November 6, 2009

Sandra, Doron and I took Wildcat out to Clipper Cove for a relaxing lunch at anchor. We left the slip at about 11:45 and were able to put the sail up right away. Winds were light starting at 7-8, but building to about 11-12. As we got to the large cargo ships Doron announced that he was really getting hungry and we dropped the sail and went under power to get to Clipper Cove more quickly. About 45 minutes later we anchored at a dead calm Clipper Cove and had a great lunch prepared by Sandra, a wonderful quiche and salad, bagget and brie. Doron also brought a french rose for a perfect balance. After lunch we ended up motoring back due to the lack of wind. We got back to the slip about 5 pm.

October 23, 2009

Gary Barg, Lauren's friend Lief and I sailed around TI and back on Saturday, leaving the slip at about 11:30. The wind was very light on the way out the estuary (after a fuel stop at Jack London), so we motored out. Once in the Bay we headed south and had very gentle winds of about 8 knots until we got down to the Naval Yard channel and then the winds picked up a bit and we tacked towards the Bay Bridge. We passed under the west span, between delta echo spans, and the wind gradually picked up to about 15-18 knts. We got about 1/2 way to Angel Island before having to turn back at about 3:30 so that Gary could get back for a 5pm engagement. While it was cool where the wind was blowing, by the time we got back into the estuary the winds abated and we had to go under power. We go back to the slip about 5pm, right on schedule.

October 4, 2009

The winds we forecasted to be fairly modest (for SF standards) as we left the slip on Sunday. Sandra and Doron brought lunch, wine and cosmos for our lunch and we headed out for lunch at McCovey cove in SF.

We motored up to the fuel dock, but there was a line of boats waiting to fuel, and I still had a half tank of diesel so the sail went up and the wonderful silence of getting underway under sail enveloped us. Doron was as the helm and shortly thereafter we passed Nanaimo on her way back in and had a quick exchange with Bethany and Pete. Then on to the bay.

By the time we got to the bay the winds were already pickin up. They eventually topped out at 23 knts. A far cry from the gentle 12 to 14 in the forecast. Doron kept us fairly pinched to the wind so we did nit have to reef. But the winds were strong enough that we decided to moor at South Beach Harbor's guest dock instead of anchoring out.

Sept 19, 2009

Lynne and I took Wildcat out for a sail today.  As soon as we left the slip we put up the sail, which was a good thing because the coast guard was pulling over boats for inspections (usually they will leave boats under sail alone).  Winds in the estuary were blowing about 9-14 knts, so we sailed out the entire way to the bay.  Nanaimo was doing the same thing, so we criss-crossed until we got out to the bay.  

Once in the bay the winds died, an we were forced to motor south for a few minutes, but then the winds picked up. Soon they were blowing 18 knts, but since a few minutes before there had been no wind, the waves had not had a chance  to build. So we sailed in 18 knts winds with little if any chop.   

We sailed south for a few miles and then turned back to bring the boat back to the barn.  We got back into the slip at about 6 and Pete and Bethany came over to Wildcat for a drink.  Lynne and I ended up staying on Wildcat for the night.  

Sailing the Greek Isles

So if someone were to ask you where would be the most interesting places to sail on a bareboat charter, what would your answer be? I think that a fair number of Americans would say sailing the Greek Isles. Its a wonderful combination of great sailing and the ability to travel to interesting historic locations.

Well earlier this month Lynne and I chartered a 39 ft Bavarian sailboat out of Athens and sailed the Saronic Gulf for a week. It is a trip I highly recommend, but for Americans I suggest either

hiring a local captain the first time you sail in Greece or bring someone else along

that has sailed there before. The reason I recommend this is not because the sailing is difficult or the people are difficult to deal with, neither is farther from the truth, but because the sailing customs in Greece are different than in the US.

These differences include significant issues (buoy colors are reversed, green buoys are on the right when returning to port) and other issues like Med tieing to dock at night. So for those that are unsure of sailing in a foreign country, it might be good to do it first with someone experienced.

