Mindy Oppenheim | Modern Sailing

Mindy Oppenheim

Instructor

Captain Mindy's sailing story starts with “how a nice Jewish girl from Miami Beach ended up in the middle of the Cuban (Marielito) boat lift in 1979.”  Mindy graduated college essentially homeless, except for her brother’s couch, and had this great idea to go to the Miami River, bilge out a half-sunken 32 ft. sailboat, and get towed to a very funky Watson Island Marina right across from the Port of Miami. 

Luckily the Siddhartha in Search of Nirvana had no sails, no engine, and never left the dock during all the boat lift excitement. Mindy spent the summer re-ribbing, fiber glassing, itching, and loving every minute of it. Her mom would come to the docks with her lounge chair and tell everyone passing by “this is my daughters’ yacht!” After the boat lift, Watson Island became a very dangerous place. Mindy gave Siddhartha away to a refugee family and moved back to her college town, Tallahassee.

Mindy's first job was as a vocational counselor at a Goodwill where someone donated a Sunfish. She sailed the Little Mama all over the Keys, Florida Panhandle and eventually in various lakes in and around Richmond Virginia. When she moved to San Francisco in the 90’s Mindy inherited a friend’s Ranger 23’ and began to earn certifications at OCSC (now Modern Sailing Berkeley).  After several years of sailing the LisaLisaLisa, her partner came home one day and said, “I’m going to law school,” to which Mindy replied, “I’m getting a bigger boat.”

In 2004, Mindy fell in love with Tanagra, a 37’ Furia (built in Barcelona). She kept her in Miami for a couple of years before bringing her home to the SF Bay, conveniently before Hurricane Wilma.

In 2007, Mindy earned her USCG Captain’s License at Modern Sailing and and worked as a Basic Keelboat instructor and charter boat captain for a couple of years. Since 2022, she is back at Modern Sailing sharing her love of the water, boats, sailing, and our beautiful San Francisco Bay.

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  • John Boynton

    The class was terrific. I know you must get many compliments about your sailing instructors...But I must tell you that Robert is outstanding. Having taught SCUBA, I really appreciate the way he is so sensitive to all on board, dealing with each so well, knowing quickly their strengths and weaknesses making each feel special and cared for.

  • David Dolenc, Member

    I love sailing in the San Francisco Bay and greatly appreciate everything that MSC has to offer, the classes, clinics, club sails, racing and charters. I enjoy our supportive sailing community and use every opportunity to spend time on the water. After obtaining the certifications from MSC I did my first charter in Croatia in 2022 with my family. It was amazing and we’re looking forward to returning soon!

  • Mike, Santa Rosa, California

    All of the courses and my instructors (JT and Stan) were extremely professional and full of knowledge and experience. I found I was able to learn from their experiences beyond the scope of the courses, and look forward to future opportunities to do so. I would highly recommend Modern Sailing to anyone.

  • John Kratochvil, Oregon

    I would like to compliment Stan Lander for his coaching, counseling and teaching Heavy Weather Offshore Sailing. Stan was very accommodating to all of the student's interests and shared his many years of insight on handling the boat in heavy seas. I would certainly recommend Stan and this course to sheltered waters sailors. My confidence in handling a boat of this size was certainly enhanced by the experience.

  • Alisa Driscoll, Dual Site Member

    Here are some snaps of Our Saturday, August 20, 2022 Modern Sailing Expedition with Captain Robert Bivin, who was outstanding. Please convey photos and thanks to him. He is an outstanding individual, leader and sailing instructor. His knowledge and experience made us all feel safe and our Farallones Day Trip educational and just amazing. 

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Modern Sailing School & Club

Sausalito Location
2310 Marinship Way, Sausalito
(415) 331-8250
(800) 995-1668

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1 Spinnaker Way, Berkeley
(415) 331-8250
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