Jordan Primus
OCSC: Why do you sail?
I'm no poet, so this is a tough question...I'll try a short answer- I sail for the feelings of a live tiller in hand, the keel biting the water below and the sails pulling in the wind above... Plus it can be an exercise in self-reliance and -confidence, or working as part of a team toward a goal (that buoy 2 miles upwind! fast!)...But really, just 'getting out there' is reward in itself.
OCSC: What do you enjoy about working at OCSC?
Working outside (with a great view, too), solving problems and learning lots of little things.
OCSC: What's your sailing background?
I started sailing in college, racing CFJ dinghys and Moore 24s and sailing at every opportunity. Since then I've crewed on a couple of boat deliveries, one of them trans-Atlantic, and regularly race on J-24s and Olson 30s around San Francisco Bay. I started fixing boats during college (somebody had to do it - let a dozen college sailors loose on a pair of old Moores and the next thing you know...) and after a stint working for a rigger in the US Virgin Islands, I came back to Berkeley to work for OCSC.
OCSC: When you're not sailing, what can we find you doing?
Hah - working on my own boat. I ride my bicycle a lot, read a lot of books
OCSC: What are your top five sailing books of all time?
In no particular order...
Adrift by Steven Callahan - not exactly a sailing book, seeing as the sailboat sinks in the first 20 pages.
Godforsaken Sea by Derek Lundy - terrific (and sometimes terrifying) narrative about the 1996 Vendee Globe race
Aero-hydrodynamics of Sailing by C.A. Marchaj - good for anyone comfortable with multivariable calculus and differential equations.
The Aubreyad - meaning the whole 20+ books of the Patrick O'Brian series, starting with Master and Commander. I'm on book 2...again.
Wind, Sand, and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Not a sailing book (unless you substitute 'sailboat' for 'airplane' everywhere in the book), but an awesome look at life. This book is my answer to the question "Why do you sail?"
Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual by Nigel Calder. Of all the books Calder has written, this one is invaluable. Even if you don't own a boat, it's an indespensible resource.