But for those that are adventurous, the differences can be overcome with just some hutsba. For example, if you pull into many harbors in the Greek Isles late in the afternoon the quay may be full. In the US that would mean that you would either anchor out (which is not an option at many small Greek harbors) or head to the next harbor. But in Greece, if the Quay is full, then it is common to simply drop anchor and med tie to the boats that are tied to the quay. In Hydra the boats were rafted up in this fashion 4 deep. In Aegena we were rafted up 3 deep. We followed the lead of other boats, in other words, when in Greece do as the Greeks do. But we noticed a number of less experience sailors come into the harbor, look for an open spot on the quay, and when the did not find one, head back out. No experienced Greek captain would leave a harbor where you still have enough room to drop anchor.

The other thing I noticed was that some of the best experiences result from making friends with the folks on the boats around you. Not only can you get some intel on the places you are considering sailing to and restaurant recommendations, but you can have fascinating conversations with people from around the world and trade sailing stories.

Anyway, we sailed for 7 days in Greece. We sailed out of Athens, on Sunday with myself as skipper and Lynne, Andrew, Michelle, Jean Michelle and Emanuelle as crew.

Mid day on Sunday we stopped at a cove on the SE corner of Aegena for a swim and lunch. After lunch we headed over to Poros and med tied at the North side of the Port next to an 85 ft power yacht, M T Time. MT Time was for sale and waiting at Poros until the boat show at Athens the following week. The sales exec was from Germany, the captain from Egypt and crew from Turkey. We made immediate friends with them all.

On Monday the captain on the boat next door told us that the weather report was for high winds and seas. While most of the boats in the Harbor took sail, we decided to stay put for a day. That night a

number of the boats returned. I talked to one of the skippers and he said he returned to Hydra because the high winds and seas made it very uncomfortable to sail. I was good that we stayed an extra day.

On Tuesday we took off for Hydra. Winds were still pretty high, about 20-25 knots, not too bad for a sailor out of San Francisco. The start of the sail went well. We motored out along the south side of Poros (very shallow waters) and once we got to the bay on the east side of Poros we put up the sails. We sailed east until it was time to gybe towards Hydra. but with winds that high it was hard to center the sails, so I decided to do a chicken gybe (tack). Unfortunately my instructions to the crew were not as clear as they should be, and long story short, we ended up blowing out the jib. After securing our torn sail we motored over to a lee cove and in the calm waters took down the damaged jib and stored it below. I then called the charter company. The company rep, Apostolos, who told me to put the jib in a sail bag and return it to Athens on the next ferry where he would get it repaired and sent back the same day. So we headed back to Poros, yet again, for another night. That night our sail was put on the ferry.

On Wednesday we headed to Hydra with just the main sail. We had a great sail and got there mid day. When we pulled in the harbor was full, but we noticed a number of boats were simply dropping anchoring and pulling back to the boats on the quay. They then threw lines to the boats on the quay, and they secured the new boat to their bow cleats.

So I simple did the same.

We ended up tieing up to a boat with two couples from the US, with a Greek captain. To get off the boat we had to climb over all of the boats between us and the quay. But then everyone else was doing the exact same thing.

We took some great hikes, had drinks at a great bar to view the sunset, and had a great dinner at a traverna.

On Thursday we headed out to Aegna. We had lunch at a cove on the Pellopanese. Andrew went for a swim over to a nearby island and we had a nice lunch. We then sailed to the Port of Aegena. The weather was mixed for the sail, but it was dry when we got to port. Once again the port's quay was full, but we were able to raft up to a boat with a crew from Norway. We had another great dinner at a seafood restaurant near the fish market.

Friday we sailed back to Athens. It was another rainy day and the winds were blowing a steady 20-25 knots with higher gusts. Fortunately we were able to head back to Athens on a close reach and did not need to do much taking. We got back safely. It was a very enjoyable vacation.

