June 22nd
After a good nights sleep we left Bodega Bay on a very foggy morning about 06:00am, and sailed around Point Reyes and all the way into San Francisco Bay. We Stopped in Sausalito at the Clipper Marina. When we arrived I called a sailmaker to look at our main that needed some attention, it turns out we were lucky it made it this far. So once again the trip is stalled. The new sail will take about three weeks to make. It looks like we will have time to explore the bay area
After a good nights sleep we left Bodega Bay on a very foggy morning about 06:00am, and sailed around Point Reyes and all the way into San Francisco Bay. We Stopped in Sausalito at the Clipper Marina. When we arrived I called a sailmaker to look at our main that needed some attention, it turns out we were lucky it made it this far. So once again the trip is stalled. The new sail will take about three weeks to make. It looks like we will have time to explore the bay area
June 23rd
We met up with Leonard and Lorena, who we first met in Eureka, then again in Fort Bragg. After exchanging stories of our trip to the Bay area over lunch and plans for the next couple months Lisa and I headed into West Marine for some supplies. We then cleaned up the boat and got ready for a fun evening with Harry and Sondra, our fellow Tiburon Yacht Club Members. Actually the couple that sponsored us as new members. The four of us had dinner at their beautiful home on the bay.
June 24th
This is our last day at Clipper Marina, then we start hopping around the bay, using our TYC membership to get free moorage at other clubs and seeing the rest of this huge bay area, while we wait for our sail to be made.
June 25th
The first Club we'll visit is The Corrinthian, located just in front of the famous Sam's Anchor Cafe in Tiburon. We spent 2 nights here, where on the 26th we had Harry and Sondra down to the boat for happy hour then up to Sam's for dinner.
June 27th
I spent a couple hours on the computer for work then we got a late start over to Angel Island. We decided not to spend the money for moorage, as we got there so late. There would be time to come back and spend the whole day, later. So Lisa and I pushed off and sailed over to the Richmond Yacht Club. Richmond is located at the Northeast end of the bay and is famous for its oil refineries. The yacht club is a very active club with youth sailing classes going on all the time. Lisa and I were invited up to the judges stand to help with the "Beer Can Race" this is a common name for the weekly regatta
held by yacht clubs around the country. As we watched the boats come out of the marina and check in, we were both amazed by a boat that neither of us had seen before, it's called a Moth. A small one person sail boat that rides up on foils, very unforgiving and very fast. This guy was in a class of his own. He started with the last group about twenty minutes after the first group, and he finished about twenty minutes before the next boat. (see the picture)
Very fun night
June 28th
Spent another day at RYC, walked around the area and watched the kids sailing classes, very impressive little sailors.
We met up with Leonard and Lorena, who we first met in Eureka, then again in Fort Bragg. After exchanging stories of our trip to the Bay area over lunch and plans for the next couple months Lisa and I headed into West Marine for some supplies. We then cleaned up the boat and got ready for a fun evening with Harry and Sondra, our fellow Tiburon Yacht Club Members. Actually the couple that sponsored us as new members. The four of us had dinner at their beautiful home on the bay.
June 24th
This is our last day at Clipper Marina, then we start hopping around the bay, using our TYC membership to get free moorage at other clubs and seeing the rest of this huge bay area, while we wait for our sail to be made.
June 25th
The first Club we'll visit is The Corrinthian, located just in front of the famous Sam's Anchor Cafe in Tiburon. We spent 2 nights here, where on the 26th we had Harry and Sondra down to the boat for happy hour then up to Sam's for dinner.
