THE NEW YORK SAILING CENTER AND YACHT CLUB on City Island, just north of Manhattan, is where we began our quest. Stephen Card, NYSC's owner and director, gave us plenty of instruction, over the phone, on how to dress and what to bring, and we complied with his suggestions, including, from the ground up, boating shoes or boots with white, tan or gummed soles, shorts and T-shirts, sunglasses (with strap), wide brimmed hat (with strap), SPF 30 or higher sunscreen, and a change of long pants and "foul weather gear" (rain suit) in the event of inclement weather.

From the upper east side the Lexington Avenue local (6 Train) is but a half-hour ride to the last stop: Pelham Bay Park. The Bx-29 Bus right outside the subway station is 5 minutes over the bridges to City Island, and the first stop in town lets Rand and me off just opposite the Seaview Diner for a wonderful breakfast of eggs, home fries, and coffee.

Following Steve's directions, we walked around the corner and down the block to the N.Y. Sailing Center & Yacht Club, and entered the office, prepared to meet our new experience head-on.

Steve was inside, and greeted us with a hearty handshake and neat packets containing our course materials: our textbook (Gary Jobson's "Sailing Fundamentals"), the American Sailing Association Official International LOG BOOK, The U.S. Coast Guard's Federal Requirements booklet for Recreational Boats, the latest issue of American Sailing (the A.S.A.'s monthly newsletter), and an A.S.A. membership brochure, all neatly packaged in a waterproof A.S.A. folder.

The Basic Keelboat Sailing standard is designed to certify that you are able to sail a boat of about 20 feet in length in light to moderate winds and sea conditions in familiar waters without supervision. This is a preparatory standard, with no auxiliary power or navigation skills required, and no prerequisites. Our instructor for Basic Keelboat Sailing is Jim Pinno, an easy going and likeable sailor with many years of sailing experience and knowledge, who is also currently a professional sailmaker. Jim began by reviewing the parts of a boat, making sure we were familiar with the proper terminology for everything from mainsail (pronounced main-syl) to keel, and bow pulpit to topping lift. This course consisted of 3 days of instruction, with classroom time each day from 10 a.m. until anywhere from 11:30 to 12:30, at which time we moved to the boat for a full day of sailing. Jim instructed us on the Points of Sail, the positions a boat can sail relative to the direction of the wind, and taught us the physics of sailing, including aerodynamic properties of torque and lift, which make possible sailing into the wind. We learned about starboard and port tacks, and jibing when sailing downwind.

When we moved our classroom to the boat, we learned to inspect the boat to learn it's distinct design characteristics and determine that it was properly equipped, and then began to ready the boat for sailing, including unfurling the mainsail and jib, attaching the halyards and jib sheets with proper bowline (pronounced "bolin") knots, and running jib sheets aft. We learned the characteristics of the mooring tackle, and the proper way to hoist the mainsail and jib and cast off the mooring.

Then we were sailing!

During the three days of instruction for Basic Keelboat, Jim introduced us to a great deal of material, including nomenclature, principles, techniques and applications of sailing. I particularly like the physics of sailing dynamics, including torque and lift, and the sailor's knots, which are seemingly infinite in design, and each with a specific purpose in sailing.

But, more significantly, the feeling of being on a 22-foot Beniteau, reeling in the jib sheets to trim the foresail after a tack upwind, or calling out to our crew if we are at the helm, "ready about," and "hard alee!" before steering to leeward to complete a tack, and working with the wind instead of having it work against us as our boat cascades smoothly over a brilliant body of water, this feeling of freedom and beauty is unparallelled in my experience.

And too, we have just begun.