August 7, 2009

Our good friends Viv and Franz were down from Portland and were looking forward to a sail and a hike. What better place to go than Angel Island. We left the slip at about noon and headed through the Delta Echo span of the Bay Bridge. Winds were quite light and fickle till be passed under the bridge. Then they picked up quickly and by the time we were in the slot were blowing in excess of 20 knots. As we approached Angel Island I saw an oil tanker coming out from Richmond, so the race to the green buoy at the SE end of the island as on. I have learned over the years never to race a tanker in a sail boat. They move unbelievably fast. So when I say the race was on, while true, it was not much of a race. I was by now moving at over 7 knts and was about a half mile from the buoy and the ship was still east of Raccoon Straights. The winds held strong until we got to the NE corner of Angel Island, where we lowered the sail and motored into the slips in Ayala Cove. After docking the boat and securing her we hiked the full loop around Angel Island starting at the North End and coming back on the Sunset Trail, after hiking to the top of the island. The views are unbelievable!

After a bit of refreshment on the boat we headed home sailing up Raccoon Straights and then a broad reach to Treasure Island. The winds were again blowing over 20 knots, but the sail was pretty comfortable on a broad reach. We made the right turn and came behind to the east of TI, using it to get some relief from the wave that had built up in the bay, and sailed back to the estuary. As we approached the estuary the winds died and we had to motor back in. We were back at the slip as the sun set at about 2000.

Lynne, Franz and Vivienne on Angel Island

View from Angel Island

July 12, 2009

Lynne and I took our friends John and Debra out for a sail around Treasure Island after lunch on the hook at Clipper Cove. The winds were 20-23 going around TI but very light once we got under the west span of the Bay Bridge. It was a beautiful day with quite warm winds (at least for the bay area).

July 12, 2009 San Francisco

John and Debra off Treasure Island

July 11, 2009

Lynne, Doron, Sandra and I sailed up to the head of the estuary and back today. The wind was great on the way up the estuary but died when we got to the bay so we had to motor back.

Independence Day Weekend

Lynne and I sailed for 4 days this weekend. We motored up to Clipper Cove on Thursday night and had a very relaxing dinner and were able to anchor in the SW corner of Clipper Cove, which provided great protection from the wind. We were lucky to get this spot because the wind was pretty strong all night and we had to reset the anchor in the morning because we were slowing dragging the anchor because of the wind.

The next morning we got in touch with Pete and Bethany on Nanaimo and when they passed Clipper Cove we had just pulled up our anchor and followed them up to China Camp. The wind was pretty strong in the Slot, gusting to 25 knts. Lynne was at the helm the whole way until be got to the Sisters, just off San Pedro Point. She did a great job sailing the boat in that much wind. We finally dropped anchor at China Camp at about 1630. P&B came over to Wildcat in their dingy and we had dinner and drinks on our boat.

On Saturday we slept in pretty late and for most of the day we just stayed on the boat and read. At about 1500 Lynne and I went out for a sail so that she could practice points of sail. Lynne was at the helm and I think she learned a few things. She still gets confused about wind direction and sail trim, but that will improve with experience. I try to let her do most of the sailing when we are on the open water so that she will bet more experience. We got back to anchor at about 1630 and Pete came over in his dingy and picked up Lynne and me and took us over to shore. He went back for Bethany and we had drinks and chips on the beach at China Camp. Lynne and I also viewed the little museum they have there. It was actually very interesting. We then went back to Nanaimo and had dinner and drinks with Pete and Bethany on their boat. Bethany had brought along a great 4th of July dinner of burgers, hot dogs with all the fixings, and macaroni and potato salads.

On Sunday we slept in again. At about 1100 Pete came over in the dingy, but this time rigged with the sail. Pete let Lynne and I use the dingy and I gave Lynne some sailing lessons. We had a great time sailing around in the small dingy but eventually it was time to head home. Lynne and I got back to Wildcat and went down to prepare some lunch. The wind and current had picked up, but my anchor seemed to be set well. Unfortunately I was wrong. After eating lunch for about 30 minutes I fell the boat lurch a bit. It just didn't feel right so I poked my head out the hatch and saw that we had dragged the anchor about .25 miles. We quickly cleaned up lunch and got under way before we dragged any further. We had a nice sail across the bay with winds from 16-20 with occasional higher gusts. We got back to the slip at about 1730.

