August 22-24, 2008

Wildcat had two outings this past weekend. On Friday I motored up by myself to Clipper Cove to anchor out over night. Pete and Bethany motored up on Nanaimo with Sandra Paz and we rafted up and had dinner and drinks until about 2300. The next day Andrew and his friend Rick Relinger drove over to Treasure Island and I picked them up at the guest dock and we sailed around SF bay, past Alcatraz, around Angel Island and back to Clipper Cove. I dropped the boys off and Nanaimo was still at anchor at CC. We rafted up again for another round and then motored down to Quinn's Lighthouse for dinner. Got back to the slip at about 9pm.

The next day I took Lynne's brother Scott and his daughter Katlin out for a sail up to Jack London and back. Very light winds and on the way back we met up with Nanaimo with B&P and Sandra and Doron on board. We raced back to the slip and Peter smoked me once again.

The pictures below are from Clipper Cove and motoring on the Oakland Estuary.

August 17, 2008

Spent the day today on maintenance items including:

1. Sanding down the cutting board at Lynne' request to make it cleaner looking.

2. Resecuring the float switch of the bilge pump to the hull (a bilge float switch that floats around in the bilge water is not very reliable).

3. Varnishing all the brightwork with Cetol High Gloss. This was much easier than I thought it would be.

Next on the agenda is checking the zincs and cleaning the rust of the stainless on the boat. Yes it is true - maintenance is never ending!

August 16, 2008

Lynne and I went for a sail with out good friends Vivian and Franz  and their daughter Simone on Saturday. We got on the water slightly after 1300 and sailed up the estuary to Jack London. There we pulled down the sail and motored up the estuary while we had a great lunch prepared by Lynne.

Once we got all lunch leftovers stored and everything put away, Franz and I hoisted the sail. Winds were blowing from 15 to 22 most of the time. We tacked around the south bay and eventually made our way over to just in front of South Beach Marina, where we turned around and headed for home on a very nice broad reach.

I had hoped to stay on broad reach all the way home, but the wind shifted a bit and we were alternating between a full run and sailing by the lee as we approached the turning basin. Of course as luck would have it there was a cargo ship in the basin and all traffic was held up. As i tried to turn up into the wind, the main sheet got twisted around the lifesling. I was motoring up into the wind, with the concrete docks about two boat lengths off my starboard side when another sail boat started sailing across my path. I had to turn off the wind (with my main sheet still tangled up around the lifesling). Well, long story short, there was enough wind and pressure on the sheet to rip the lifesling off the bar it was attached to. Fortunately I was able to retreave it and then staighten out the sheet. We ended up dropping the sail, which I should have done earlier, and motored in the rest of the way, stopping to top off the fuel tank and pump out the holding tank at Jack London.

Viv, Franz and Simone all appeared to have a good time. It was fun getting together with them and we hope to do it again soon.

August 9-10

Lynne and I got a late start on Saturday and motored out the estuary into the south bay. The winds were moderate as we sailed south and then turned to the northwest towards the delta/echo span of the Bay Bridge. We were on the radio with P&B and S&D who were sailing near the Gate and Angle Island, respectively. They reported good winds over by the GG bridge, so we headed in that direction. All of a sudden, as we approached the shipping channel coming out of Oakland Harbor the wind literally stopped. We sat around for about 5 minutes and then I decided to get under power, drop the sail and head over to drop the hook in Clipper Cove. Once we got to Clipper Cove we set the anchor and proceeded to have a drink and wait for the other two boats.

Nanaimo was the first to arrive. Pete pulled in and rafted up to my port side. Doron was next in and brought his chartered boat up to my starboard side, but then we decided the other boats were a bit too close. Pete took Nanaimo over to a better location and dropped his huge Manson anchor. Doron and I then rafted up to Nanaimo.

We ended up spending the night rafted together. I dropped my spare anchor off the back so that we would not drift too close to the marina docks or aground on the beach. Doron took off the next day at 7 am and Pete left at about 10 am. Lynne and I got underway at about 1100. We motored back to the slip after pumping out the holding tank at the pump out near the Alameda Sherrif's boat at Grand Marina.

