Sail on Gas Light in the Great San Francisco Schooner Race on August 29

Here’s your opportunity to sail on a classic gaff schooner, Gas Light, in an exciting race, the Great San Francisco Schooner Race, Saturday, August 29, on San Francisco Bay.

The Golden Gate Tall Ships Society has made a great offer especially for members of the Spaulding Wooden Boat Center.

The day starts with boarding Gas Light at Schoonmaker Point Marina in Sausalito at 10am. The boat sails promptly at 10:30am to join the 11:00 parade of schooners down Raccoon Strait followed by a pursuit race at noon starting off the Knox buoy. Following the completion of the race, there will be a post-race no-host barbecue with live music on the clubhouse deck of the San Francisco Yacht Club in Belvedere. The beer is free but there is a $20 charge (payable in cash) for the barbecue.

Participants on Gas Light who do not want to stay for the barbeque will need to arrange their own transportation back to Sausalito from Belvedere as Gas Light will be staying through the party before returning to Schoonmaker Cove Marina at approximately 8pm. It’s a full day of some of the most spectacular sailing boats that you will ever see in one place and at one time on San Francisco Bay.

Cost to Spaulding Wooden Boat Center members for the sail is $75, which includes a light lunch and beverages.

Summary
Saturday, August 29
10:00 am – Boarding at Schoonmaker Point Marina in Sausalito
10:30 am – Depart Schoonmaker Marina
8:00 pm – Return to Schoonmaker Marina on Gas Light from Belvedere after the reception (or earlier with your own transportation from SFYC in Belvedere)

To secure your place, please make a payment via PayPal using the link below, or contact Alice Cochran at 415 457-8997 by phone to arrange to pay by check.

Use the following link and select the $75 guest ticket for the Great San Francisco Schooner Race. Buy tickets

Update, August 30: See a photo gallery from the race on our photo blog, at woodenboat.posterous.com

More information:

Gas Light is a 72 foot gaff rigged scow schooner built in 1991, and a replica of the famous San Francisco hay scows that plied the bay during the nineteenth century until the advent of the internal combustion engine.

For a more in-depth history of San Francisco scow schooners, see the following source:

http://www.nps.gov/history/maritime/nhl/alma.htm