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| Shannon in Bodega Bay |
Bodega Bay was very nice, and we had lots of great (long) walks… but it was time to go. The locals call it Blowdega Bay and, indeed, with the winds that come up every afternoon (25+) one could be forgiven for getting ‘stuck’ there. So, having checked the tides, the weather forecast, and the ‘goings on’ at the Golden Gate Bridge… we headed out of town at 0500 hrs.
For the first time in days there was no fog that morning; neither was there much wind (and it was on the nose) but lots of warm sunshine as we motor-sailed down the coast. While the fog was always on the horizon for once it stayed there and we enjoyed a clear, sunny transit all the way from Bodega Bay to Alameda. We passed by Drakes Bay. We were warned about anchoring there if a south wind is blowing and there was one forcast. Also we had already planned to head all the way in if we could.
Having travelled down Bonita Channel, dodging fishing boats and minding the bouys, we turned left and were greeted with the vision of the Golden Gate Bridge… clear as a bell. Every cruising guide warns you to be very mindful of the traffic lanes and ships coming and going from San Francisco Bay as well as the volumes of water pouring in and out as the tide floods and ebbs. We were very proper on our approach and after one large ship passed us on their way out, we looked ahead to see dozens of sailing vessels of all shapes and sizes sailing everywhere on the Bay. They were crossing the channels back and forth, and there were also several small passenger ferries scuttling back and forth across the Bay between Alcatraz and other such islands. It was chaos to say the least. Luckily there were no other large ships trying to arrive or leave. The wind was finally up but we were far too busy taking photos of each other with the bridge in the background to think about hoisting sail.
.... and so, we motored across the Bay ducking around and giving way to all the sailing boats (even an America’s Cup boat)… At one point one of the passenger ferries was aiming right for us and I called Kathy up to be witness to what was going to be a very close call (we had the right of way). Luckily I didn’t give him the ‘not so friendly’ wave as when he got closer, the Captain came on the PA system to point us out to his passengers and welcome us to San Francisco…! Then he slid by our stern… only to be replaced by a fellow on his kite board ripping across the Bay. He got so close, he actually put his kite over top of our mast and managed to miss our radar arch and stern at the same time… quite hairy really!!
Having survived crossing San Francisco Bay, we wound our way under the Oakland Bridge and up the Oakland/Alameda Estuary for about 3 miles to find our pre-arranged slip. We had chosen Alameda as our first port of call as we hoped to re-connect with a woman I had met several times in the past. Nancy Erley has twice circumnavigated our planet on her sailboat. She’s also an instructor, teacher (there is a difference) and speaker, and she’s currently doing some yacht brokering in the Alameda area. It was great to see her again and we spent some very enjoyable time together talking about boats and off-shore sailing and ways to improve Shannon’s rigging design (seems I’m finally old enough to warrant some lines run aft to the cockpit) :-)
After 3 days exploring Alameda on foot and by bus we decided to get closer to the Bridge in preparation for continuing our journey south, and on September 22nd we slipped our lines in Alameda and had a vigorous sail across San Francisco Bay to Sausalito. We arrived at our new marina (Schoonmaker Marina) in Sausalito at 1500 hrs. and were greeted by two other Canadian boats, both members of our fleet. Sea Reach, Night Sky and Shannon are all lined up along the outside of F dock with a great view of the Bay. The Bay is covered with a thick, tall, layer of fog while we sit here in brilliant sunshine with a swimming beach as part of the marina.. great fun.
Just to keep us on our toes, the heads hoses are acting up :-( so I must leave you now and don my ‘plumbing role’… luckily West Marine isn’t too far away as the handle has also snapped off the Y valve…. Oh well, isn’t that what cruising is all about… working on your boat in exotic places… Bye for now… CJ