Lynne at the helm

Friday off Richmond looking back at SF

Father's Day 2009

Lynne at the helm with Caitlin assisting!

Today Lynne, Caitlin and I sailed up the estuary and back. Good winds and warm weather. Lynne was at the helm until we reached an active dredge in the middle of the estuary just past the turning basin. I took us past that point until we turned around and came back on a nice run, passing all those slower sloops along the way. We were about 3 hours on the water.

June 17, 2009

I completed the Celestial Navigation course today and passed the test.  It was a long test, took about 4 hours to  complete.  The key is understanding the process and then the rest is relatively easy.

After the test Lynne, Andrew and Caitlin joined me at the boat for a sail.  We had great wind and Lynne sailed up the estuary until we got to the turning basin.  There was a very large cargo ship in the harbor being turned around, so I took control to get us past it and up the harbor. 

We then sailed across the bay to a point a bit south of ATT Park.  The wind was blowing about 16-18 knts from the west.  So the sail back was all down wind and very nice and warm.  We got  back to the slip about 1745.

Lynne chatting it up

Caitlin listening to music

Andrew doing what he does best

June 6-7 2009

Lynne and I sailed Wildcat over to South Beach Harbor where we had a slip for Saturday night. On the way there we stopped off at Clipper Cove to raft up to Nanaimo and enjoy the good weather. While rafted up Doron and Sandra drove over and Pete took his dingy over to the beach to pick them up. We had a soda and then had to get underway so that we could get to South Beach before the office closed so that we had a key to the doors. After leaving Clipper Cove Lynne was in charge of sailing over to South Beach. The wind was blowing at about 12-16 kts, and fairly warm for SF Bay. Lynne and I enjoyed the sail over and Lynne for the first time said that finally started to understand the concept of "feeling the wind" and sensing the boat pick up speed when the sail was in trim. That night we went out to dinner in the city with some good friends and we able to return to a warm Wildcat, as I had turned on the heater before we left.

The next morning we had breakfast at the Java House and then got underway. Again Lynne was in charge of the sailing. The wind coming though the Gate was quite brisk, gusting to 25 kts. Lynne enjoyed the sail, but I took oever when it was time to jibe the boat and head back to the east side of TI. We again stopped in at Clipper Cove to see Pete and Bethany, but they were getting ready to leave so we just headed back to our slip. We got back in about 1500. Afterwards Lynne noted that it was one of her most fun days sailing on the Bay because of the great weather and steady winds.

Jen with a bit of Alcatraz over her shoulder

Kim and Raleigh

We even peeked out under the Golden Gate into the Pacific Ocean

Passing under Bay Bridge under power

The Bay is almost as flat as a mirror

Val and the Golden Gate

John and Doron south of east span of Bay Bridge

May 25, 2009

Lynne and I went out for a quick sail on Sunday.  We motored up to Jack London with Lynne at the helm and me trying to give her lessons on right of way issues.  As we approached the JL fuel dock I took the helm as the winds were a bit gusty.  After fueling up Lynne backed Wildcat off the dock and we put up the sail and sailed back to the slip on a broad reach/run with Lynne at the helm.  She sailled by the lee at times, but the Nonsuch can sail up to 15 degrees by the lee, so we had no problems.  It was a great day to sail the estuary, a fair amount of wind and quite warm for the SF Bay area.

May23, 2009

Spent a large portion of the day repairing the head (that is the toilet for you landlubbers). Any time one works on any type of toilet, it is a disagreeable project. A marine head is about as bad as it gets! cramp work area, and much less water flushing through the system leads to a smelly area when you open things up. Plus just about every screw or bolt has fuzed or is about to distintegrate. everything strips when you go to take it out. I endedn up having to use my dremil to cut off about four screws or bolts.

Fortunately the repair kit from west marine had replacement screws and bolts as well as new gaskets, flappers and valves, just about all moving parts. So once I got the thing apart, everything when fairly smoothly.

