I grew up back East in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware where some of my best childhood memories were fishing with my dad and canoeing as a Scout. While my classmates were reading Hardy Boys mysteries, I was intrigued by the Horatio Hornblower novels. My first real exposure to sailing came much later— several brief outings on Lake Michigan with classmates during my undergraduate years at Northwestern, and then more serious dinghy and catboat sailing while in graduate school at MIT.
After moving to the Bay Area for the first time, I learned to sail on keelboats out of a club in Sausalito and passed the Matthew Turner during its construction. I toured the ship when the keel was being laid, which planted a seed. Work later took me back to Boston, where I volunteered teaching sailing as an alum.
Arne Gelb on the deck of Matthew Turner, in his docent uniform
Arne helping stow sails on the bowsprit
I also belonged to a community sailing club where adult recreational sailing similar to COTS supports the primary youth sailing program. After returning to the Bay Area for a new job post‑pandemic, I learned that the Matthew Turner had been completed after spotting it sailing on the Bay, was drawn in part by its educational mission—and through another club member who volunteered, discovered that Call of the Sea welcomes volunteers. I began volunteering as sailing crew in 2022, and a few years ago when going out on the bowsprit or learning to go aloft became less feasible for me physically, I was excited to continue contributing as a docent once that program began. I enjoy welcoming guests aboard and talking with them about the Matthew Turner, the Bay, spotting wildlife together, and more generally helping people connect with the maritime environment in a hands‑on, memorable way.
I’m particularly looking forward to participating as a docent on the sail during the Sailing 4 Parkinson’s charity regatta in April as it affected two members of my family. Additionally, the camaraderie between crew and volunteers during and after sails is special. I’ve always enjoyed learning how things work. So I really appreciated the unique blend of instruction when I was in volunteer training about rigging and the teamwork required for sail controls on a tall ship between the professional crew and experienced volunteers like Mike Wing and Chad Brubaker.
Having to fill out a pinrail diagram from memory for former Mate Spatch was an interesting challenge. More recently, through docent training and interest reading, I’ve expanded my understanding of Bay Area maritime history, navigation, and marine mammals.