in the early 1990s. She came to the Bay Area fully aware she was moving to one of the world's great sailing capitals.
"I thought, I've got to get on a boat," Marianne said. "But as a woman, you must be careful. You don't just walk out on a dock and holler, trying to see if anyone will take you as crew."
Instead, she popped on a name tag at a Crew List Party, and ran into Andy. During their chat, they discovered an intriguing parallel: They were both dreaming about voyages on the high seas in the same target year, 2002.
"We hit it off out on the bay," Marianne said. "Friendship bloomed into where we are now."
That would be aboard the Soy Libre, a fiberglass West Indies 38 moored at Treasure Island marina. The 24-year-old, 10-ton vessel was once rolled by Hurricane Andrew -- but came up sailing.
"She's stout," Andy said. "We bought her three years ago. We're giving her a major outfitting, getting her blue-water ready."
Kopac is making full use of high-tech wizardry, installing water-makers, multisource refrigeration and solar panels. A Palm V loaded with tide, current and navigation data lies near the cockpit.
The latest crew member to sign on is young Andrew Roper Kopac, now 6 months of age. In another few months, he'll start preparations of his own, by taking infant swimming lessons at the YMCA.
Retired aerospace engineer Robert Wilson, 57, of Mountain View, says he loves the way Crew Lists grant him chances to board world cruises at a whim.
"Crew List trips are cheap vacations," Wilson says. "For sharing in cost of food and fuel, you can go almost anywhere you want.
"I've done this five years. I've had two sailing trips to Mexico, one off Turkey, one from Honolulu to the Line Islands (atolls that include Christmas and Palmyra), and a nice powerboat delivery from Newport to Seattle.
"Many people retired, bought a boat and sailed into the sunset," Wilson said. "But when they need to make a leg to the next spot, they'd rather have three aboard to stand watch, instead of two. That's where you can come in."
According to Turpin, extensive sailing history -- or even any experience at all -- isn't required. Some captains actually prefer a crew they can train from scratch, enlightening them as to their own preferences. "Skippers aren't necessarily eager for someone who knows it all," Turpin said. "They want people with good attitudes, those willing to share in fun but also help with the work."
On Sunday, as the Kopacs sailed Soy Libre out for a shakedown cruise, 25- knot afternoon gusts sheeted the bay with a fleece of whitecaps. The new sea pup, young Andy, actually didn't even have to help wrestle slapping sails and rattling sheets when the stately ketch made a tack. He just laid back in his seat behind the teak-and-Lexan "dodger" (cockpit shield) and cooed approval.
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