June 27th
I spent a couple hours on the computer for work then we got a late start over to Angel Island. We decided not to spend the money for moorage, as we got there so late. There would be time to come back and spend the whole day, later. So Lisa and I pushed off and sailed over to the Richmond Yacht Club. Richmond is located at the Northeast end of the bay and is famous for its oil refineries. The yacht club is a very active club with youth sailing classes going on all the time. Lisa and I were invited up to the judges stand to help with the "Beer Can Race" this is a common name for the weekly regatta
held by yacht clubs around the country. As we watched the boats come out of the marina and check in, we were both amazed by a boat that neither of us had seen before, it's called a Moth. A small one person sail boat that rides up on foils, very unforgiving and very fast. This guy was in a class of his own. He started with the last group about twenty minutes after the first group, and he finished about twenty minutes before the next boat. (see the picture)
Very fun night
June 28th
Spent another day at RYC, walked around the area and watched the kids sailing classes, very impressive little sailors.
June 29th
Lisa and I left Richmond and sailed back over to Sausalito to pick up our old sail. Our boat has an in mast furling system, which means the main sail winds up inside the mast. When we took the sail off it left this furling rod inside the mast, whenever the wind blows hard or a wave rolls under the boat, there is a tremendous clanging noise that goes right thru the boat, and anyone on the boat. We decided to put the old sail back in the mast and stop the noise. The old torn sail still has a purpose. After putting the sail back we let out the Jib and sailed a beam reach across the bay, past Alcatraz, by pier 39 and the financial ditrict, under the Bay Bridge, past AT&T field, and stopped at Oyster Point Yacht Club, where we again fought the wind to get onto the guest dock. With the expert steering of Lisa and a jump and quick turn of the lines on the cleats by me we were able to secure the boat before the wind could blow us off the dock. The staff of the ferry congratulated us on getting tied off on the first attempt. We have come a long way. We then went up to the yacht club where one of the members welcomed us and bought us a beer. We stopped at one then walked back to the boat and turned in for the night.
Lisa and I left Richmond and sailed back over to Sausalito to pick up our old sail. Our boat has an in mast furling system, which means the main sail winds up inside the mast. When we took the sail off it left this furling rod inside the mast, whenever the wind blows hard or a wave rolls under the boat, there is a tremendous clanging noise that goes right thru the boat, and anyone on the boat. We decided to put the old sail back in the mast and stop the noise. The old torn sail still has a purpose. After putting the sail back we let out the Jib and sailed a beam reach across the bay, past Alcatraz, by pier 39 and the financial ditrict, under the Bay Bridge, past AT&T field, and stopped at Oyster Point Yacht Club, where we again fought the wind to get onto the guest dock. With the expert steering of Lisa and a jump and quick turn of the lines on the cleats by me we were able to secure the boat before the wind could blow us off the dock. The staff of the ferry congratulated us on getting tied off on the first attempt. We have come a long way. We then went up to the yacht club where one of the members welcomed us and bought us a beer. We stopped at one then walked back to the boat and turned in for the night.
June 30th
We left Oyster Point early and continued south in the bay to our next stop, Coyote Point Yacht Club. Where we were greeted by the Vice Commodore Chuck and given keys to the clubhouse. The C.P.Y.C. has a very nice facility with a game room including a pool table and dart board, a big screen t.v. and a kitchen as well as a full bar upstairs and banquet room, very nice locker rooms with showers. Not to mention extremely hospitable members.
July 1st
I got up at 03:00am said goodbye to Lisa and flew off to Dallas for an ajusting class I would only be gone one day. While I was away Lisa spent the day with Doris one of the C.P.Y.C. members who showed Lisa around the town of Burlingame, including lunch, grocery shopping and some wine at the Yacht Club bar. Lisa also met another family that sailed up from Monterey for the week.
July 2nd
Lisa spent the day cleaning the boat and relaxing around the club. I got up at 06:00am took a 4 hour class then caught a flt back to SFO. via SanAntonio and Phoenix. I landed at 7:30pm and got back to the boat around 8:30, where I met Joe, Lisa and their 2 kids Grant and Jake, the family from Monterey. We sat up at the club and chatted over a couple bottles of wine for a few hours then Lisa and I turned in.
