Sailing on San Francisco Bay

We had a very pleasant, albeit short sailing trip today. I had to be back in The City for a birthday party in the evening, so we were only out from about 12:30pm to 4:30pm. Before sailing we stopped at the engine place for replacement screws for the water pump since one fell into the blige and got lost when we replaced the impeller. They happened to be out of the exact correct ones, so we got the screw’s size and fasioned a temporary fix by adding a bunch of washers to one that was longer than we needed. No leaks, worked great.

It was sort of the “usual” short day out of Alameda: motored out the estuary, sailed toward Hunter’s Point, then toward SF, then alongside the Bay Bridge and back toward Alemeda. There was a lot of traffic in all directions; big ships, barges, dredges, etc. On the way back in we passed close to the “Commander’s House” on Yerba Buena Island.

The group today was Linhy, Peggy, Steve and Mark (aka Steve’s Dad). They did most of the driving while I relaxed on the cabin top (and kept an eye out for any oncoming craft, of course). Oh yeah, the Vietnamese sandwiches are always a good choice; today they were extra fresh. Thanks guys!

The winds were mild so we had decent sailing without straining anything too hard or having to reef. It was really warm and sunny on the water; we could see the fog rolling over the pink triangle on Twin Peaks above San Francisco.

The sailing today with Karen, Kathleen and John was great! We left the estuary and sailed around Alcatraz, toward Sausalito and toward the Gate, then down the Cityfront and back.

Awhile back I had re-rigged the second reef line, so today we tested it out by double reefing for our sailing in The Slot. The boat was well balanced, as expected; it was so manageable that it wasn’t until we were tacking near Harding Rock and the jib whipped around furiously, that I got some perspective about how much mainsail area was reduced. My only real complaint is it takes some work to get that reef put in well, so it’s hard to set it up once we are already underway.

I was obviously pleased with the sails and boat behavior, and the camraderie and conversation with this group seemed especially great too.

I think I need a thesaurus so I can come up with better adjectives than “great.”

We had a great sailing day today. I can’t believe how few times this year have been sailing days, but now that the summer weather and wind seem to have set it, I’m hoping to get out there much more often.

We left Alameda around noon. On the previous trip the engine had been running a little hot, so I replaced the thermostat. Today it was still running hot and the water flow from the exhaust was anemic. We pulled in to Fortmann and replaced the impeller in the water pump (and added a bit of transmission oil). Once that was done and we ran the engine for a bit, water flow came back to normal and so did the temperature.

We motored most of the way out of the Estuary. We saw a sailboat tack right in front of a moving barge, which was really scary to watch. The sailboat missed the barge by about 20 feet. We were reminded by another sailboat that there are folks out there who don’t know the basic navigation rules and are a menance to themselves and others!

The wind was moderate to high; we sailed all day with a reef in the main, out of Alameda, across the bay toward Hunter’s Point, back up toward the baseball park in San Francisco and to the Bay Bridge before heading back. Steph, Linhy and Steve and I enjoyed a clear and gorgeous day out there!

Steph got a great picture of the classic wooden schooner Dauntless a few moments before it passed us like we were standing still (we weren’t!):

I’m planning to sail next Saturday. Email me if you’d like to go.

Had a nice first sail of 2006 today with Maeve and Steve. There was a light breeze blowing so we put the sails up pretty soon after leaving the dock. It never filled in much, so we spent the afternoon in light air, sailing past Jack London Square and back, tacking close hauled both ways as the wind changed directions. The weather was warm, for this time of the year, and the sun was out. Not a bad way to start out the year in my opinion.

Tried to sail with Steve C, but the wind didn’t fill in at all. Motored around the estuary a couple laps, which was good for the engine. Took some pictures after the sun went down.

Springtime has been blooming here in the bay area, which means I have been getting in to the new sailing season! Two weeks ago I took the boat out with Tom P, Tania and Lisa. We motored out of the “estuary” and sailed over toward SBC Park and the SF cityfront, then around TI and back.

