The South Bay Charter's Handbook

The South Bay Charter's Handbook was conceived by Bob Diamond, and designed to get the charterer from Spinnaker Sailing of Redwood City familiar with the equipment and locations available to them. This handbook can also be used by anyone wanting to get familiar with the San Francisco Bay.

The Boats
Spinnaker Sailing has boats for day sailing and for overnight cruising. The 16 boats from 22 to 25 feet are ideal for a day sail in the South San Francisco Bay. These consist of Santana-22's, Cal-24's, and Merit 25's. All of these boats can carry as many as 5 people but are more comfortable with 3 or 4. They can also be easily short-handed sailed with 2 people and can even be single handed by experienced skippers. The boats at Spinnaker have passed voluntary safety inspections by the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and are equipped with all required safety equipment. Additional equipment such as anchor and rode, flashlight, and spare line are aboard each boat and copies of the local navigation charts are available in the office, free for the asking.
The boats larger than 25 feet are more extensively equipped and are better suited to overnight cruising around San Francisco Bay. These boats all have inboard Diesel engines, electrical systems, VHF radios, etc. Most have full galley facilities and a few have additional amenities such as stereo systems, auto pilot, microwave oven, etc. These boats can be comfortably used for trips of two or more days.
The need for additional equipment depends on how extensive the charter. Personal sailing gear is required at every level however Spinnaker Sailing provides Type III PFD's with each boat. Some sailors like to bring their own Type V PFD's for greater comfort. Port a-Potties for the smaller boats are available on request at no additional charge.
Sailors on overnight or longer cruises should bring their own bedding or sleeping bags. Some of the larger boats have dishes and cooking utensils. These should be checked prior to the day of the charter so sailors can bring what is needed that may not be part of the boat inventory