We left Oyster Point early and continued south in the bay to our next stop, Coyote Point Yacht Club. Where we were greeted by the Vice Commodore Chuck and given keys to the clubhouse. The C.P.Y.C. has a very nice facility with a game room including a pool table and dart board, a big screen t.v. and a kitchen as well as a full bar upstairs and banquet room, very nice locker rooms with showers. Not to mention extremely hospitable members.
July 1st
I got up at 03:00am said goodbye to Lisa and flew off to Dallas for an ajusting class I would only be gone one day. While I was away Lisa spent the day with Doris one of the C.P.Y.C. members who showed Lisa around the town of Burlingame, including lunch, grocery shopping and some wine at the Yacht Club bar. Lisa also met another family that sailed up from Monterey for the week.
July 2nd
Lisa spent the day cleaning the boat and relaxing around the club. I got up at 06:00am took a 4 hour class then caught a flt back to SFO. via SanAntonio and Phoenix. I landed at 7:30pm and got back to the boat around 8:30, where I met Joe, Lisa and their 2 kids Grant and Jake, the family from Monterey. We sat up at the club and chatted over a couple bottles of wine for a few hours then Lisa and I turned in.
July 3rd
We took the bus into SanFrancisco and spent the day being tourist, we took the trolly to fisherman's warf, walked to pier 39, where we met our friends Leonard and Lorena. The 4 of us had lunch at fisherman's warf then Lisa and I walked up to Coit Tower then walked down Filbert St. which is really a stairway down the side of the hill with houses all along the way. very cool. Lisa and I then caught the bus back to Burlingame, followed by a chilly walk to the marina. We spent the evening up at the yacht club visiting with other guests and sharing some wine.
We took the bus into SanFrancisco and spent the day being tourist, we took the trolly to fisherman's warf, walked to pier 39, where we met our friends Leonard and Lorena. The 4 of us had lunch at fisherman's warf then Lisa and I walked up to Coit Tower then walked down Filbert St. which is really a stairway down the side of the hill with houses all along the way. very cool. Lisa and I then caught the bus back to Burlingame, followed by a chilly walk to the marina. We spent the evening up at the yacht club visiting with other guests and sharing some wine.
4th July
Had a fun day enjoying a BBQ at the CPYC with many of the new friends we made and even tried sailing a Dingy with the kids. The family that sailed in from Monterey for the week brought a cool remote control sail boat , so had a go at sailing that too! Lisa spent the afternoon showing several different groups of interested sailors our home and then we all got together at the club house to watch the fireworks in the evening across the Bay.
Had a fun day enjoying a BBQ at the CPYC with many of the new friends we made and even tried sailing a Dingy with the kids. The family that sailed in from Monterey for the week brought a cool remote control sail boat , so had a go at sailing that too! Lisa spent the afternoon showing several different groups of interested sailors our home and then we all got together at the club house to watch the fireworks in the evening across the Bay.
July 5th ,
A lazy day with a tiny hangover spent on the boat watching TV and catching up on some well needed sleep! In the afternoon Lisa and I went for a long walk around the point and through the park down to the beach and watched the Kiteboarders and Windsurfers take advantage of the Bay breeze. It was a nice relaxing day.
July 6th
Spent most of the day doing odd jobs and cleaning the boat. Tomorrow Paul McBurney an old high school friend and his family are coming up from Palo Alto to meet us for lunch . At 4:30 Lisa and I went over to Chuck and Renea's boat "Gentleman Jack" for Friday night Cocktail hour with a few of their friends from the Yacht Club, it was a blast! At 7 we all headed over to the Club house as they have a big gathering of Yacht Club members on Friday nights for a sit down dinner. After we all shared sailing stories and a few toasts, Including my first Tequilla shot in years, Lisa and I headed back to the boat. But not before an invitation for breakfast in the morning at the Golf Club was extended. Another fun night with great people!
