Wavy Diary by Dario Slavazza

Using electronic music, field recordings, and manipulated sound Wavy Diary is a presentation of my experience as a person of color living in the Bay Area sailing community. I want to share the immensity of safety and serenity I’ve found living on a sailboat, in a space overwhelmingly populated by white people, a space that is variously unwelcoming and, on occasion, hostile to a BIPOC presence.

Sailing as a sport and lifestyle has traditionally been for the wealthy, elite, and white. Sailors organize themselves into yacht clubs and groups that mirror and reify the exclusion that defines the community. As a Bay Area native, it’s plain to see who has access to the water and harbours of the Bay Area. The Marinas of the Bay Area are stereotypically white wealthy neighborhoods who cut off access to lower class communities of color. I didn’t connect with the water until I left the Bay Area and moved to Santa Barbara for college.

The project is about finding comfort and community in the confines of an inherently isolating home and activity. Spreckels Lake is a wonderful example of the serenity that the water can offer. This project is not about recreating being on a sailboat. Rather it’s about exploring and sharing the effect of living at sea and within the water has on me–as a musician and craftsman who is mixed race.

The process of buying my boat and moving onto it taught me the reality of being Black and sailing. Brokers questioned my sailing ability outright; marinas clearly were not keen to have me as an occupant; and I’m constantly experiencing microaggressions about my presence from other sailors. Still, some members of the sailing community have been welcoming. The previous owners and builders of my boat, John and Vicki Henson (who also live on a small restored tugboat in the marina), have given me their former home and shared a wealth of knowledge. And their kindness stands in contrast with my interactions with other sailors. It feels good to be invited in. I want to extend a welcome to others. My goal is to open the door and the water to other BIPOC so they can also enjoy its wonders.

Composer and producer Dario Slavazza lives on a sailboat in San Francisco’s North Bay. He works as a music curator for global brands such as FitBit, Obe, and Asics, and leads water excursions for first-timers. A voracious reader, especially of the philosophical implications of entropy, he is also a classically trained saxophonist and recording studio engineer. His sound and visual art are largely inspired by renaissance sculpture, the impressionist and new wave cinema.

Wavy Diary by Dario Slavazza

Using electronic music, field recordings, and manipulated sound Wavy Diary is a presentation of my experience as a person of color living in the Bay Area sailing community. I want to share the immensity of safety and serenity I’ve found living on a sailboat, in a space overwhelmingly populated by white people, a space that is variously unwelcoming and, on occasion, hostile to a BIPOC presence.

Sailing as a sport and lifestyle has traditionally been for the wealthy, elite, and white. Sailors organize themselves into yacht clubs and groups that mirror and reify the exclusion that defines the community. As a Bay Area native, it’s plain to see who has access to the water and harbours of the Bay Area. The Marinas of the Bay Area are stereotypically white wealthy neighborhoods who cut off access to lower class communities of color. I didn’t connect with the water until I left the Bay Area and moved to Santa Barbara for college.

The project is about finding comfort and community in the confines of an inherently isolating home and activity. Spreckels Lake is a wonderful example of the serenity that the water can offer. This project is not about recreating being on a sailboat. Rather it’s about exploring and sharing the effect of living at sea and within the water has on me–as a musician and craftsman who is mixed race.

The process of buying my boat and moving onto it taught me the reality of being Black and sailing. Brokers questioned my sailing ability outright; marinas clearly were not keen to have me as an occupant; and I’m constantly experiencing microaggressions about my presence from other sailors. Still, some members of the sailing community have been welcoming. The previous owners and builders of my boat, John and Vicki Henson (who also live on a small restored tugboat in the marina), have given me their former home and shared a wealth of knowledge. And their kindness stands in contrast with my interactions with other sailors. It feels good to be invited in. I want to extend a welcome to others. My goal is to open the door and the water to other BIPOC so they can also enjoy its wonders.

Composer and producer Dario Slavazza lives on a sailboat in San Francisco’s North Bay. He works as a music curator for global brands such as FitBit, Obe, and Asics, and leads water excursions for first-timers. A voracious reader, especially of the philosophical implications of entropy, he is also a classically trained saxophonist and recording studio engineer. His sound and visual art are largely inspired by renaissance sculpture, the impressionist and new wave cinema.