May 16, 2009

It was a very fine day to take a sail this Saturday. The forecast was for a very hot day on land, so getting out on the water was a good alternative. I had offered a day sailing as an auction item in my firm's United Way campaign and the two secretaries who won the prize had chosen this day for the trip. I asked my friend and sailing buddy, Doron, to assist me as crew. Doron tries not to pass up an oportunity to sail and agreed to help me with the sail. So at 1100 our 4 guests met us at the slip for our sail around the bay.
We motored out of the estuary and across the bay as there was very little wind in the morning. we motored along the city front until we turned the corner and headed towards the Golden Gate. We then put up the sail as the sea breeze picked up. Doron was at the helm and he took us out under the Golden Gate bridge. We saw some dolfins and other sea life. We then headed back into the bay and down Raccoon straights and around Angel Island. On the east side of the Island we passed Pete and Bethany in Nanaimo, who were on their way up to China Camp. We then continued past Treasure Island and showed our guests the construction on the Bay Bridge and continued down to the south bay. The wind started to die out so we headed back to Alameda. We had a nice, but warm sail down the estuary and as we approached the slip Doron's wife, Sandra, invited is all back to the Red Door Studio for drinks and a barbeque. Jen and Val took Sandra up on her offer and we ended our day with a very nice evening at the Paz's.

Doron at the helm as Val enjoys the sights

May 15, 2009

Today Lynne and I picked Wildcat up from KKMI after it had its bottom painted and I cleaned the prop and revarnished the swimstep. The sail back to the slip was good, with variable, but generally reasonable winds. As we approached Clipper Cover I hailed Nanaimo on the radio, and much to our pleasure, but not surprise Pete and Bethany were sailing up to Clipper Cove for the night. We followed them into Clipper Cover and rafted up for drinks and snacks on our boat. We finally got back to our slip at 2300 where we were met by Lauren, who took Lynne home and me back up to KKMI to retreave the car.

May 5, 2009

I have been participating on a test of some new bottom paints and the test finally came to and end this month. As a result I had to bring Wildcat up to KKMI (a boatyard) in Richmond to have it pulled so that the manufacturer could inspect the condition of the test paint. KKMI is about 13 miles from Wildcat's home slip, and it took me about 4 hours to get to KKMI from Alameda. I motored out of the Estuary and put the sail up just before getting to the Bay. I tried to sail once I was out on the bay, but the winds were light and if I had sailed all the way to KKMI I would not have arrived until after 2230. So I ended up motor sailing across the bay. It was an interesting sail becasue the fog had come in through the Gate, so around Berkeley there was pretty heavy fog, but elsewhere it was pretty light. I got to Richmond Harbor about 2030 and to KKMI at about 2100. The next day I took a look at Wildcat while it was on the hard. I was amazed at how well the paint had held up. No major hard growth and the hair apparently sluffed off when the boat was pulled. The zincs were in pretty good shape as well.

So while Wildcat is out of the water I will have the bottom painted and will also re-Cetol the swim step. Hopefully the boat will be back in the water by the middle of next week.

April 24-26 2009 CPM Tag on New Moon

This past weekend I successfully completed my CPM (Coastal Passage Making) certification (see picture below). Some might say that I had a rather stacked crew for my trip. My good friend Doron, OPM certified, college classmate, Gary Barg, CPM certified, Ricardo Poli, OPM certified, and Deb Fehr, CPM certified. We had chartered New Moon, a 2000 Hunter 41 for the trip. Although I am generally not overly impressed with Hunters, I must admit that New Moon was well equipped for ocean cruising and handled quite well.

When we started off from Ballena Bay on Friday at 1930 the winds were howling at about 25-30 knts. In many parts of the country that would be good cause to head back to the yacht club and start pounding down a few brewskis (or martini's depending on the type of club you belong to). But here in San Francisco it is just another opportunity to go out and pound away at some good waves.

Because we were on a certification sail we had to take care of a few administrative matters. We motored up to the Alameda Estuary where we ran the mile to check the accuracy of the boat's log meter (it was very accurate). We then raised the sails and checked them to make sure they were in ship shape before "turning" the boat to create a deviation chart for the compass on the binnacle. We next sailed over to Ayala cove and took a mooring for the night. Ayala cove requires all boats to attach bow and stern to two mooring balls so that the boats do not swing on the mooring. We used the mooring technique where you back the boat to the first mooring, attach a long bow line to the mooring, walk the mooring up to the front and then back down to the stern mooring. This makes it easier to attach to the mooring because you are able to pass the mooring line through the mooring collar while standing on the swim step (within hands reach) instead of trying to pass the line through the mooring collar from the bow of the boat (5 ft off the water) and hooking it with the boat hook.

