Originally we were only going out for 2 days (Sat. and Sun.) We left the slip at about 1230 and motored up the estuary to the bay as winds were quite light and we wanted to get out to the bay to meet up with our good friends Sandra and Doron in their new boat Messin About. When we got to the bay we hoisted the sails and Lynne was at the helm. We practiced reefing the boat south of the Bay Bridge, putting in a single reef and then a double reef and then shaking them out. We then set sail for Angel Island (AI) to meet up with Messin About (MB). We finally made contact with MB when we passed under the bridge and they were by AI. We set sail for an intercept course and met up with them off of the Berkeley Pier. We then both headed to Clipper Cove (CC), a small bay between Treasure Island (TI) and Yerba Berena Island, where we had plans to anchor and raft up for the night. The entrance to CC is quite silted in from work that is being performed on the Bay Bridge, so while we were able to get into the cove at near low tide thanks to Wildcat's shoal keel (only 4 ft), MB with her 6 ft keel had to wait for a higher tide. We set our anchor and soon thereafter MB rafted up to our starboard side for the night. We enjoyed some drinks and snacks while Sandra finished cooking a chicken curry and rice dinner. Below is a panaramic photo of CC with MB rafted to my side.
Shortly thereafter Bethany and Pete joined us in their boat Nanaimo and rafted up to our port side. We all enjoined a great dinner and drinks. We then spent the rest of the evening talking and playing dueling Ipods.
The next day we woke up to a whistling sound at about 0630. A sailboat off to our port was trying to hail a larger power boat that was pulling its anchor through the mud and drifting towards it. I got up and watched the power boat drift over towards us until it was too close for comfort and then woke Peter up so that he could unraft and motor to his own anchorage. The power boat's anchor finally reset as it drifted over into some shallower water, but it was still quite close to us. MB shortly thereafter headed back for home before the tide got too low. Lynne and I headed out for a sail, intending to go over to AI for a hike. But when we got out on the bay the winds were quite brisk (20-21 knts) and the fog was fairly thick. We realized that the great vistas at AI would not be available so we decided to cancel our hike and just go for a sail. After weaving between a bunch of racing sailboats we headed back to CC. We got back in about 1630 and rafted up to Nanaimo.
That night for dinner Pete had made a great paella. We dined aboard Nanaimo. Lynne and I brought over a salad, a bottle of wine and a bottle of Champaign. We once again had a great evening eating, talking, clowning around and enjoying each others company. Turned out to be a late night by the time we got back to Wildcat.
The next day was quite foggy. Pete and Bethany left for home about 1030. We got going a bit later and motored out of the cove about 1130. The fog was quite dense, about 1/4 mile visibility. I put on the radar, AIS and chartplotter to see where we were and see the boats around us. For some reason there was a lot of Tug traffic. But eventually we found the estuary and followed a tug down the west side. Eventually the fog lifted and we motored back to the slip at about 1330. Once there we gave Wildcat a thorough cleaning on the outside. It took the rest of the day, but she now sparkels. Next we will start on the inside.
