Beauty, Adventure, and The Ride Of A Lifetime – 10 Reasons To Enjoy Go Boating Today!

san francisco sunsetBoating on San Francisco Bay delivers a potent dose of plain old AWE, as well as other powerful emotional benefits, a gratifying physical experience, and adventurous fun! There is nothing quite like a day on San Francisco Bay cruising past the most iconic sites in the world—places and structures we take for granted that the rest of the world is in awe of, and for very good reason.

Year-Round Sailing On San Francisco Bay

What does chartering one of our luxury yachts, joining our boating club or finding relief from this hectic world at one of our workshops hold in store for you? Besides being one of the most exciting and unusual ways to spend the day, here is our main list of delights and benefits:

1. Breathtaking Beauty

Cruising the San Francisco Bay, under the Golden Gate Bridge, and past landmarks like Alcatraz and Angel Island never gets old. Taking in views of the San Francisco skyline from the peaceful vantage point of the water is awe-inspiring. Science is now claiming that awe is critical to our well-being just as joy, contentment‌ and love is to living our best life. Research suggests that the health benefits of experiencing awe include calming down our nervous system and triggering the release of oxytocin, the “love” hormone that promotes trust and bonding.

FLEET WEEK2. Adventure & Exploration

The Bay has so many spots to discover – like hidden coves in Sausalito, beaches along the shoreline, interesting ports & marinas, and more. Having access to sailboats and powerboats makes it easy to explore it all.

3. Adventurous Joy

Riding the winds, riding through choppy waves, or watching the sunset turn the blue sky bright orange delivers a profound joy that awakens our inner child, sparking a playful sense of wonder and excitement. Science supports our need to experience everyday wonder. It serves to foster connection with the natural world and help us see that we’re part of something much bigger than our own small universe. Science attributes the feeling of wonder to help us quiet our inner critic, reduce our emotional stress, feelings of loneliness, and physical distress, and bring a profound sense of expanded time, perspective, and connection.

4. Lots of Good Endorphins

Learning to dock a boat, anchoring in a new cove, steering through choppy water, conquering new boating skills and the visual adventures of a new landscape release feel-good endorphins.  Endorphins are hormones that your body releases at various times and especially during pleasurable activities. Endorphins help reduce stress and improve your sense of well-being.

PELICAN5. Wildlife Sightings

Keep an eye out for seals, sea lions, pelicans, cormorants, and even dolphins and whales! There’s amazing marine life to appreciate in the bay which boosts mental health. Witnessing wildlife ride the waves or stargazing from the water at night, we feel reconnected to nature’s power and mystery, alleviating feelings of isolation and perspective-lessness that modern life often breeds.

Something new and quite exciting is the arrival of the Bottlenose dolphins to the Bay. They have been documented in the Bay Area since 2007, with about half of them still nomadic and traveling between San Diego, Monterey Bay, Ensenada, and the Bay Area. They are believed to have moved north to adapt to climate change, and have adapted to new food sources like salmon. They can be identified by unique patterns of notches on their dorsal fins, and can live for an estimated 50–60 years.

6. Social Connection

Boating with friends or family, even casually chatting with other boaters fosters supportive bonds. Feeling connected and having conversations in relaxed conditions where all our feel good hormones are flowing assists people in having more connected conversations so you feel more understood. Connection reduces our feeling of loneliness which, if we are suffering from burnout, commonly exacerbates.

7. Stress Relief

Feeling the wind and bouncing waves melt worries away.  Boating naturally produces a state of relaxation with focused concentration if we are working on new skills which is deeply relaxing. It’s a welcomed mental break to do something new and fun.

8.  Mental Escape

When cruising a powerboat or sailing a yacht, and you want to learn about the sport, you need to be fully present and focused on the wind and the waves which forces you to disconnect from stressful responsibilities back on land. It gives your mind a break from circular worrying or negative thought loops. You just cannot be stressed on a boat!

lagoon 42 work party9. Mental Respite

The focus needed to maneuver a sailboat through a busy waterway keeps our thoughts fully absorbed in the mindful present, providing a welcome break from responsibilities back at home that can drain us emotionally. Boating is a fantastic activity for reducing stress and mental burnout in several ways. In essence, boating clears mental clutter, inspires awe, sparks adventure, and connects us to both water and people in profoundly restorative ways that keep stress and exhaustion at bay.

10. Emotional Freedom

As the sails catch the wind, our human spirit feels effortlessly lifted up as well, leaving lingering worries or disappointment safely back on shore so we experience lightness and unencumbered emotional freedom.

Sailing or cruising along the stunning San Francisco Bay nourishes our emotional wellbeing with beauty, peace, reconnection, wonder and release from life’s stresses in incredible ways that revive us wholly.

boating club

 

Joining our boating club, taking a yacht charter with us, taking lessons, or one of our Workshops opens you to a fantastic opportunity for cruising around San Francisco Bay and gives your brain a body a big rush of fresh air and renews you for the week’s stress ahead.

Join us for easy access to boating and incredible access to tap into the rejuvenating magic of the bay!