Welcome! The CBI boathouse is old, from the '30s, I believe, and has a pretty garden out front.
This is the boathouse. You can see the American flag flying up high with the yellow wind condition flag further down. The day use lockers are outside, and there are lockers inside that you can rent for the season if you're a serious sailor with lots of gear. The bay all the way to left (just to the right of the flagpole) holds sails and lifejackets. The next two bay doors lead to the classroom and indoor lockers (the "main bay"). The fourth door (that you can barely see in this photo, but it's where the man is walking out from) is the main hallway to the entrance and the front desk. You may also notice that this photo shows a boat on the dock--you're not crazy. That boat stays there for use in teaching new sailors how to rig their boats.
This is the other end of the dock, looking towards the Hancock Tower and Prudential Center in downtown Boston. You can see a picnic table, the same boat on the dock, and the little wooden shed on the left that holds the windsurfing equipment. You may also notice the pretty potted flowers that add a splash of color to the otherwise drab expanse of wooden dock.
I liked the symmetry of this photo! These people are preparing to go out, so they've brought their boats around from the slip to the river edge of the dock. You can tell what a busy day it was at CBI because there are no boats visible in the slips.
Indeed, it was a busy day. None of these boats crashed, but it looks like they might from this picture!
Also, I would like you to go back and look at the second photo. Notice the yellow flag?? I sailed all the way through green into yellow today, and even the green flag was rougher today than yesterday. Still no catastrophes. In fact, I ran into my old sailing buddy Manlio as I was leaving, and he asked if I had capsized yet in the same way that you ask your friend if she's tried the new restaurant down the street. I proudly said no, I had not, despite needing to be rescued once. When I explained that I had run aground during a red flag, Manlio half laughed - Oh, is that all! - and promptly asked when I was going to get my jib rating (yikes! next year?) and if I wanted to crew for him during Sunday races (sadly, my traveling on the weekends means I can't be his regular crew, but maybe I can be a substitute...). How I love CBI!
I was also happy to give back in a couple small ways this weekend. Yesterday, as I was unrigging my boat, a woman who had docked at about the same time asked me several questions about how to unrig, and happily I could answer. Then today, as I was rolling my sail, I noticed a girl having a difficult time with hers. She still hadn't started by the time I finished and put my sail away, so I showed her how to roll it and she was so appreciative. It felt nice to help beginners like me. And maybe it makes up for me telling the dockhouse yesterday that I wasn't comfortable taking someone out for instruction. But I was flattered that they asked! :) (Don't get too excited--they ask anyone with a helmsman rating who isn't already taking someone whenever people are waiting for instruction.)
Anyway, I would call this a pretty perfect weekend. Despite the rain forecast for both Saturday and Sunday, I was able to spend 1.5 sailing yesterday and almost an hour today, plus 1.5 kayaking yesterday and one hour today. And by kayaking, I mean that I paddled my boat out into the river, dangled my feet over the sides, and watched the mesmerizing dance of the sailboats.
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