Monday, March 19, 2007
SUNDAY 18 MARCH 07-- ???SUMMER FOG AND WINDS IN MARCH???
What's up with this? Summer-weight fog and winds in March! Stuff that usually waits to happen until sometime in June or July. What is Mother Nature doing? or is this one of the symptoms of global climate change? For the last 5 years or so, summer winds on our bay have been consistently higher in velocity, pervading more of the bay-- not just the 'slot'-- and lasting way longer into the evening than was formerly the case ten or so years ago, to my best recollection.
Anyway, the city was covered in fog when we woke up on Sunday, but it burned off over most of the city in the late morning. Jeff and Pearl arrived around 3 pm to join us for an afternoon and sunset sail, Jeff for the second time, Pearl for the first time, and we headed out and raised single-reefed main and headed down the cityfront, pulling the jib out to full and sailing downwind on starboard tack, broad to beam reach with strong and gusty winds.
KICK BACK was sailing main only off port as we blasted downwind.
We made good headway toward the A-B span of the Bay Bridge, passing piers 35 to 17 quickly, and ahead of us then was a small sailboat that seemed to be moving very slowly since we were rapidly closing the gap between her and us.
Off to starboard, a couple of rowers were rowing with the current to the north on the sparkling bay waters.
A cruising version of the J105 [note the dodger] motorsailed past our starboard side as we arrived in lighter winds after passing the Ferry Building and were just ghosting along.
The charter sloop RUBY sailed past to starboard, sailing with the current and flying full canvas [which Capt Josh may later have regretted when he arrived in the central bay with its much stronger winds].
We managed to find enough puffs of breeze to sail through the A-B span against the ebb current and then fell off to reef the jib, then headed up toward the cityfront before tacking back to the north again, intenting to sail way to the east of Angel Island, and watching this large schooner with only a few tanbark sails flying heading in the same general direction.
A race boat that had probably raced in the St. Francis Yacht Club's spring regatta, was now heading home flying main only and passed to port on the choppy waters of the bay. [A big collection of photos of the regatta by another photographer is available
at this url: http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2094408270&code=27130043&mode=invite&DCMP=isc-email-AlbumInvite
We were making very fast headway to the north, and this sailboat flying full main and reefed jib and sailing on broad reach starboard tack blasted past us to port, headed toward Berkeley.
We took spray over the bow and some into the cockpit as we blasted across the central bay, but then winds softened when we arrived way east of Angel Island, so we pulled the jib out to full for more power, and Jeff took the helm for a while as we sailed toward the east mouth of Raccoon Straits.
For a while it seemed like we would have sufficient wind to take us all the way to Raccoon Straits, but the wind softened to the point that the ebb current was carring us backwards, so we had to motor for a while to find some breeze and finally arrived in a light wind that enabled us to sail into the straits.
After entering the straits, we tacked toward Angel Island and this small sailboat that had come out of Ayala Cove, passed in front of us, heading north.
A few boats were still enjoying the quiet waters of Ayala Cove as we sailed past.
Way off in the south, we could see that the fog had almost completely engulfed the south portion of the GGB.
Approaching Belvedere in light winds we headed into the wind and reefed the jib again in anticipation of strong wind in the central bay, and then sailed to the southeast on a southerly breeze with the ebb current carrying us westward as we sailed along, and eventually we were passed by this sailboat flying full canvas and looking good!
That sailboat soon after tacked back toward Sausalito as we continued on into the central bay in winds building in velocity, so we started tacking toward the headlands and then to the south to stay in the more moderate winds as we watched the sun sink into the fog bank over the Marin Headlands.
The sun created some dramatic light patterns on the top edges of the fog bank as we continued beating toward the gate.
As we sailed past Horseshoe Cove, the north tower of the GGB was now partially engulfed in fog and winds were surprisingly moderate as we tacked toward Horseshoe Cove a bit later.
As we sailed to the west, past the marina at Horseshoe Cove, the fog bank was obscuring the rolling Marin Headlands above the cove and pouring its misty and mysterious self down the hillsides.
As we tacked to sail parallel to the gate and passed the north tower, she was given a sun-bleached fog halo.
We soon tacked and ducked out the gate in strong winds, and then quickly came about to head back toward home port, pulling out the jib to full for downwind power, and observing that the fog horns were not blowing as they usually are. We hadn't gone more than a quarter mile away from the gate, when the fog horns started blaring, and I took a short video clip of the fog over the gate and headlands, which you can find on youtube.com at this url: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZgq7lhRjmA
About a mile inside the gate, we were enveloped in the fog and could only see about 400 yards around the boat with no shore features in sight, but we sailed to compass east, knowing that that would take us to the cityfront and visible features on shore eventually, and soon we were able to see Fort Mason piers ahead, and then we passed Aquatic Park with city lights brigtening in the mist.