July 7th
Surprisingly we woke up feeling fine and ready for a busy day, of eating. Started the day at 06:00am watching the Ladies finals at Wimbleton then Lisa and I went to breakfast with a group from the yacht club. Shortly after breakfast Paul and Di showed up and we went to lunch as planned. The rest of the afternoon was spent catching up with a great friend and his beautiful family. Di and Paul JR. went for a ride around the marina in the dingy to look at the other boats. We wanted to take the family out on "Always & Forever", but the winds were too strong to take out Cleo and Paul junior The evening was spent back up at the clubhouse where we were invited to a potluck dinner then an early retirement.
A lazy day with a tiny hangover spent on the boat watching TV and catching up on some well needed sleep! In the afternoon Lisa and I went for a long walk around the point and through the park down to the beach and watched the Kiteboarders and Windsurfers take advantage of the Bay breeze. It was a nice relaxing day.
July 6th
Spent most of the day doing odd jobs and cleaning the boat. Tomorrow Paul McBurney an old high school friend and his family are coming up from Palo Alto to meet us for lunch . At 4:30 Lisa and I went over to Chuck and Renea's boat "Gentleman Jack" for Friday night Cocktail hour with a few of their friends from the Yacht Club, it was a blast! At 7 we all headed over to the Club house as they have a big gathering of Yacht Club members on Friday nights for a sit down dinner. After we all shared sailing stories and a few toasts, Including my first Tequilla shot in years, Lisa and I headed back to the boat. But not before an invitation for breakfast in the morning at the Golf Club was extended. Another fun night with great people!
July 7th
Surprisingly we woke up feeling fine and ready for a busy day, of eating. Started the day at 06:00am watching the Ladies finals at Wimbleton then Lisa and I went to breakfast with a group from the yacht club. Shortly after breakfast Paul and Di showed up and we went to lunch as planned. The rest of the afternoon was spent catching up with a great friend and his beautiful family. Di and Paul JR. went for a ride around the marina in the dingy to look at the other boats. We wanted to take the family out on "Always & Forever", but the winds were too strong to take out Cleo and Paul junior The evening was spent back up at the clubhouse where we were invited to a potluck dinner then an early retirement.
July 8th
Another early morning watching the First Brit in the Wimbleton finals in 74 years, unfortunately for Great Britain he lost. Later that day a different Brit came to visit us on the boat; Lisa's sister Tina picked up a flight to SFO and was able to come out for an evening sail on the bay. We had a short visit, but its always nice to spend time with family.
Another early morning watching the First Brit in the Wimbleton finals in 74 years, unfortunately for Great Britain he lost. Later that day a different Brit came to visit us on the boat; Lisa's sister Tina picked up a flight to SFO and was able to come out for an evening sail on the bay. We had a short visit, but its always nice to spend time with family.
July 9th
After 10 days at Coyote Point Yacht Club we thought we better go before we overstay our welcome, we actually never got that feeling but decided to explore more of the Bay. We sailed north to the estuary of Alameda. We stopped at Fortman marina, the home of the Alameda Yacht Club. Lisa and I walked around the area to get familiar with our surroundings and stopped to talk to the owner of a nearby boatyard about a leak we had in our prop shaft stuffing box. I was told how to fix it prior to this conversation, I just didn't have the tools. Then Neal, the owner of the boatyard loaned me a wrench and gave me more specific instructions. After an hour or so of trying to break the nut loose I went back and returned his wrench, and told him I had failed. He said they were booked up, but he could help me on Wednesday.
July 10th
We walked about a mile to West Marine, where we picked up a folding bicycle that my wonderful mother had purchased for Lisa's Birthday. Lisa rode back to the boat and I walked behind. This will make running errands much easier when we are at port. Thanks Mom.
July 11th
The boatyard called and said if we could get over there they could look at the prop shaft. We got the power cord rolled up and the lines off the dock and headed right over. The gentleman came aboard the boat with a hammer and channel locks. He used the hammer to loosen the locknut and adjusted the packing nut. took him about 5 minutes, boy did I feel stupid. I was wondering how much this little job was going to cost, when they told me, NO CHARGE. Another act of human kindness.