July 26-27, 2008

Lynne and I motored over to South Bay Marina on Saturday the 26th of July to pick up three guests for a sail around the bay. The tall ships were in and docked around the bay and we were able to see a few of them. After we picked up Randa, Blaine and Evet at about 1330 we sailed across the bay towards the west end of Angle Island. It was a beautiful warm summer day. The winds were initially mild, but the picked up as we crossed the bay and were at about 18-20 as we approached Raccoon Straights. Once in the Straights the winds were fickle, but we were able to sail to the east end of Angle Island where we dropped the hook at the cove at the north east corner of the Island in its wind shadow. We had some snacks and drinks, and I took a dip in the bay (it really had turned out to be a hot day!) and then we crossed the bay and went behind Treasure Island on its east side. Once we passed under the Bay Bridge we put on the motor and motored back to South Beach to drop off our guests. Lynne and I then motored back to Clipper Cove and stayed the night on the hook. It was very relaxing. We each read a book and then got underway at about 4 pm. The winds were quite high and we had a fun sail back in to the slip. We got in about 6 pm and cleaned up the boat. Total 2 day distance about 25 miles.

July 4, 2007 Weekend

Lynne and I finally did an overnight sail on the July 4th weekend. After attending our town's 4th of July Parade, we headed down to Wildcat to get on the water and stay overnight. At first we were undecided on where we wanted to go; Clipper Cove was near by, but China Camp would be much more relaxing. We finally decided to go up to China Camp. A good choice for sure. The attached pictures are a few from the trip, two of the Richmond Bridge, one of Lynne sheilded from the wind, one heading up to China Camp and one of Pete and Bethany's boat, Nanaimo, which was there when we arrived.

The sail up was a typical San Francisco outing. We motored up the estuary because the wind was in our face. When we got towards the end of the estuary I put up the sail and tried to put in a double reef because I knew the wind was going to be blowing pretty strong in the middle of the bay after we got past Treasure Island (commonly called The Slot). However, the second reefing line was fouled so I had to go with a single reef. As expected, there was plenty of wind in The Slot - 20 to 25 with gusts to 28. But Wildcat actually handles such winds quite well. We were on a beam reach so the chop (2-4 ft) was hitting us broadside. While this might sound like it would make for a miserable sail, it was actually surprisingly comfortable. Wildcat would simply rise up and down with the waves. As we approached Richmond bridge the winds tapered and then gave out just before we got to the bridge. I put on the engine and started to motor. I would try to sail when a puff of wind came up (I was always hopeful that it would be a sustained wind), but eventually motored up to China Camp. When we got there we found Bethany and Pete already at China Camp in their boat Nanaimo. While we typically would raft up, I think we were both tired so we stayed on our respective boats. Bethany and Pete were heading up to the delta the next day and were going to get an early start.

The next day was absolutely beautiful. We lazed around and made breakfast and lunch. Lynne made a great lunch of salmon and Thai green beans. At 1500 we tried to rally to head back to Alameda for a party at Sandra and Doron's house. But lethargy set in, or maybe it was the beers and cocktails. We just could not get moving. So we stayed the night at China Camp. The only problem was that the water tanks ran dry on Saturday afternoon. We had plenty of drinking water, but limited water to wash pans, plates and utensils, so they piled up. Lynne made a great vegetarian dinner of tofu, cheese, corn and an Indian simmering sauce. We ended up doing crossword puzzles and reading. A very relaxing day.

