Is the geek sailing trend recent, or just something I'm only noticing being out in San Francisco right now? It's coming up in almost every group I hang out with; they've got time shares, they're going to sailing class. Is this what "we" do now?

I would say that sailing has always been something that rich geeks get into.

There are numerous blogs and even sites (pre-blogging days) by programmers, etc. who made some money and then bought a boat and sailed away.

With the recent price spikes on oil, sailing starts to look cool, as it is one of the earliest forms of wind power.

I didn't notice this trend but incidentally I just bought a sailboat and took sailing classes. And sailing is awesome in more ways than I can count.

I don't know about recent, but sailing is awesome! We do it quite a bit here in Marblehead. As this year's commander of the Marblehead Sail and Power Squadron http://www.usps.org/localusps/marblehead/exec-comm.html I would whole-heartedly encourage you to take a boating safety course and learn some basic stuff before you go get too adventurous!

I thought kitesurfing was the new geek trend. Read a bunch of articles about a bunch of Google bigwigs taking that up a couple years ago. I'm still too chicken to try it, alas.

Where do people go for sailing class in SF? I sailed in college and am looking to pick it up again...

Skiff sailing is the new trend ! Small, fast and fun boats, that's the future :)

I'd love to get into that, but given that my only sailing experience is 420s and FJs on a lake that never had any wind, I think I should probably start with something a little less hard to handle. ;-) Know of any dinghy sailing schools in the South Bay?

I live in France, so... I don't have any idea :)

I'm asking my friends, I'll ping when I get an answer.

Our survey says: http://modernsailing.com/

Happy to help. :P

Thanks. :-)

I've been sailing for years and, as the others have written, it is awesome. I've found geek and non-geek alike find enjoyment in it.