Justin C. Blomgren

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Sailing the Bay with AirBnB

This weekend we had the awesome opportunity to partner with AirBnB and try out their new "Experiences" feature. You can now check out some awesome curated experiences through AirBnB when you are traveling to different cities. They gave us a big list of options in San Francisco, and of course we picked "Learning How To Sail". Who hasnt wanted to learn how to sail on the San Francisco Bay? What a dream! We met up with our sailing instructor Patrick at one of the Piers by AT&T Park. Patrick is a retired journalist who now spends his time doing what he loves, sailing around the bay and talking about San Francisco. He is a wealth of fun knowledge about the history of the city. I asked about his longest sailing expedition, and he told us he once raced to Hawaii and barely lost because their boat had sprung a leak midway. He said they kept it afloat by using buckets to get rid of the water. Not the most encouraging thing you want to hear before embarking on the water. 

We soon left the dock and he taught us how to lift the sail, steer and tie some knots. It was the most beautiful day on the Bay. Not a cloud in the sky. I definitely made sure to apply multiple layers of sunscreen. There were two other AirBnB'ers on the boat, so it was fun to make some new friends. We headed out towards Alcatraz, enjoying the views of the skyline, the piers, and eventually the Golden Gate Bridge as we looped around the island. We got to hang off the bow of the boat and feel the wind rushing through our hair. It was so fun! I definitely recommend it if any of you are planning to visit SF. Here is a link to Patricks AirBnB Sailing Experience. It was a fun way to see the city from a new perspective for us. 

Always a good idea to check out the map and see where you are headed.

Beneath the Bay Bridge

This was also a great opportunity to wear my striped shirt

View of the skyline. So beautiful

View of Alcatraz and the city. Fun fact from our captain, the prisoners at Alcatraz were allowed to take hot showers because the guards did not want them to get used to the cold water. 

Some sea lion friends

Taking in those views.

Last view of the city before we docked. Such a fun time on the water!

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