A Friendly Wave or Two : Smooth Sailing for Singles Set in Oceanside

Many of skipper Dick Barnier’s passengers prefer the disorienting waves and bobbing deck of his 27-foot sailboat to the spinning lights and often stomach-churning singles scene in North County.

Barnier is one of about 10 boat owners who sail with the Singles Oceanside Sailing Club. Every Sunday, up to several dozen of the club’s nearly 150 members meet at Oceanside Harbor to sail and schmooze.

On this particular Sunday, Barnier’s crew thankfully includes an acupressure therapist, 38-year-old Denise Richards. Richards knew how to help a queasy passenger regain his equilibrium--and hopefully hold down his breakfast--by pressing a particular point on his ear.

An amused Barnier shakes his head over seasickness. “Once you got it, you got it.”

Richards is one of the club’s newest members and this is her second voyage. Before her first trip, the 38-year-old Carlsbad woman was so leery of SOSC’s “singles club” label that she and a friend walked past club members along the harbor one Sunday morning to “make sure it was safe” before setting sail.

A few Sundays later, Richards and her friend came back to join the club. “I really like the people I’ve met,” she says. “Everybody seems real nice so far. . . . It’s like a family.”

Activity-oriented groups, like SOSC, are less threatening than regular social clubs, former SOSC commodore Ilena Bond says.

“The primary purpose of the club is sailing,” vice commodore for sailing Don Drews says. “It’s not a meat market type of thing.”

SOSC members like to think of themselves as a “training club,” Drews said. The club offers a four-week, 16-hour sailing course for $30, and members are encouraged to take the free sailing lessons offered by the Coast Guard.

On the other hand, the club is not exactly anti-social.

Drews met Dorris, his wife of less than two months, through SOSC. Four or five other “alumni” couples remain active in the club, according to current commodore Dee McCauley. And some members are dating, like Barnier and Bond.

During summer, members meet behind Oceanside Yacht Club for a potluck barbecue after sailing. In winter, they gather for drinks at a nearby restaurant bar. The club also sponsors parties, cookouts and other social events during the year, McCauley said.

The club also holds occasional races, Thursday night “twilight sails” and overnight trips to Dana Point, Catalina and other locations.

Freeway travelers might find it hard to get excited about a six-hour sailing trip to a location that is less than a half-hour away by car. But, says McCauley, “You learn to kick-back a lot. It’s one of the delights of (sailing).”

SOSC is a diverse group with members representing a variety of backgrounds, incomes and ages.

Members range in age from late 20s to early 70s, membership chairman Jean Slaughter said. “Most people are in their 40s or 50s,” she added.

But that doesn’t seem to faze 25-year-old Jonathan Tucker of Vista, who joined the club with several friends less than two weeks ago. “Age never bothered me a bit,” he said.

Singles Oceanside Sailing Club

Calls: 724-4331

When: Meets 10 a.m. Sunday at picnic tables near Oceanside Harbor’s Q dock; sails 11 a.m.

Cost: Annual fee $35.

Notes: Interested individuals can sail once for free with an SOSC skipper before joining the club.