'The Coolest Place Around'

"It's the coolest place around," says Buzz Tarlow '78, describing the Harvard Sailing Center, which he manages. And Tarlow adds that the boathouse just beyond the Mass. Ave. bridge at MIT is rarely crowded, even as temperatures climb into the hellish 90-degree range.

Summer School students can join an eclectic crowd at the Center that includes doctors from Massachusetts General Hospital, staffers from WGBH TV, and even some crusty sea-faring alumni for day sailing, private lessons, and weekly barbeques. "We get quite an interesting social group together down here for the summer," Tarlow says. "Plenty of fun boy-girl stuff and all that."

During the regular term, Harvard's varsity sailing team launches its squadron from the Center, and in the summer, a $25 fee will give you access to the same boats. "It's the best equipment available, certainly for the price," says Tarlow, who once rowed varsity crew.

Every Wednesday evening, Tarlow supervises a casual set of races and then presides over a $3 all-you-can-eat sailors' feed. Just hanging around the unusual clubhouse is an experience, he explains, because the whole building is supported by a floating barge. "Sometimes people get really frightened when they're standing and talking and the whole place suddenly moves a little."

Included in the $25 summer membership is a pass for private lessons with members of the Crimson sailing team. There are 40 boats available, and you can hit the water within minutes of your arrival any morning or afternoon.