Working With Their Hands in Craft Class : The course, which is held on the water under actual sailing conditions, lets women learn to sail on their own.

When the women in Kathie Ohmer’s college class talk about a “baby stay,” they are not discussing restraint devices for their children. They are talking about sailing.

In fact, chances are the kids are home with dad while mom is grinding winches on a sleek 47-foot racing sloop named Saudade. The boat, part of the Orange Coast College sailing fleet, serves as classroom for 15 women who have already learned that a baby stay is a wire attached to the mast.

As class instructor, Ohmer, a 46-year-old licensed yacht captain, makes sure that her students learn not only the names for various parts of a boat, but also how those parts work. That’s why the weekly classes are held on the water under actual sailing conditions.

For many in the women-only class, it is their first experience on a big boat. For others, even though they have sailed on big boats, they have never learned how to operate the boat on their own.

“We grew up sailing with our dad,” says Marianne Merito, 42, who is taking the class with her sister, Christine Fine, 39. “But now that Dad is 80, the boat just sits there. We have to wait for our brother to take us sailing if we want to go. Neither of our husbands sail. They don’t know how.”

Merito and Fine decided to take Ohmer’s class so they could learn how to go sailing on their own. “We thought we could do this together,” Fine says.

For Jeanne Boetto, who owns a commercial cleaning business in Costa Mesa, the sailing class is a way to get away from the pressure of work and kids. “I was talking with a friend one night and we said: ‘All we do is work. We need to find something else to do.’ ”

The friend, Carol Clift, a Costa Mesa real estate agent, suggested that the two take a sailing class together. So the women signed up for Ohmer’s class and were amazed to discover that they would actually be sailing on a 47-foot racing yacht.

“We thought we’d start on Sabots or something,” Boetto says. “This has been wonderful. We actually went out on the water the first day of class. Being in a big boat like this is exhilarating.”

The women meet for four hours every Saturday for five weeks.

“It really is a hands-on class,” says Ohmer, who has been teaching women sailing for about five years. “The only way to teach this is to actually do it. So, we get out there and do it. We go out and they learn how to handle a big boat under power and sail. We pack a lot of things into five classes.”

Every woman on the boat gets to do a little bit of everything, says Ohmer. “At first people are assigned tasks, but then we keep rotating responsibilities until everyone does them,” she says.

By the time the women have completed the class, Ohmer says, they have gained a sense of confidence in their own abilities. “They know that they can go out to sea with their husbands and if something happens to him, they can bring the boat safely back to port.”

Women in the class range in age from the mid-20s to late 40s and include both novices and experienced boaters. Trudie Barry, 48, describes herself as “very much a novice.” But last summer she and her husband bought a 39-foot sailboat and Barry wants to learn how to sail it.

Ohmer said she is glad to have Barry in the class because Ohmer believes that wives in particular need to take sailing lessons from someone other than their husbands.

“Women are intimidated by learning anything, any sport, from their husbands or boyfriends,” Ohmer says. “It is hard to take criticism from your husband.”

Ohmer, who runs a sailing school for women, says that her class is designed to teach students how to handle a boat without intimidating them in the process. “Nobody (here) ever yells at you,” she says.

Although the current class concludes May 23, a new one will start May 31. In addition, a summer class will be offered beginning July 11. The class costs $98 for 20 hours of actual sailing. For information on “Women’s Introduction to Big Boat Sailing,” call (714) 645-9412.

More Women’s Sailing. Sail trim and sail shape will be the topic of discussion at the May 21 meeting of the Women’s Ocean Racing Sailing Assn. Activities will begin with a social hour at 6:30 p.m. at the Balboa Yacht Club, 1801 Bayside Drive, Corona del Mar. For information, call (714) 723-5003.

Sailing Club. The Balboa Sailing Assn. will meet from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. May 26 at the American Legion Yacht Club, 215 15th St. in Newport Beach. The meeting is open to the public. For information, call (714) 840-3957. The organization holds a variety of sailing events, including special cruises.

Wooden Boats. About 40 wooden boats will be on display during the sixth annual Wooden Boat Festival June 6 and 7 at the Boy Scout Sea Base, 1931 W. Coast Highway, Newport Beach.

Sponsored by the Newport Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce, the event benefits the Boy Scouts. Admission is $5 each day, with children under 12 admitted free with parents. There will be food and drink booths and live entertainment both days. Festival hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 6 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 7.

A June 5 boat parade that will begin at 6 p.m. in Newport Bay will kick off the festival. For information, call (714) 729-4400.

Paddle a Canoe. You can try out all kinds of boats and paddling gear during the Paddle Sports Expo June 6 at the Newport Dunes, Back Bay Drive at Jamboree Road in Newport Beach.

Southwind Sports Resource is hosting the third annual paddling festival from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $7 for adults and $3 for seniors and children under 12.

For information, call (714) 857-5298.

Museum Regatta. Classic wooden boats will race against each other in the second annual Newport Harbor Nautical Museum Heritage Regatta June 12 and June 13 in Newport Harbor.

Proceeds will benefit the museum, at 1714 W. Balboa Blvd. in Newport Beach. Last year more than $15,000 was raised in sponsorships and donations, all of which went to help develop exhibits and collections at the museum.

Marshall Steele is chairman of the Heritage Regatta. For more information, call the Nautical Museum at (714) 673-3377.