Boating evokes the freedom of flying through Earth’s open spaces without the threat of random ejector seats or rush-hour goose traffic. Enjoy an avian-free excursion with today’s Groupon for sailing adventures from NauticShare. All trips depart from Alameda. Choose between the following options:

• For $139, you get a four-hour sunset cruise for two (a $375 value).
• For $189, you get a basic two-day keelboat course for one (a $399 value).
  
  

The two-day course is part one of NauticShare’s two-part, four-day keelboat course program. Part two is not included with today’s deal, but customers can choose to register for the third and fourth days of classes for an additional fee.

NauticShare’s experienced crew introduces nautical newbies and sea-legged sailors alike to the kaleidoscopic San Francisco sunset, or equips students with the navigational prowess to sail their own craft during two-day boating courses. Equipped with a glass of champagne, a cup of warming chowder, chocolate-covered strawberries, and decorative harpoons, pairs of amorous sailors peer at the glowing horizon during the sunset cruise. For four hours, the sea steed skirts across the waves, transporting passengers to states of serenity and top-secret Atlantis house parties. Wave-riders looking to batten down the hatches themselves can sign up for the two-day basic keelboat course. For six hours each day, instructors demonstrate the fundamentals of yachting—such as discerning fore from aft and starboard from message boards about stars—aboard buoyant classrooms as students thumb through their provided text book.