A couple of weeks later I signed up for
Marina Sailing's "Complete Sailing Course" at their Marina del Rey office. My first lesson was a 2 hour on-the-water lesson in a little 20 ft. Santana called "La Bamba". It was from that point on that I was absolutely certain that I wanted to be a sailor!
It took me about 4 months to progress through the lessons and take two ASA certification tests and become qualified for my "confidence sail", my very first charter in which I was in command of the vessel.
I wisely chose to invite along John Chan, an experienced sailor and Corinne Atefi, another Marina Sailing student. They were great companions and made it easy. We sailed up and down Santa Monica Bay and headed back in before sunset. What a great day!