Tuesday, February 20, 2007
MONDAY 19 FEB. 07-- SENSATIONAL OUTING TO GGB AND BACK
We arrived back at ANTICIPATION from a city hike to the Warming Hut just inside the GGB and back, with some shopping at the local Trader Joe's, to find a group of people standing around and watching the antics of a sea otter that came to visit us all the way from Monterrey. The otter had tags on both of its flippered feet and a bulge in its stomach that was a radio transmitter. It was causing quite a sensation with the marina office personnel and the neighbors on E dock.
Here is the otter playing with some small fenders that were dangled at it from the dock.
Maya later joined us for our afternoon outing, and we left port about 2:45 pm with a nice westerly wind blowing.
We put up a full main and pulled out a small jib and headed out into the central bay, watching SATINY WIND sailing eastward under jib only.
After tacking out a ways to the west, we tacked and sailed toward the lee of pier 45, and watching this cutter-rigged sailboat sailing eastward, doing wing and wing.
We passed in front of this sloop also doing wing and wing.
As we tacked away from the lee of pier 45, the city receding behind us was gleaming in the mid-afternoon sunshine.
Off to starboard, a large sailboat was blasting downwind past the south shore of Alcatraz.
We continued sailing westward on the strong southwest breeze, watching these two sailboats returning from the gate.
This large sailboat crossed in front of us, sailing across the gate.
The wind softened and shifted more into the west, so we tacked and sailed toward the south, passing this nice looking sailboat sailing eastward.
Soon we were sailing in a stronger breeze and gliding over building ocean swells while enjoying the view of the GGB gleaming in the afternoon sunshine.
As we sailed out just inside the south tower, we watched this kite surfer playing around outside the gate and dwarfed by the structure of the south tower. First time we've seen any windsurfers or kite-surfers this year.
We sailed out a short distance in building ocean swells and then tacked to sail across the gate for a rendezvous with these two race boats returning from the ocean.
As they approached, we fell off to head back inside the gate on broad reach port tack, still flying just the small jib, so both race boats were soon passing us, flying full canvas.
DIANGO gybed onto starboard tack....
....and headed across the gate, as we and the other race boat continued to fight the strong ebb current to make progress toward the gate, surfing from time to time on the large ocean swells.
We had to concentrate on steering with the big seas that we were sailing through, so had little time to to enjoy the views of the magnificent Marin Headlands.
A tourist helicopter shot under the GGB as we slowly approached.
Even with their full canvas, this race boat, which had also gybed earlier, was not very far ahead of us in our fight to reach the gate against the strong ebb current.
DIANGO was just passing us again after gybing onto port tack again.
And soon, she gybed onto starboard tack again.
We pulled out the jib to full for more power and finally were about to make it under the GGB as we watched this sailboat off port motorsailing into the bay.
We were finally inside the bay, after fighting our way for about an hour-- time enough for the tourist helicopter to return with another load of tourists for a duck under the GGB.
After sailing to the north on port tack for a while, we gybed and headed southeast on starboard tack broad reach, watching this beautiful and very large sailboat cross in front of us, heading southeast.
This one of three or four kite-surfers still out on the bay blasted toward us from our starboard side.
The breeze earlier had softened and gave us a bit of a fright that we might end up having to motor against the strong ebb, but the breeze freshened in the south half of the bay, and soon we were making good headway toward home port and enjoying views of the city in the late afternoon sunshine.
As we approached Aquatic Park, this Catalina was approaching from the west.
We pulled in the jib to sail the rest of the way on main only and still managed to pass the Catalina, and then watched this herring boat head out for an evening of fishing.
That Catalina eventually turned on its engine and passed us, motorsailing, as we sailed toward home port in the now-softening breeze, while enjoying views of the city as sundown neared.
We put on fenders as we sailed along, and after passing the east marina seawall and approaching pier 35, we came into the wind to douse the main and then to tie it up while coasting toward the marina entrance. We had to power through a bit of shallowness with keel dragging in the mud a slight bit to get into our slip with quite a bit of surge banging the boats around. It was a very nice outing, with some exciting sailing outside the gate and some peaceful sailing to and from the gate. It felt great to have been out sailing the last three days in a row, especially after not being able to go out on Thursday due to no wind coming up soon enough.
