Sailing on San Francisco Bay

The sailboat half a mile ahead of us is heeled way over, mast bouncing up and down in the gusts. I let the mainsheet way out, and climb up to the windward side. Carefully, I crawl to the mast and wrap my legs around it, to hold on and still use my hands.

Ahead of us the whitecaps are building a little, and gusts show their progress as moving wrinkles across the waves. I look forward as a gust comes across the bow. It’s a strange feeling, hanging on. The rail is in the water, and we’re still moving despite the loosened main. A shudder goes through the boat, but she’s hanging on, staying on her feet. It probably feels more ferocious than it really is.

Ease the halyard, lessen sail area, complete the reef. Crawl back and trim the sails. She leaps to her feet and bolts across the slot. I quietly hope the wind doesn’t get too much stronger.

Mon, Sep. 8th, 2003, 10:27 pm

Saturday I went sailing with Cathy and Alexia. We sailed to SF, and called South Beach on the radio to see if there was space to dock for lunch. They were full, but suggested we try Pier 38. I didn’t even know they had dockage available, but sure enough they had space for us. It was pretty obvious the harbormaster just made up a rate, so I figure next time I can pull in there and haggle a deal. This may be my little “local knowledge” trick from now on.

We took a cab up to the Fog City Diner and Cathy treated us to lunch. Then we took the F-line trolley down the Embarcadero, and transfered to the N-Judah to get back to Pier 38. So many forms of transportation in one day!

After we pulled away from the Cityfront, the wind picked up quite a bit, so I climbed forward as the boat was struggling to stay on her feet, and reefed the main. That made things much for bearable, and we had a fast sail across the slot. By the time we got back, the sun was setting. We motored in to the marina after dark, quickly put things away, and I headed back to SF.

This week I need to replace a floorboard that broke on the boat, and replace the bulb in the stern light.

Sun, Sep. 7th, 2003, 10:22 pm

Met up with Cathy and Reid this morning. They were on time, Kristy and Laura did not show up or call. We waited half an hour for the, then headed out.

There was a pretty good flood tide, and not a lot of wind behind Tiburon. We spent a frustrating couple hours make no progress against the current. I finally turned on the engine and motored to Racoon Strait. Once there we had plenty of wind. I turned the helm over to Reid, who is quite experienced, and a very good sailor. What a hoot! We made our way around AI, did a high-wind chicken gybe, and headed home.

Mon, Sep. 1st, 2003, 11:36 pm