Drew Kelly for The New York Times  A view of the Golden Gate Bridge from USA 76, in San Francisco Bay.  WITH a whoosh of water against its sleek, black hull and a thundering crack of wind-whipped sails above, USA 76 came about on San Francisco Bay. Almost immediately, the 115-foot mast — about as tall as a 10-story building — dipped 30 degrees, and I found myself riding the high side of the heeled-over sailboat as we sped under the Golden Gate Bridge. Unnerved by the sudden shift but trusting in the former America’s Cup racing yacht and its crew, I gripped the rails as we entered the towering swells just outside the Gate.  Passengers and crew on board USA 76.  Behind the wheel, Brad Webb, the boat’s square-jawed owner, ceased all banter with the passengers and focused intently on maneuvering his 84-foot craft. “Ease the jib, Josh!” he yelled to one of the four crewmen from behind the wheel.  The boat sliced through the rough sea, cresting watery peaks before plunging into troughs whose translucent, gray-green walls temporarily blocked views of San Francisco gleaming in the spring sun. On Mr. Webb’s command, USA 76 came about again. With a stiff wind behind us this time, we shot under the bridge and back into the bay. A quartet of porpoises began to surf our large stern wake.  In 30-plus years of living in San Francisco, I’ve learned that there’s no better way to experience the bay than by sailboat. I’ve made countless crossings on engine-powered ferries and have taken the big, rumbling boat to tour Alcatraz with scores of visiting relatives. And while simply being on the water has made all of those trips a pleasure, they can’t compare with my handful of outings on a friend’s 32-foot sailboat.  Down close to the water and its inevitable surprises, I’ve always been struck by how intimate and elemental San Francisco’s connection with the bay becomes, how luminous its sky even on an overcast day. On a wind-powered craft, there is no thrumming engine to drown out the sound of rushing wind or splashing water or crying gull; there are no diesel fumes to mask the air’s salty bite. You sense the pull of tides and the rhythm of swells. You feel the tingle of spray on your face.  For months, sailing has been much in the news in San Francisco. Two America’s Cup World Series regattas this year (Aug. 21 to 26 and Oct. 2 to 7) will bring top sailors and catamarans with huge wing sails to the bay. The events will serve as a prelude to the big show next summer, from July 4 to Sept. 22, when the city hosts yachting’s premier event, the America’s Cup. Monster vessels from around the world will battle for the right to challenge the reigning champion, Oracle Team USA, during the September finals. And for the first time in America’s Cup history, the racecourse will be close to shore, allowing thousands to watch from rooftops, hills and waterside roosts.  All the talk in town about sailing had me wanting to get back on the water. Though my friend would have happily taken me out again, I decided to investigate what is available to those without easy access to a boat. The options, I discovered, are many and diverse, from two-hour trips on an 87-passenger schooner ($30 per person; rendezvouscharters.com) and sunset drink-and-hors-d’oeuvres cruises aboard a 65-foot catamaran ($50 per person; adventurecat.com) to beginner’s lessons in 22-foot keelboats ($400 for 12 hours of instruction; spinnaker-sailing.com) and private all-day charters of a teak-decked multimast ketch ($3,850 for up to 28 passengers; sailsf.com). Sailing San Francisco (sfsailing.com), a comprehensive Web site aimed primarily at the local sailing community, lists several dozen other choices.  USA 76 immediately hooked me with the prospect of a two-and-a-half-hour sail ($140; acsailingsf.com). The advantages, beyond price, were clear: I could actually take the helm and help hoist the sails of a boat that competed in the 2003 America’s Cup challenger races in Auckland, New Zealand. I booked online for a Sunday morning departure three weeks later.  The night before our departure a fierce storm had lashed the region with rain and howling gales, so I was relieved to wake up to clear and breezy weather. I had read that morning that a huge ocean swell was making its way through the Golden Gate, and as I approached USA 76’s berth near the Pier 39 tourist complex, I could see whitecaps frosting the bay.  “It’s a great day to be on the water,” said Jonathan Buser, the ship’s affable captain, sharing duties that day with Mr. Webb, who usually does not accompany the ticketed public cruises. Mr. Buser then asked the full complement of 20 passengers to introduce ourselves. Most of us admitted to little boating experience — “I’m feeling a little nervous now,” confessed one woman in designer jeans with Dior sunglasses propped on her head — though a few wore what to my landlubber’s eyes looked like serious sailing jackets with lots of complicated zippers and drawstrings.
Next year, San Francisco will host the Americaâs Cup. But you donât have to wait until then to taste the experience â and some sea spray â yourself.