Sailing Clothes

Men may still wear blazers and regimental neckties in some yacht club that I have never visited, but, except for a few whose idea of a boat is something with a helipad, the gentleman sailor wears utilitarian stuff that his grandfather would recognize.

That's because, despite all the change that technology has brought, generally for the better, to clothing in other active sports, sailing clothes have not been much affected. Unlike the man in the Esquire illustration, the casual sailor may have a couple waterproof and zippered pockets on his sailing shorts or trousers but otherwise the best models continue to be made from natural materials, and the best colors are a natural palette of tan, blue and yellow.

The principal change has come to sailing jackets, where oilskin and rubber have been replaced by water repellent mixtures of nylon and polyester that breathe. But they are still made in yellow, and passengers who came along expecting to bathe in the sun are still dismayed when they find they need to put them on.

Boats berthed on the San Francisco side of the bay usually give their guests a taste of the sea when they sail to lunch in Tiburon. Once behind the shelter of the headlands though, the sun usually shines, the the jackets come off, and there is a race to see who gets to sit at the bow.