1 Day Experience > Next Class

Hands-On Sailing Experience

Curious about sailing? Always dreamed of trying it? Here’s your chance.

Join us for a hands-on day sail—trim the sails, feel the wind on your face, and even take the helm. No experience needed.

Our expert instructors will guide you through a day of discovery, adventure, and pure sailing. No tests. No pressure. Just wind, water, and motion. You might find your new passion.

Schedule Options:

Full Day: 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Half Day: 12:30 PM – 4:30 PM

How to Book:

Purchase your adventure sail below.
Contact us at least one week in advance to confirm your date.

This is not a skippered charter, you’ll be an active participant. A minimum of 2 participants is required. Weekdays are possible, but Fridays and Saturdays are best.

See Pricing

Find a date that works for you
Call 510-535-1954

Go for a sail. See if it’s the right fit for you.

Every sailing experience is different, but each offers a mix of hands-on activity and quiet moments under sail. It’s a great way to start if you’re curious about sailing or want to rediscover the feeling of being on the water.

Already love sailing? Bring someone new along. This is a perfect way to share the experience and spark their excitement.

Both the full-day and half-day options are active sailing, not just a scenic ride. You’ll participate, not just observe.

Prefer to start as a passenger? We also offer skippered charters for a more relaxed introduction.

Ready to learn?

If you’re hooked, you can begin training right away. No experience necessary.

Try our two-day BK1: Intro to Sailing course, or go deeper with a 4+ day BK1 + ASA 101 program for a more structured start.

Before the Sail

Look at the weather for your sailing day. Dress in layers for that weather in comfortable clothes (think hiking), sunscreen, sunglasses, hat, and wear flat, non-skid shoes.

Bring water and something to snack on or for lunch.

Where will you sail?

This depends on the weather and wind. You will explore the Oakland estuary and might get as far as the Bay Bridge or beyond on a perfect day with the right currents and winds. We tend to stick to calmer waters and less 'sporty' sailing during these fun sail days.

Our goal is for you to enjoy yourself enough to want to come back for more. We offer a full array of sailing classes to become proficient and confident in sailing. After passing the foundation or mid-level courses you can independently rent a boat or sail.

What's Included

Life Jacket and Safety Equipment

We can loan you a personal flotation device (PFD), also known as a lifejacket, along with other safety equipment. PFDs must be worn at all times when outside the cabin while the boat is underway. For your safety, put it on before the boat starts moving, especially when departing from or returning to the dock.

$50 off your next class

After this experience, we'll give you a voucher for $50 off Afterguard's BK1 or ASA 101 course.

Find a date that works for you

Book a Sail

What to expect

Schedule and Crew:

Meet at Afterguard Sailing Academy, 1285 Embarcadero (Oakland, CA 94606).
This sailing experience is spent mostly aboard the boat sailing local waters.
This is not a course. No written exams at the conclusion to see what you learned.
There could be up to 6 participants per boat, with 1 skipper or instructor.

What Boats are Used:

In this experience, we may sail on any of our 23'-46' ft boats from our fleet depending on the weather, group size, and yacht availability. The larger the group, the larger the boat we use. Let us know if you have a preference, but expect to have fun whichever boat we use.

More about what to wear:

Layers! Look up the weather for that day. Dress in layers according to the weather predictions. Vests are a good under/over layer. Use a base layer per the weather, T-shirt to long sleeved, add up to a wind-breaker. If rainy, a waterproof over layer for top and bottom will keep it fun.
Footwear: Soft soled shoes for traction on the deck. Non-marking required. No bare-feet, open toed or flip-flops. Broken toes are painful and your responsibility.
Headware: We recommend a brimmed hat with a keeper that will not blow off your head. If cold, bring a warm hat or perhaps an ear covering headband.
Hands: Garden gloves with rubberized palms and clipped finger tips are a plus. If cold, warm gloves help. If you have sailing gloves, bring them. Work-out or biking gloves fingers are too short. Only want to expose the first joint in your fingers.

What else to bring:

If you bring a refillable water bottle, please make sure you take it with you at the end of your sail. Next to sunglasses, they are the most numerous item in our Lost&Found pile!
Keepers for glasses and hats can save you lots of money.

Additional info:

There are bathrooms at our facility and on the boats. Please use the 'head' (bathroom on shore before leaving and have your sailing leader show all how to use the 'head ' aboard the boat, before leaving the docks!