The next day I made breakfast and fetched a pot of sea water to wash the dishes in. I heated it up to boiling and then put the hot water in the sink with some soap. It worked fine and in no time we had washed dishes. Lynne was sceptical so we put them aside until they could be rinsed with fresh water. At about 1100 we got under way. At first the winds seemed to be blowing pretty hard, and I knew we had to go through The Slot again, so I once again started with a double reef (I had fixed the fouled line that morning). But as soon as I had finally set the sails just right the wind died down to about 12-13 knts. Not enough wind to justify a double reef. So I shook out one of the reefs and we headed towards the the Richmond Bridge. The wind and the tide were both against us so going was quite slow. We tacked back and forth and slowly made our way back to the infamous Slot. When we finally got there the wind was once again blowing about 22-25 knts making for a quick sail across The Slot. At times we were hitting a SOG of 8-9 knts. I thought that we would have a great ride down the estuary, but as soon as we got under the Bay Bridge the wind stopped. So we motored down the estuary and into the slip. We got back to the slip at about 1600. Yet another great weekend on Wildcat. About 35 miles as the crow flies and plenty of variety in wind and water.

June 22, 2008

After a late start due to a late night the night before at Sandra and Doron's Red Door Studio (3am to be precise), I loaded up the visiting relatives and we made our way down to the Boat. Doron and Sandra met us at the boat, but when Sandra realized that Lynne had stayed home to prepare dinner for a dinner party with Helmut Relinger and Catherine McCarthy, she decided to take a pass on sailing.  I think the late night the night before may have played a part in her decision. We finally go out on the water at about 1230.  I wanted to get out to the Bay so that we could show our guests the City and Alcatraz, so we motored up to the Bay.  We stopped off at Jack London Square for some fuel - 12.4 gallons for $74.  I am glad I do not have a gas guzzler.  We sailed south towards Candlestick until we were about mid way between Alameda and San Francisco and then did two tacks to position ourselves for a direct shot under the Bay Bridge to Alcatraz.  The wind was blowing at 13-20 knts until we got to the Bay Bridge.  Then we hit a patch of no wind (a wind shadow from either the bridge or the City, or both, and had to motor a bit.  As we approached Pier 23 we noticed that a boat about 1/2 mile ahead of us went from sitting straight up to heeling over about 35 degrees as it got into the slot.  Doron and I immediately reefed the sail before we got into the heavy winds.  But as we approached the slot we noticed the chop was piling up and the boats ahead of us were now banging around.  We decided that our guests from out of town would not like to bash through the waves to get to Alcatraz so we instead put the boat on a broad reach for the end of Treasure Island.  The wind was now at 20-25 knts, but Wildcat handled it just fine.  Our guests did not even know that we were in weather that many other boaters try to avoid.  All went well until we had to jibe at the end of Treasure Island to turn back to Alameda.  Because the wind was so strong we decided to do a chicken jibe, but after we executed the turn and I tried to trim the sails, Doron, who was at the helm, told me that he had no helm control.  Fortunately, the rudder was stalled.  But it is an interesting phenomena with a Nonsuch, in high winds when you tack the boat you can stall the rudder and it is almost like you are hove to.  I say almost, because we were still making way about 2-3 knts, but simply could not fall off the wind.  We could have let the sail out all the way or turned up into irons, but since we were a bit close to shore I just turned on the engine to get the rudder out of the stall.  We headed back to home on a typical run down the estuary and got back to the slip about 1800.  As we went by Pete and Bethany's boat, Naniamo, we noticed that they were working on her.  So after putting Wildcat to bed, we headed over to Naniamo to see what Pete and Bethany were up to.  They had just come back in from a short sail and were giving her a good wash.  I checked out Pete's new solar panels.  He says that they fully power all the electrical while under way during the day and keep his batteries fully charged during the week when he is not using the boat.  He is thinking about doing the Ba Ha Ha Ha in 2009 and is getting his boat ready for cruising.  I am quite jealous about the additions to his boat and his plans as well. 

June 15, 2008

After a late start due to a father's day barbecue at our house, I was able to get on the water at about 3:00pm.  Lynne's brother Scott, his wife, Amy and her brother Jeff, and his wife, Nancy were out visiting and I was able to talk them into being my crew.   Scott and Jeff did a great job taking off the sail cover and getting Wildcat ready to go. I did the rest of the pre-cruise, and in no time we were on the water.  As soon as we got to Coast Guard Island I yanked the sail up and we were off, sailing up the estuary towards the Bay.  The wind was at about 13-16 knts and at an angle that permitted me to tack up the estuary.  After finally getting to Oakland Outer Harbor it was time to turn back to the slip.  Fortunately, it was a run back in.  We were able to relax and enjoy the setting sun.  Everyone had a good time as usual and we were back at the slip about 8:00pm.