Sandra, Doron's good lookin and good cookin wife, had prepared a great meal of stuffed peppers, eggplant and a great bread that was a cross between a pita and focaccia. We had some good wine (David Bruce Sarah) provided by Ricardo. After telling a few tall tales while drinking our wine, as men are apt to do, we called it an evening about midnight.

The next day we got underway at 0630 and headed over to Horizon's restaurant dock in Sausalito to pick up Deb. While at the dock I made breakfast and Deb brought all of us coffee from a local coffee shop (much better than the perk on board). We were at the Golden Gate by 0830 and on our way to Half Moon Bay. Winds were blowing at about 20-25 with higher gusts coming over our starboard quarter. We decided to sail down on a jib only so that we would not have to worry about an accidental gybe with the main. The other boats had reefed mains and jibs, which made them a bit faster, but meant that they had to be more careful about keeping track of the main in high seas. As a result of the other boats having a bit more sail up than we did, we were the slowest boat in the flotilla, but we also probably had the most relaxing sail to HMB. When we arrived our TAG boat, Belle Collette with the instructor (Capt'n Scott), was doing drills. We followed the other boats into HMB. The boat with the instructor on board, Belle Collette radioed over to us and the instructor, Dave Scott, told us he wanted us to raft up to his boat. Rafting up is a skill that you have to demonstrate proficiency at in order to pass CPM. When they finally had their anchor set we motored over to raft up to them. The winds were still blowing quite hard in the harbor, so rafting up was a little bit of a challenge. But with my experience crew it turned out to be a piece of cake. We gently glided over to Belle Collette and rafted up without a problem. Dave Scott came over to our boat, checked out our charts and log book and gave us a thumbs up. As we disengaged from Belle Collette its life ring got loose so we circled back and picked it up for them. We then headed over to our slip for the night. That evening we had dinner at the Princeton Brew Pub and ended the evening with wine and snacks back at the boat.

The next morning we got an early start 0630, because we needed to pump out the holding tank and we knew that we would have to beat into the wind the whole way back to San Francisco. The wind had been blowing pretty hard all night so we also knew that we would have pretty high sea swells as well. By the time we got out into the ocean the winds were already at 20-25 knts. We started off sailing on a reefed main and jib, but soon realized that the wind direction and leeway was pushing us too close to shore. We tacked back out for 30 minutes and then tacked back north. But again we found ourselves heading too close to shore. Also the waves were building and some were beginning to break. So we took in the jib and began to motor sail. That way we were able to point higher into the wind and make good speed back. The winds continued to build and at one point were probably close to 35 knts. We also had a wave break on the boat and a fair amount of water was washed down into the boat. But all and all it was an enjoyable sail (see pictures below). By the time we got back to the Golden Gate, however, the winds were almost non-existent. We finally passed though the golden gate and then did a few Crew Overboard drills while waiting for Belle Collette to come in. Somehow they passed us while we were doing our drills, so we had to motor sail to catch up to them. Just west of Alcatraz Doron and I saw a whale.

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. When we got back to the south bay we once again did a Crew Overboard drill so Dave Scott could confirm that we knew how to do it (again another CPM requirement), and then headed in. We were at the dock at about 1445. Dave came in about an hour later and told me that I had passed and we put the US Sailing CPM sticker in my log book (picture below).

The 4 guys, Ricardo, Doron, Gary and the skipper Capt'n (Queeg) John. Deb is taking the picture.

Doron and I do some navigating while on the sail back to San Francisco. I have the log book in my lap and I am getting a GPS fix using my Iphone.

Dave Scott handing me my complementary CN Burgee after officially placing my CPM sticker in my Log book.

Yes those are breaking waves out there!