After the repair we sailed out of the estuary and up towards Treasure Island. The winds began to howl and were way to much for our jib so we furled it up and turned south to Aeolian Yacht club, located at the south end of the estuary. The south entrance is very tricky with a very narrow channel that hugs the shore, it can only be transitted during high tide or nearly high tide if you have a wing keel, as we do. The channel is only 7 ft. deep at high tide and goes down to 4 ft. at low tide. Outside the channel is only a foot deep. When we finally got into the Aeolian Yacht Club, the port captain invited us to dinner at the Alameda Yacht Club, where we had just left. We had a great time with them.
July 12th
I got up early as I have become accustomed to early mornings, I walked up the dock to the Yacht Club, where the Commodore was having coffee with a couple live aboard members. I sat down and joined them, and as we often do, shared stories of the sea. The Commodore, Brian, was also a Live aboard so he was sympathetic to our lack of transportation and offered to drive me to the store to pick up some much needed supplies. The evening was spent on the patio of the club, Lisa and I went up there to have a cocktail before dinner, when Brian came out of the kitchen with a chinese dinner that he had whipped up. We ended up having dinner with Brian and Billy, another live aboard at the yacht club. Lisa ran down to the boat and grabbed a bottle of wine to add to the dinner.
July 13th
Lisa jumped on her new Bicycle and I jumped on my feet and we went about 1 1/2 miles into town to search for an electrical connection for our electric start on the dingy. We got alot of exercise but were unable to find the part. When we got back we decided to just chill out on the boat and have a quiet dinner and watch a movie on the boat.
July 14th
The 7 yacht clubs in the area had a poker run, some people traveled by car and some by boat. Brian being the Commodore was supposed to be stamping the cards as participants sailed or drove in. Instead Brian ran me all over the island looking for this part I needed for our dingy and Lisa took over as social director of the club, stamping cards and offering snacks. In just a few days we have managed to meet the core of the Y.C. members and have been treated as one of their own. There was a big potluck BBQ. for dinner and Lisa and I treated Brian to dinner as he had done so much for us. We met a great couple Linda and Steve who own about 6 boats, one of them being 106 years old and quite a racing boat, with a very impressive pedigree. Steve has sailed all over the world and he and Linda have been up and down the coast of Mexico countless times, and were happy to share stories and hints on places to stay and places to avoid on the west coast of Mexico. They also reminded us that they are retired and would be willing to crew on passages where we need help. The night went on into the early morning as we picked the brains of several cruisers and had wine and spirits. Luckily we also had pen and paper to take notes.
July 15th
The hardest part of this adventure is saying goodbye to all the great people that we meet, and today is no exception as Brian and a few others came down to the boat to say goodbye and help us push off. We headed north thru the Alameda Channel and under 3 draw bridges. Lisa seems to really get a kick out of the bridges opening up just for us. I kind of get a feeling of power as I watch the traffic back up. We made our way up to what is known by sailors as the slot, where the wind howls thru the bay, from The Golden Gate past Alcatraz and North to San Pablo Bay. As soon as we passed Treasure Island the wind and waves get big. We watched a couple guys on this little 18' sailboat get blown over a couple times, then later we heard another sailboat call the coastgaurd because that small boat was having a hard time staying upright and had now lost their rudder. We motored up passed Tiburon to San Rafael where we stayed at the Marin Yacht Club. On the way in the channel we watched a kiteboarder take off from a wave and fly at least 40' in the air, then he took off again behind our boat. It looked like he was having a ball.
After 10 days at Coyote Point Yacht Club we thought we better go before we overstay our welcome, we actually never got that feeling but decided to explore more of the Bay. We sailed north to the estuary of Alameda. We stopped at Fortman marina, the home of the Alameda Yacht Club. Lisa and I walked around the area to get familiar with our surroundings and stopped to talk to the owner of a nearby boatyard about a leak we had in our prop shaft stuffing box. I was told how to fix it prior to this conversation, I just didn't have the tools. Then Neal, the owner of the boatyard loaned me a wrench and gave me more specific instructions. After an hour or so of trying to break the nut loose I went back and returned his wrench, and told him I had failed. He said they were booked up, but he could help me on Wednesday.