June 15, 2008 - Father's Day

What a better way to spend father's day than to go for a short sail after a barbecue at home.  Lynne's brother, Scott and his wife, Amy and Amy's brother, Jeff and his wife, Nancy are out visiting us from Wisconsin.  We started the day with a barbecue in which I cooked some baby back ribs and hamburgers, Lauren cooked the corn and dished out the slaw and potato salad and Lynne served dessert.  After we had our fill of food, Amy, Nancy, Scott, Jeff and I went down to Wildcat for a sail.  Unfortunately it was already 3pm, so we only had time enough to sail up the estuary to the Oakland outer harbor and back.  The wind was blowing about 14-18 kts pretty much straight down the estuary so we had to beat our way up.  Fortunately, a Nonsuch is an easy boat to tack, so the sail was still allot of fun.  The nice thing about the wind direction is that the sail home was a broad reach to a run the whole way back.  The entire 11 mile trip took about 4 hours.  As usual a good time was had by all.

Our Lagoon 42 in the BVI

Pete amd Bethany at Cane Garden Bay

Sandra and Doron

Cane Garden Bay BVI

Sailing the BVI

Lynne and I just returned from 10 days sailing the BVI with our good friends Pete Butler, Bethany Smith and Doron and Sandra Paz.  We learned a number of important things about the BVI.  1.  Get to the key snorkeling locations early (before 9 am) if you hope to get a park mooring.  2.  After a short afternoon sail you will end up at your next bar (the kind that serves alcohol, not the one made of sand, unless of course you are a poor navigator).  3.  Everyone sailing the BVI is in a party mood and the partying goes on until the wee hours. 

 

Really - sailing the BVI is like a progressive dinner party, without the dinner, where you sail from bar to bar - and each bar is only about, on average, an hour or two away from each other.  Very little sailing and a lot of cocktails. 

 

Our longest two sailing days were from Virgin Gorda to Anegada (12 miles) and from Anegada to Jost Van Dyke (23 miles).  Neither was very taxing.  Our biggest problem is that we were on a 42 ft Lagoon Hybrid and the power to the electric engines was not very reliable.  As a result, we had to sail a lot more than most other boats.  When we returned to the charter company and told them how poorly the power system worked they asked why we did not give them a call.  We noted that the boat, after all, was a sail boat so we simply put up the sails and eventually got to were we wanted to go. They seemed surprised by that answer.  I guess most people sailing the BVI rely more heavily on the iron sail. 

 

I will be posting pictures of the trip shortly.

At the helm and showing the way home

From left to right Scott, me, Dobrin, Christina and Thomas in front

May 16 to 18 CPM Sail

Above are a few pictures of the Coastal Passage Making cllass/sail I participated in from May 16th to May 18th.

May 9, 2008

Lynne, Doron, Sandra and I sailed over to Pier 32 in San Francisco to watch the fireworks at KFOG's Kaboom. We had a good sail over to Pier 32 after motoring up the estuary. We passed Peter an Bethany in Nanimo as they were returning from a day on the bay. We then sailed south for 5 miles before tacking back towards Pier 32. The anchorage at Pier 32 was full so we went around to McCovey Cove and anchored by the Ball Park. Had a great dinner prepared by Sandra, a few beers and some great tequila collins prepared by Sandra. The fireworks were obscured a bit by the fog, but were great anyway because we were so close. We then motored back in across the bay and down the estuary and got back about 11:30. A great time had by all. I only wished we had taken a few pictures.

Point of interest to sailor's. McCovey cove was a nice place to anchor. Deep mud bottom with plenty of holding power. Only problem is that the mud is like tar when you pull up the anchor. It is very sticky and hard to wash off. What a mess!

View from my office

Not the clearest day, but you can see that I have a view of the south bay and can see how the wind is blowing.

Pictures of May 4, 2008 Sail with Doron