Ricardo checks out the high waves

Deb looks a bit cold as Gary checks out the lines

Doron at the helm

Route for April 17-19 Sail

Above is a picture of San Francisco Bay.  Our boat slip is mid way between the labels for the cities of Oakland and Alameda.  Clipper Cover is the little bay just to the north of the Bay Bridge at the Island that the Bay Bridge passes over in the middle of the bay.  Raccoon Straights is the waterway between Angel Island and the mainland (Tiburon).  China Camp is north of the Richmond - San Rafael Bridge and the point to the right of San Rafael.  As you round that point and hug the coast about 1 mile after rounding the point you reach China Camp.

April 17 -19, 2009

Lynne and I had our first overnight trip on Wildcat this past weekend.  We motored up to Clipper Cove on Friday night.  Our friends Pete and Bethany had come up to Clipper Cove in Nanaimo, their Nonsuch 30U, earlier in the day.  We rafted up and had drinks and dinner on Nanaimo.  we derafted for the night and I took the picture below with my Iphone Saturday morning. 

Saturday morning we had a lazy start to the day.  Pete had installed some new instruments in Nanaimo and he did some maneuvers in Clipper Cove to calibrate them.  I had a call to take at noon, so we finally got underway at about 1pm and headed up to China Camp.  I took two pictures on the way up to China Camp which are set out below.  One is of Lynne about 1.5 miles NE of Raccoon Straits.  If you look carefully you can see the Golden Gate Bridge through Raccoon Straights.  The winds were blowing about 17-19 knts through the slot, but we were becalmed near Richmond Harbor and had to motor for about 45 minutes.  Then the winds picked back up and we were able to sail on a broad reach to a run all the way up to China Camp.  We got up there at about 4:40 pm and quickly anchored.  After about an hour Nanaimo motored over to us and we tried to raft up for cocktails.  But the current was too strong and rough, so we each separately hung out on our boats.  Lynne made a great Indian dinner and we ate outside in the cockpit of the boat.

The next day was very hot at China Camp.  We put up Wildcat's bimini to shade us from the sun, (made all the difference) and sat out in our cockpit reading and doing word games together.  After lunch of leftovers from the night before and cheese and crackers, we finally go underway.  Nanaimo had left much earlier as it was to hot to sit at anchor without a bimini and they decided to get some relief from the heat by sailing.  The sail back was will very mild following winds but we had the tide pushing us so we averaged about 5 knts.  We met up with Nanaimo again at the entrance to the estuary and sailed back down the estuary together.  We then sailed over to Quinn's (a restaurant with a dock) for dinner.  We finally got back to the slip about 9:30 Sunday night.  A very enjoyable weekend. 

Lynne east of Angel Island and racoon straits

April 18 Nanaimo

April 18, 2009 Clipper Cove

April 11, 2009

Lynne and I sailed out to Jack London Square. Lynne was at the helm
all the way out. I took her back in and Lynne relaxed. It was great
being out on the water with Lynne again.

March 29, 2009

My son Andrew and I put our repaired sail back on Wildcat and then we took her for a sail up the estuary.  We tacked up all the way to the bay and then come back on a run.  Not much wind but we still had a good time.

February 27 - March 1, 2009 CPM Sail

Well this past weekend was my test for the Skipper position on my quest for a Coastal Passage-making Certificate through Club Nautique's Sailing School. We had a good crew consisting of Ken Kolburn - Navigator, Mark Dietrich - Jr. Nav., Mark Howard and Mike Ball - Crew. Arnstein Mustad was our instructor. He has a reputation for being a demanding instructor, so we did a very thorough pre-cruise to make sure that he had not sabataged the boat. We found some loose nuts in the engine well and reported them to him. He was impressed with our thoroughness, but said that he had not placed them there. He nevertheless double checked all of the systems in the engine well to see if he could find where they come from. He found nothing wrong, but we noted the find on our pre-cruise report.

We sailed out of Ballena Bay on Friday and got out to the south bay about 2100, having eaten dinner at the slip due to low tide. After calibrating the Log and Compass we headed over to Angel Island for a mooring ball. we finally got on the mooring shortly after midnight.