July 10th
We walked about a mile to West Marine, where we picked up a folding bicycle that my wonderful mother had purchased for Lisa's Birthday. Lisa rode back to the boat and I walked behind. This will make running errands much easier when we are at port. Thanks Mom.
July 11th
The boatyard called and said if we could get over there they could look at the prop shaft. We got the power cord rolled up and the lines off the dock and headed right over. The gentleman came aboard the boat with a hammer and channel locks. He used the hammer to loosen the locknut and adjusted the packing nut. took him about 5 minutes, boy did I feel stupid. I was wondering how much this little job was going to cost, when they told me, NO CHARGE. Another act of human kindness.
After the repair we sailed out of the estuary and up towards Treasure Island. The winds began to howl and were way to much for our jib so we furled it up and turned south to Aeolian Yacht club, located at the south end of the estuary. The south entrance is very tricky with a very narrow channel that hugs the shore, it can only be transitted during high tide or nearly high tide if you have a wing keel, as we do. The channel is only 7 ft. deep at high tide and goes down to 4 ft. at low tide. Outside the channel is only a foot deep. When we finally got into the Aeolian Yacht Club, the port captain invited us to dinner at the Alameda Yacht Club, where we had just left. We had a great time with them.
July 12th
I got up early as I have become accustomed to early mornings, I walked up the dock to the Yacht Club, where the Commodore was having coffee with a couple live aboard members. I sat down and joined them, and as we often do, shared stories of the sea. The Commodore, Brian, was also a Live aboard so he was sympathetic to our lack of transportation and offered to drive me to the store to pick up some much needed supplies. The evening was spent on the patio of the club, Lisa and I went up there to have a cocktail before dinner, when Brian came out of the kitchen with a chinese dinner that he had whipped up. We ended up having dinner with Brian and Billy, another live aboard at the yacht club. Lisa ran down to the boat and grabbed a bottle of wine to add to the dinner.
July 13th
Lisa jumped on her new Bicycle and I jumped on my feet and we went about 1 1/2 miles into town to search for an electrical connection for our electric start on the dingy. We got alot of exercise but were unable to find the part. When we got back we decided to just chill out on the boat and have a quiet dinner and watch a movie on the boat.
July 14th
The 7 yacht clubs in the area had a poker run, some people traveled by car and some by boat. Brian being the Commodore was supposed to be stamping the cards as participants sailed or drove in. Instead Brian ran me all over the island looking for this part I needed for our dingy and Lisa took over as social director of the club, stamping cards and offering snacks. In just a few days we have managed to meet the core of the Y.C. members and have been treated as one of their own. There was a big potluck BBQ. for dinner and Lisa and I treated Brian to dinner as he had done so much for us. We met a great couple Linda and Steve who own about 6 boats, one of them being 106 years old and quite a racing boat, with a very impressive pedigree. Steve has sailed all over the world and he and Linda have been up and down the coast of Mexico countless times, and were happy to share stories and hints on places to stay and places to avoid on the west coast of Mexico. They also reminded us that they are retired and would be willing to crew on passages where we need help. The night went on into the early morning as we picked the brains of several cruisers and had wine and spirits. Luckily we also had pen and paper to take notes.