We arrived back at ANTICIPATION from a city hike to the Warming Hut just inside the GGB and back, with some shopping at the local Trader Joe's, to find a group of people standing around and watching the antics of a sea otter that came to visit us all the way from Monterrey. The otter had tags on both of its flippered feet and a bulge in its stomach that was a radio transmitter. It was causing quite a sensation with the marina office personnel and the neighbors on E dock.
Here is the otter playing with some small fenders that were dangled at it from the dock.
Maya later joined us for our afternoon outing, and we left port about 2:45 pm with a nice westerly wind blowing.
We put up a full main and pulled out a small jib and headed out into the central bay, watching SATINY WIND sailing eastward under jib only.
After tacking out a ways to the west, we tacked and sailed toward the lee of pier 45, and watching this cutter-rigged sailboat sailing eastward, doing wing and wing.
We passed in front of this sloop also doing wing and wing.
As we tacked away from the lee of pier 45, the city receding behind us was gleaming in the mid-afternoon sunshine.
Off to starboard, a large sailboat was blasting downwind past the south shore of Alcatraz.
We continued sailing westward on the strong southwest breeze, watching these two sailboats returning from the gate.
This large sailboat crossed in front of us, sailing across the gate.
The wind softened and shifted more into the west, so we tacked and sailed toward the south, passing this nice looking sailboat sailing eastward.
Soon we were sailing in a stronger breeze and gliding over building ocean swells while enjoying the view of the GGB gleaming in the afternoon sunshine.
As we sailed out just inside the south tower, we watched this kite surfer playing around outside the gate and dwarfed by the structure of the south tower. First time we've seen any windsurfers or kite-surfers this year.
We sailed out a short distance in building ocean swells and then tacked to sail across the gate for a rendezvous with these two race boats returning from the ocean.
As they approached, we fell off to head back inside the gate on broad reach port tack, still flying just the small jib, so both race boats were soon passing us, flying full canvas.
DIANGO gybed onto starboard tack....
....and headed across the gate, as we and the other race boat continued to fight the strong ebb current to make progress toward the gate, surfing from time to time on the large ocean swells.
We had to concentrate on steering with the big seas that we were sailing through, so had little time to to enjoy the views of the magnificent Marin Headlands.
A tourist helicopter shot under the GGB as we slowly approached.
Even with their full canvas, this race boat, which had also gybed earlier, was not very far ahead of us in our fight to reach the gate against the strong ebb current.
DIANGO was just passing us again after gybing onto port tack again.
And soon, she gybed onto starboard tack again.
We pulled out the jib to full for more power and finally were about to make it under the GGB as we watched this sailboat off port motorsailing into the bay.
We were finally inside the bay, after fighting our way for about an hour-- time enough for the tourist helicopter to return with another load of tourists for a duck under the GGB.
After sailing to the north on port tack for a while, we gybed and headed southeast on starboard tack broad reach, watching this beautiful and very large sailboat cross in front of us, heading southeast.
This one of three or four kite-surfers still out on the bay blasted toward us from our starboard side.
The breeze earlier had softened and gave us a bit of a fright that we might end up having to motor against the strong ebb, but the breeze freshened in the south half of the bay, and soon we were making good headway toward home port and enjoying views of the city in the late afternoon sunshine.
As we approached Aquatic Park, this Catalina was approaching from the west.
We pulled in the jib to sail the rest of the way on main only and still managed to pass the Catalina, and then watched this herring boat head out for an evening of fishing.
That Catalina eventually turned on its engine and passed us, motorsailing, as we sailed toward home port in the now-softening breeze, while enjoying views of the city as sundown neared.
We put on fenders as we sailed along, and after passing the east marina seawall and approaching pier 35, we came into the wind to douse the main and then to tie it up while coasting toward the marina entrance. We had to power through a bit of shallowness with keel dragging in the mud a slight bit to get into our slip with quite a bit of surge banging the boats around. It was a very nice outing, with some exciting sailing outside the gate and some peaceful sailing to and from the gate. It felt great to have been out sailing the last three days in a row, especially after not being able to go out on Thursday due to no wind coming up soon enough.
# posted by charlie bergstedt @ 12:41 PM 
