THE FACTS ON... BOARD SAILING

WHERE TO GO

People always can be found board sailing on Mission Bay. The boards can be rented at the San Diego Sailing Center, the Mission Bay Aquatic Center, the Catamaran Hotel and the Bahia Hotel. Advanced board sailors--those who usually have their own boards--enjoy the challenge of the waves at the Tourmaline Surfing Park in Pacific Beach. When that becomes old hat, area board sailors head south of the border to Mexico, where the wind is normally blowing harder.

WHERE TO LEARN

For five years in a row, the San Diego Sailing Center on Santa Clara Point has been honored by the International Wind Surfer Sailing Assn. as the top teaching school in the world. In six years, more than 15,000 people have taken the board sailing course at the Sailing Center. Classes are held once a day (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) during the week and twice a day (9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.) on weekends. Classes are usually made up of 12 students. Some days, the Sailing Center has separate classes for youths and adults. For those who want individual attention, the Sailing Center also has private lessons. For kids, the Sailing Center also conducts week-long board sailing camps. Youngsters learn the basics at the beginning of the week, and by the end of the week they spend most of their day out sailing.

HOW MUCH IS IT?

A group wind-surfing class at the Sailing Center is $45. The center guarantees that you’ll learn how to do it in one class. If you don’t, they’ll give you another lesson free. Individual lessons are $25 per hour. The week-long summer camp for youngsters at the Sailing Center costs $95. Once you’ve learned how, you’ll get a wind surfing certification card. With that, you can go anywhere and rent boards for about $10 per hour. Then, off you go. When and if you get really serious, you can buy your own board. The cheapest boards sell for $500, and the most expensive sell for as much as $2,000.

EQUIPMENT

As Jim Drennen, an instructor at the San Diego Sailing Center, says: “All the people have to do is bring a bathing suit and a towel and we’ve got them from there.” There really isn’t any more equipment required, other than the board and, of course, some wind. Some advanced surfers use harnesses to trapeze out over the sail board, but for beginners, it’s not necessary. There are other accessories such as gloves ($15) and special sunglasses, but there’s really no need for them.