Wet wildlife
By Alex Wilson 07/10/2008
Sailing enthusiasts harness the power of the wind and commune with wildlife in a friendly race off Ventura’s coastline before sunset each Wednesday during the summertime.
During a recent “Wet Wednes-day” race the boats used a buoy covered with lounging sea lions as one end of an invisible starting line. Dolphins frolicked and pelicans dove for fish as the boats raced by.
Mariners from the city of Ventura’s Leo Robbins Community Sailing Center have started joining in the excitement since receiving a donated boat called Chubasco that’s fast enough to compete.
Instructor Noel Mechelin says they’re striving to give some of their more ambitious and advanced students a taste of open ocean racing.
“We wanted to bring back students who were exceptional and give them an opportunity to go offshore and race competitively. I think they’re taking with them a whole new experience, not just basic sailing but competitive edge sailing,” says Mechelin. “So far the response from our students has been fantastic. They really are enjoying it.”
Once the racing is done sailors gather for dinner and drinks at either the Ventura or Pierpont Bay Yacht Clubs whose members help organize the weekly competition. People interested in helping crew the boats can contact the clubs, and other unaffiliated boats like the sailing schools are welcome to enter the races.
Sailing school graduate Julia Domenech took up sailing when she moved to Ventura three years ago and is glad she found out about the city’s well-regarded program.
“I moved here and got into sailing right away because I found sailing is a really cool way to meet people,” says Domenech. “It definitely brings a lot of good people together.”
She also loves the connection she gets with nature.
“It feels awesome, for me just being out on the water is what life is about,” says Domenech. “To go out there cruising as the sun’s going down with good people, you see dolphins, seals, pelicans. You really can’t get any better. It’s even better that we’re under sail and not using gas and a motor because it’s all natural. It’s the water and the sails and you.”
Mechelin says it’s exhilarating to tap into a powerful source of renewable energy like the wind.
“To be able to tame the wind and make a boat move through the water is just exceptional. You might not be able to go 60 miles an hour, but there’s artistry to doing that, and you’re conserving energy,” he says.
Former sailing center student Damien Fabre moved here two years ago from France to do computer work for outdoor clothing maker Patagonia and enjoyed taking sailing lessons so much that he now lives on a boat.
He says it’s a magical feeling to encounter wildlife while gliding by silently in a sailboat.
“There was this big school of dolphins, I mean hundreds if not thousands, and we sailed with them for a while and you could hear the splash of the dolphins,” says Fabre. “You cannot get any better than that. You’re in it, you’re part of it. That’s wonderful.”
Mechelin says seeing the coastline from the ocean heightens people’s awareness about the natural wonders offshore.
“Any time you’re able to see wildlife in its natural element I think it just really brings home what you can do to conserve and be kind to our environment,” he says.
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