The next morning we got up at 8, with the intention of getting going about 0900. At 0900 a ranger came out to the boat and asked us for our $20 mooring fee (after giving us a lecture about trying to leave without paying the fee). We then ran a mile in Richardson Bay to check the log calibration again and were ready to head out the Golden Gate. Due to the expected weather conditions we headed south to Half Moon Bay. The winds were blowing from the east at about 15 -17 knots so we decided to take the Southern Channel near the Coast. This cut off a fair amount of time on our trip to HMB. We had fair winds until Colorado Reef, just north of Pillar Point, at which time the winds abated entirely and we had to motor in. We did some radar motoring drills on the way in. We then headed back out to do some more drills because the winds had picked back up. The winds got up to 20 knts and while I was at the helm the instructor decided to run a engine failure - limited visibility drill. So I had to sail in with only a jib up.

We took a slip for the night and went into town for dinner and drinks. Pillar Point has a few good watering holes near the harbor and we all had a good night out. I also ended up watching Slum dog Millionaire on one of the other boats that was in our CPM fleet.

The next morning we got under way at about 8 am. After doing a number of motoring drills in the marina, we headed back to San Francisco. The sail up the coast was uneventful. As we neared the San Francisco Buoy the winds became fickle and out of the east, making it hard to make good time back through the gate. As we neared the gate however, the winds picked up again from the south. We saw a whale just outside the gate, and steered clear of it. By the time we got through the Gate, the winds were up to 20 knts and we were shortening sails. By the time we got to Alcatraz the winds were a steady 25 with higher gusts. By the time we past Alcatraz winds were gusting over 30 and we had to shorten sails again. after tacking back towards the Bay Bridge, the winds were a steady 30 with gusts to 35, and again we shortened sails so by now we were sailing with the equivalent of a storm tri-sail and a storm jib. Eventually it became obvious that we were not going to make it back to Club Nautique by 1430 unless we sent under power. The wind waves in the Bay grew amazingly fast since the winds were from the south an there was a fairly long fetch for the waves to build. Even in a 49 foot boat we were crashing through the waves and generating a great deal of spray, which kept me quite wet at the helm. But we made good time and eventually got back to the slip at about 1430. After the post cruise, we were ready to call it a day at bout 1800.

Although I certainly made a few errors during the CPM, I guess on balance I was not a bad Skipper as our instructor saw fit to pass me. Now I just have to take the written test and sail my last CPM trip as the skipper of a tag boat.

February 21, 2009

Today I chartered Belle Colette, a 49 ft Hunter, with the crew I will be sailing with next weekend on a CPM class, my good friend Doron, his wife, Sandra (who made a fantastic dinner for the trip) and Lynne.

We left Club Nautique at about 1430 after a lengthy ore cruise because it is a new boat and non of us had sailed her before. I was low tide and we just barely got over the bar out of the harbor. When we got out into the south bay the wind was only blowing about 6 kt. Just enough to do some crew overboard drills. We then calibrated the log and headed over to McCovy Cove to anchor for dinner. We had trouble getting the anchor to set but eventually we able to get a good enough hold for a short dinner stay. As notes above the dinner made by Sandra was excellent and enjoyed by all.

We then headed back about 1900. The wind had picked up and by the time we got the sails up we had 11 kt of wind. As we headed home a front came through and we we soon bashing on 21 kt winds. Doron and I had fun had great fun in the higher winds. The boat handles it fine except that like all hunters it heeled over quite a bit. Just as we were thinking of reefing the sails the rain picked up and we decided to roll up the sails and head back to port. The main came in fine but the jib gave us some difficulty. It was hard to roll in if it had any power in the sail. But we eventually got it rolled in.

Docking the 49 foot boat in 24 kt winds was also a challenge. When we came in we has to turn the boat into the wind and then back her into an end tie with another boat right behind her slip. Turning her back up into the wind took some back and fill manuvers to avoid the other boats around us and to turn this large boat around. But we eventually did it buy using a few back and forward manuvers to position the boat until Doron could jump off safely and attach a spring line.

John F. Finston