Start Sailing Now: Oh, the Places Sailing Can Take You
Posted September 5, 2025
Where might sailing take you?
For more than 10 years SpinSheet's Start Sailing Now initiative has brought you inspiring stories of sailors who took up the sport as adults. Here we catch up with Harish Neelakandan and Bill and Patty Allman.
From beginner to sailing instructor: Harish Neelakandan
We originally interviewed Harish 10 years ago, when he had recently learned to sail at the Downtown Sailing Center (DSC) in Baltimore. Here is his update.
Neelakandan sailing in Baltimore Harbor near the Francis Scott Key Memorial Bouy.
I have continued my day-sailing and cruising activities at the DSC as well as at the new Peninsula Sailors. In addition, I am a US Sailing Instructor and teach Basic Keelboat, Basic Cruising, Bareboat Cruising, and Coastal Navigation at the DSC and at J/World Annapolis. I’m also an ASA Instructor of 101, 102, 103, 104, and 105 at the Annapolis Sailing School.
When I occasionally visit the West Coast, I sail and teach at Redwood City’s Spinnaker Sailing. I also coach some private instruction. I have a USCG Master’s 25-Ton Captain’s license with Sailing and Towing endorsements. Becoming an instructor greatly helped solidify my sailing skills; one has to really know and understand what one is teaching. I have learned immensely from my fellow coaches and even from my students. Since I learned to sail as an adult, I remember what it was like to be an inexperienced sailor, and that helps me tailor my teaching approach to my mostly adult students.
Sailing in Baltimore Harbor with the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse in the background.
I primarily sail in Baltimore and Annapolis, but I also love cruising the Chesapeake Bay. I’ve been racing at the DSC’s Thursday Night one-design J/22 spinnaker class race series for 10 years. I’ve also raced off and on at BCYA’s Tuesday Night Races, AYC’s Wednesday Night Races, AYC’s Frostbite series, J/World’s Thursday Night Race series, and the Annapolis Sailing School’s Sunday/Monday night racing. In addition to sailing with my fellow sailors, I very much enjoy taking non-sailor friends and family out on the water when they visit.
I started out sailing in Baltimore and branched out to Annapolis, and even a bit to the San Francisco Bay area, and the friends I’ve made along the way are truly special and lifelong. I remember one of the senior DSC skippers from years ago used to say that “sailing is the great equalizer.” At the time, I don’t think I fully appreciated the importance of that statement, but now I do. It doesn’t matter what walk of life you come from, what your socio-economic status is, how educated you are: once you’re out on the water with others, we’re all “in the same boat!”
Volunteering at the DSC is a joyful endeavor because we are truly helping make sailing accessible to everyone. Same goes with Peninsula Sailors, because both these sailing “clubs” are very, very affordable. I remember, growing up in India, dreaming about sailing, but not being able to afford the sport. Today, these community sailing centers have brought sailing to anyone and everyone who wishes to try it out, without having to worry about how expensive it may be.
From sailing the West River to catamaran cruising and wooden boat school in Maine: Bill and Patty Allman
We first introduced Bill and Patty Allman in 2017, a year after they had taken a sailing course at West River Sailing Club in Galesville, MD, and purchased a Flying Scot, Rhapsody. In August Bill provided an update on the couple’s sailing journey.
Patty at the helm during WoodenBoat School lessons in Maine.
Our sailing sights are now set in Maine, where we are staying for the summer. We recently took a course at the WoodenBoat School in Brooklyn, ME, which was terrific, and we are getting out on the water in a friend’s boat, a Bullseye. The boat, which is approximately 16 feet in length, has a lead keel—which is nice to have in the Maine winds!”
Bill and Patty relax topsides on a catamaran while cruising.
Sadly, Covid, as well as a family health emergency, took us out of the U.S. for some time and put a bit of a dent in our local sailing adventures (fortunately, both issues have subsided). However, while we were out of the country, we sailed on catamarans in the Azores, Panama, and Cuba... all wonderful adventures. When we return to Washington, DC, in the fall, we hope to continue our sailing adventures.