This week Cathy C and I headed out for “Opening Day on the Bay.” We mostly motored around the estuary. The weather was indecisive when we left in the early afternoon, but got progessively better. We were not out too long, but enjoyed the wind and water, and seeing the many boats out to celebrate the start of the season.

Mon, Apr. 25th, 2005, 08:19 pm

So the sailing today was a perfect day… until about 3:30pm, when the wind picked up to 25 knots, with gusts up to 31 knots, according to the weather radio. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Early on, there was a little breeze, but the wind wasn’t picking up yet. We motored toward TI, then under the bay bridge on the Oakland side. Kept motoring past a big container ship coming in to Oakland, and toward the bay bridge on the San Francisco side. The breeze started to fill, so we put up the sails and slowly started sailing, eventually passing under the bridge and tacking toward the SF cityfront. The company was great. Cindy, Cathy, Ilyse, Nicole and I laughed and talked and had a great time.

By now we were getting some moderate wind, and tacking up toward the back side of Alcatraz. Some unprepared fools crossed in front of us when we had the right of way, so we all yelled to get their attention and they turned and passed within mere feet us! Whew!

The Alma went by under full sail, an ipressive sight, so we tacked back and sailed alongside them for awhile. We tacked back toward Alcatraz and tailed a boat called Resolution. We were catching up and were close to passing them when a huge wind shift threw us off. Resolution found their way through it much better than we did, so we lost our chance to catch up (their slip is just down the dock from mine, so I stopped by to say hello after we got back).

That was the point we turned back toward Emeryvile. What normally would be an easy downhill broad reach turned in to an uphill climb as the wind clocked around and stared blowing like mad from the Northeast. We sailed past the north tip of Treasure Island, then let the sails loose to haul them in. The jib rolled up with help from the winch. The main was much more difficult; by now we were fighting wind and waves under engine power. I tethered myself to the boat and hauled the main in while Nicole did her best to keep Amelia head to wind. The Coast Gaurd motored past us, but must have figured we were under control since they just kept going.

I kind of hate it when conditions get crazy like that, but at least it’s good practice. We got everything put away. The trip back to Emeryville was somewhat tortuous, since we were still fighting wind, waves, and a bit of current, mostly under power. The radio was squaking with other boats calling Vessel Assist or the Coast Guard for assistance.

We finally got back in, put the boat away, cleaned up and headed to Trader Vic’s for some appetizers. Cindy gave me a ride back to SF. I am, suffice to say, exhausted.

Sat, Nov. 20th, 2004, 08:54 pm

It’s 10:50am. The sun is shining, there’s a hint of the oncoming breeze. The engine is warming up, the topsides have been scrubbed down and the interior has been tidied up. Cathy, Cindy, Nicole and her friend will be here in a few minutes. We’re heading out on what appears to be a perfect day in the middle of November.

This morning I stopped by my workplace to retrieve my phone, then stopped at the market for some lunch items. It’s a nice place here, with the water surrounding this little peninsula. I like Saturday mornings when things feel calm compared to the weekdays.

The goal for the weekend, as usual, is to relax and offload the stress from the week.

Time to get out on the water….

Sat, Nov. 20th, 2004, 10:50 am

Last weekend I went sailing with Reid and Cindy. We had a great sail from Emeryville, around TI, around Alcatraz and down the Cityfront while the Fleet Week air show was happening directly above us. The Blue Angels did not attend, but the Canadian Snowbirds were pretty damn impressive. And loud.

Tue, Oct. 19th, 2004, 01:53 pm

Today we (Mike S, Cathy, John) sailed from Richmond to the SF Cityfront, up West of Alcatraz, over toward Angel Island, and then back behind AI to get home. We were reefed most of the day, then the wind seemed to die out. We shook out the reef, but then the wind came back with a vengeance. We were overpowered, so we put the reef back in the main. But, it was pounding wind so we ended up taking down the jib and motorsailing with the reefed main the last couple miles.

While I didn’t get to sail very much this month, last month I managed to sail about seven times. Not too shabby.

Sun, Jun. 27th, 2004, 12:07 am