July 15th
The hardest part of this adventure is saying goodbye to all the great people that we meet, and today is no exception as Brian and a few others came down to the boat to say goodbye and help us push off. We headed north thru the Alameda Channel and under 3 draw bridges. Lisa seems to really get a kick out of the bridges opening up just for us. I kind of get a feeling of power as I watch the traffic back up. We made our way up to what is known by sailors as the slot, where the wind howls thru the bay, from The Golden Gate past Alcatraz and North to San Pablo Bay. As soon as we passed Treasure Island the wind and waves get big. We watched a couple guys on this little 18' sailboat get blown over a couple times, then later we heard another sailboat call the coastgaurd because that small boat was having a hard time staying upright and had now lost their rudder. We motored up passed Tiburon to San Rafael where we stayed at the Marin Yacht Club. On the way in the channel we watched a kiteboarder take off from a wave and fly at least 40' in the air, then he took off again behind our boat. It looked like he was having a ball.
July 16th
We got up expecting to pump out the waste before
leaving, only to find the children’s sailing lessons are held right in front of
the pump out, and the wind was blowing almost 20 knots, so we decided to get out
and go sailing. We had good following wind up across San Pablo Bay to the Napa
River, where we turned north to Vallejo Municipal Marina. The plan was to stop
there to pump out then go back about a half mile to the entrance of the Vallejo
Yacht Club and stay there. The wind picked up and changed our minds, we had so
much trouble just pulling away from the pump out dock that we pulled right up to
the guest dock right next to us, and stayed there. Lisa and I then walked down
to the VYC. To see if anyone was around, as it happened, there were 2 members
sitting at the club having a beer. We introduced ourselves and were promptly
invited to sit down and share their pitcher of beer. We were soon joined by 2
more members of the club, one of whom invited me to work
with him the following day at the shipyard on Mare Island. I thought that would
be a very cool experience and quickly accepted the invitation. After another
Pitcher of beer we said goodbye and told them we would see them tomorrow. Lisa
and I hurried back to the boat to get cleaned up for dinner with a friend of
Lisa’s from her days at the Jet Center. Tom and his wife Marry drove down about
an hour to meet up with us and treat us to a wonderful dinner and an evening of
great conversation and maybe just one to many drinks. Was the first time I had
met Tom and Mary, however I could spend more time with them. Great
couple!
July 17th
A bit of a hangover, and we have to move the boat over to the
Yacht Club. Oh and go work at the ship yard. We moved over to the YC to find 3
of the gentlemen waiting for me to go and help put an 18,000 TON submarine
tender into dry dock. I went down to the boat, got a life jacket and told Lisa
I’d see her later.
I went over to the ship yard and got my instruction then helped
tend the lines and pull this ship into the dock. An experience of a life time! I
enjoyed every minute of it, although as soon as we got back I went to
bed.
July 18th
05:00am departure from VYC, motored back south to Angel Island.
We arrived at Angel Island at 08:00am and pulled into their day slips. Lisa and
I spent almost the entire day hiking around the Island and visiting the museums
on the Island. We found the history of Angel Island very interesting and the
views amazing. After our self-guided tour we boarded Always& Forever and
sailed across the Bay to the San Francisco water front. (Aquatic Park) For you
chocolate fans that’s just in front of Ghirardelli. We dropped anchor and spent
the night there.
July 19th
After a leisurely start to the day we pulled anchor and sailed
back across the Bay to Sausalito, where we started our month long stay in the
bay area. We took a mooring ball at the Sausalito Yacht Club and spent our last
night in the bay on a very turbulent mooring, as the ferry dock was right next
door. We opened a bottle of wine and sat on the back of the boat and recounted
all the people and places we visited in the San Francisco area while waiting for
our main sail to be made. How
Fantastic!
July 20th
I got up at 07:00am and started taking our torn sail out of the
in mast furling, thinking I would have it down and off the boat when Robin, from
Hood Sails, showed up to put up the new sail at 09:00am. As luck would have it,
the sail was jammed in the mast and it took Lisa and me 2 hours to get it almost
down, then after another half hour of trying to get it out with Robins help, I
got out the knife and cut it free. We put up the new sail and set off for The
Gate. Knowing that the slack tide was over and we would be fighting a 4 knot
flood tide, we decided the weather was good and it was time to go. It took
almost 2 hours to get out of the gate and into the ocean. Once around the corner
we turned off the motor and sailed to half moon Bay. Just as we turned to take
down the sails and enter the harbor, as always, the wind kicked up to 30 knots
and fought us as we tried to dock. However, after a month in the bay we had
honed our skills in high winds, and eased her right into the
slip.
