We live in a Venetian City. Everywhere you turn there’s more water. Among these waterways one stands above the others, Lake Union. This unique, protected waterway has distinctive wind patterns and unrivaled propinquity. These facets make it a great place to learn to sail and provide a variety of challenges. With it so close, it can all be done in a short afternoon.
“Sheet in the main, prepare to go close haul.” What? This is just one of the many strung together terms that create the obscure nomenclature of sailing. It’s an ancient language of mariners and sea salts—of about 400 words—that don’t mean anything unless you’re aboard a sailboat; words like jib, jibe, keel, leeward and lanyard thrown around by sailors as often as changes in the wind. At one point all commerce was water bound; a series of rules and laws, jargon, and universal signs and symbols had to be formed so everyone could communicate.
There’s a certain romantic splendor of an organically powered craft that should put sailing on the top of anybody’s “To Do list.” It’s worth investing several weeks on the sometimes blustery, sometimes sunny and sometimes windless waters of Lake Union. No matter what the weather does, you’ll always learn something.
Photo by Joseph Schell
Center for Wooden Boats
Plenty of places will give you a chance to test out your sea legs, but none of them are quite as unique as the Northwest Center for Wooden Boats (CWB). Nestled at the southernmost point of Lake Union amongst several old Washington heritage ships, the Kenmore Sea planes buzzing to and fro, the Naval Reserve Building, and South Lake Union Park, the floating Wooden Boat Center is remnant of a small bustling village.
The CWB offers a wide assortment of hands on experiences. Their mission statement reads, “To provide a gathering place where maritime history comes alive through direct experience and our small craft heritage is enjoyed, preserved, and passed along to future generations.” They stick to this sentiment rigidly. A series of workshops and classes cover boat building, knot working, and rig and sail making. You can dab a brush in watercolor painting classes, try your hand at cedar rope making or learn how to carve a canoe.
This hands-on maritime museum strives to maintain a rich, fundamental and diverse small craft heritage. Through educational awareness and participation the CWB hopes to preserve “both the artifacts and the time-tested maritime skills.”
CWB Sailing Lessons
The SailNOW program gets you out and about on the water with haste. After the initial shore class covering common knots (bowline, figure 8), the fundamentals of a sail, how the wind works, and points of sail you’ll be urged to get out on the water. At the dock you’ll learn how to rig the boats, how to cast off and the essentials of the terminology. Once on the water the instructor will walk you through how to tack (sail into the wind) and how to jibe (sail away from the wind). You’ll learn the proper way to rescue a man overboard, sail to a destination, sail by the wind and right of way rules on water. By the end of the course you’ll feel right at home with these small, swift wooden boats.
Another unique facet of the wooden boat sailing program is that every week you’ll have a different instructor. This allows you to get a variety of teaching styles and viewpoints on the complicated subject.
Volunteering Opportunities
Take some time out of your weekend to come down and volunteer; every three hours served goes toward an hour of sailing. You can teach sailing, tend the museum library, assist in the livery, or just help with CWB maintenance.
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Volunteering Info
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Wooden Boar Center Calendar of Events
