I had a great day of Freesailing this past weekend at one of the last remaining locations for this grand old sport...the San Francisco Model Yacht Club. This club still has a regular season of class sailing for freesailing yachts...this event was the "X" class which the largest of the current classes in sail. The lake for the yacht club is a purpose built facility which has been in continuous use since the first decade of the 1900s.
The San Francisco Model Yacht Club is a great group of guys and a great time...for those who may find themselves in the San Francisco area here is a link to the club web site:
These freesailing yachts are a throw back to the days before radio control. Racing consists of one-on-one matchups with each of the other contestants of the day....on this occasion we had 8 people participating which made for an enjoyable several hours of sailing. The sport involves a nice combination of skill at setting the controls of the boat coupled with enough "luck" factor for even a newcomer like me to be competitive. Walking (and occasionally running) back and forth along the length of the lake 7 times made for a thorough workout!
Racing these freesailing yachts is quite addictive, I could easily see myself participating on a regular basis with this club....Now if I was only 2500 miles closer......
Regards,
Cliff
Cliff Ward
Cary, North Carolina
USA
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