We got up expecting to pump out the waste before
leaving, only to find the children’s sailing lessons are held right in front of
the pump out, and the wind was blowing almost 20 knots, so we decided to get out
and go sailing. We had good following wind up across San Pablo Bay to the Napa
River, where we turned north to Vallejo Municipal Marina. The plan was to stop
there to pump out then go back about a half mile to the entrance of the Vallejo
Yacht Club and stay there. The wind picked up and changed our minds, we had so
much trouble just pulling away from the pump out dock that we pulled right up to
the guest dock right next to us, and stayed there. Lisa and I then walked down
to the VYC. To see if anyone was around, as it happened, there were 2 members
sitting at the club having a beer. We introduced ourselves and were promptly
invited to sit down and share their pitcher of beer. We were soon joined by 2
more members of the club, one of whom invited me to work
with him the following day at the shipyard on Mare Island. I thought that would
be a very cool experience and quickly accepted the invitation. After another
Pitcher of beer we said goodbye and told them we would see them tomorrow. Lisa
and I hurried back to the boat to get cleaned up for dinner with a friend of
Lisa’s from her days at the Jet Center. Tom and his wife Marry drove down about
an hour to meet up with us and treat us to a wonderful dinner and an evening of
great conversation and maybe just one to many drinks. Was the first time I had
met Tom and Mary, however I could spend more time with them. Great
couple!
July 17th
A bit of a hangover, and we have to move the boat over to the
Yacht Club. Oh and go work at the ship yard. We moved over to the YC to find 3
of the gentlemen waiting for me to go and help put an 18,000 TON submarine
tender into dry dock. I went down to the boat, got a life jacket and told Lisa
I’d see her later.
I went over to the ship yard and got my instruction then helped
tend the lines and pull this ship into the dock. An experience of a life time! I
enjoyed every minute of it, although as soon as we got back I went to
bed.
July 18th
05:00am departure from VYC, motored back south to Angel Island.
We arrived at Angel Island at 08:00am and pulled into their day slips. Lisa and
I spent almost the entire day hiking around the Island and visiting the museums
on the Island. We found the history of Angel Island very interesting and the
views amazing. After our self-guided tour we boarded Always& Forever and
sailed across the Bay to the San Francisco water front. (Aquatic Park) For you
chocolate fans that’s just in front of Ghirardelli. We dropped anchor and spent
the night there.
July 19th
After a leisurely start to the day we pulled anchor and sailed
back across the Bay to Sausalito, where we started our month long stay in the
bay area. We took a mooring ball at the Sausalito Yacht Club and spent our last
night in the bay on a very turbulent mooring, as the ferry dock was right next
door. We opened a bottle of wine and sat on the back of the boat and recounted
all the people and places we visited in the San Francisco area while waiting for
our main sail to be made. How
Fantastic!
July 20th
I got up at 07:00am and started taking our torn sail out of the
in mast furling, thinking I would have it down and off the boat when Robin, from
Hood Sails, showed up to put up the new sail at 09:00am. As luck would have it,
the sail was jammed in the mast and it took Lisa and me 2 hours to get it almost
down, then after another half hour of trying to get it out with Robins help, I
got out the knife and cut it free. We put up the new sail and set off for The
Gate. Knowing that the slack tide was over and we would be fighting a 4 knot
flood tide, we decided the weather was good and it was time to go. It took
almost 2 hours to get out of the gate and into the ocean. Once around the corner
we turned off the motor and sailed to half moon Bay. Just as we turned to take
down the sails and enter the harbor, as always, the wind kicked up to 30 knots
and fought us as we tried to dock. However, after a month in the bay we had
honed our skills in high winds, and eased her right into the
slip.
