Jack London Aquatic Center Offers Affordable Learn-to-Sail Programs

Learn to sail on the Oakland Alameda Estuary! . The Estuary houses more boats in its many marinas than anywhere in the Bay area. It is a safe, protected place to learn and sail. It’s big enough to have fun with a direct corridor to San Francisco Bay for when you’re ready but with plenty of wind and great weather for short sails when you’re just starting out.

Jack London Aquatic Center, a public Oakland facility, is just a short walk from the ferry docks. The beautiful new facility will soon be officially opened, yet classes have been running since summer 1999 under the auspices of the Lake Merritt Boating Center.

You don’t need to own a sailboat to sail the Estuary, thanks to the City of Oakland Parks and Recreation and the Lake Merritt Boating Center. Their top-notch instructors and well-maintained boats are available quite affordably to the public. The creative team, which includes the nationally recognized instructor Mary Swift, offers a full sailing education and recreation program for Oakland and the Bay Area community. A variety of donated basic training vessels, plus the Folkboats of the Classic Sailboat Club, live at the Jack London Aquatic Center and are available for public use.

The Oakland sailing program is non-profit yet self-sustaining, providing adult and community programs, youth development and scholastic programs plus financial aid for those physically or economically challenged all at no cost to Oakland taxpayers. Groups who have taken advantage of programs like adventure sails, sunset sails, fireworks on the Bay and team training events include the Sierra Club, Cisco Systems, Mills College, Oakland High and many more.

The Estuary maritime community, most notably the Port of Oakland, Pineapple Sails, West Marine, British Marine and Stone’s Boat Yard, generously supports the programs at Jack London Aquatic Center.

A lot is cooking at JLAC – no need to wait till the doors officially open. It’s soup now!

For more information:

Jack London Aquatic Center

568 Bellevue Avenue

Oakland, CA 94610

510-444-3807