The financial district buildings usually visible, and Coit Tower, had been swallowed up by the mist as we approached home port, sailing direct downwind after pulling in the jib, so we could do that and avoid having to gybe a couple of times in the strong winds that had shifted from the SW into the west.
We sailed into the lee of pier 35 to douse the main and ready ANTICIPATION for landing, motoring into the marina and landing about 8 pm. A nice, though sometimes challenging outing on what seemed like a mid-summer July day, not a late-winter day in mid-march.
What's up with this? Summer-weight fog and winds in March! Stuff that usually waits to happen until sometime in June or July. What is Mother Nature doing? or is this one of the symptoms of global climate change? For the last 5 years or so, summer winds on our bay have been consistently higher in velocity, pervading more of the bay-- not just the 'slot'-- and lasting way longer into the evening than was formerly the case ten or so years ago, to my best recollection.
Anyway, the city was covered in fog when we woke up on Sunday, but it burned off over most of the city in the late morning. Jeff and Pearl arrived around 3 pm to join us for an afternoon and sunset sail, Jeff for the second time, Pearl for the first time, and we headed out and raised single-reefed main and headed down the cityfront, pulling the jib out to full and sailing downwind on starboard tack, broad to beam reach with strong and gusty winds.
KICK BACK was sailing main only off port as we blasted downwind.
We made good headway toward the A-B span of the Bay Bridge, passing piers 35 to 17 quickly, and ahead of us then was a small sailboat that seemed to be moving very slowly since we were rapidly closing the gap between her and us.
Off to starboard, a couple of rowers were rowing with the current to the north on the sparkling bay waters.
A cruising version of the J105 [note the dodger] motorsailed past our starboard side as we arrived in lighter winds after passing the Ferry Building and were just ghosting along.
The charter sloop RUBY sailed past to starboard, sailing with the current and flying full canvas [which Capt Josh may later have regretted when he arrived in the central bay with its much stronger winds].
We managed to find enough puffs of breeze to sail through the A-B span against the ebb current and then fell off to reef the jib, then headed up toward the cityfront before tacking back to the north again, intenting to sail way to the east of Angel Island, and watching this large schooner with only a few tanbark sails flying heading in the same general direction.
A race boat that had probably raced in the St. Francis Yacht Club's spring regatta, was now heading home flying main only and passed to port on the choppy waters of the bay. [A big collection of photos of the regatta by another photographer is available
at this url: http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2094408270&code=27130043&mode=invite&DCMP=isc-email-AlbumInvite
We were making very fast headway to the north, and this sailboat flying full main and reefed jib and sailing on broad reach starboard tack blasted past us to port, headed toward Berkeley.
We took spray over the bow and some into the cockpit as we blasted across the central bay, but then winds softened when we arrived way east of Angel Island, so we pulled the jib out to full for more power, and Jeff took the helm for a while as we sailed toward the east mouth of Raccoon Straits.
For a while it seemed like we would have sufficient wind to take us all the way to Raccoon Straits, but the wind softened to the point that the ebb current was carring us backwards, so we had to motor for a while to find some breeze and finally arrived in a light wind that enabled us to sail into the straits.
After entering the straits, we tacked toward Angel Island and this small sailboat that had come out of Ayala Cove, passed in front of us, heading north.
A few boats were still enjoying the quiet waters of Ayala Cove as we sailed past.
Way off in the south, we could see that the fog had almost completely engulfed the south portion of the GGB.
Approaching Belvedere in light winds we headed into the wind and reefed the jib again in anticipation of strong wind in the central bay, and then sailed to the southeast on a southerly breeze with the ebb current carrying us westward as we sailed along, and eventually we were passed by this sailboat flying full canvas and looking good!
That sailboat soon after tacked back toward Sausalito as we continued on into the central bay in winds building in velocity, so we started tacking toward the headlands and then to the south to stay in the more moderate winds as we watched the sun sink into the fog bank over the Marin Headlands.
The sun created some dramatic light patterns on the top edges of the fog bank as we continued beating toward the gate.
As we sailed past Horseshoe Cove, the north tower of the GGB was now partially engulfed in fog and winds were surprisingly moderate as we tacked toward Horseshoe Cove a bit later.
As we sailed to the west, past the marina at Horseshoe Cove, the fog bank was obscuring the rolling Marin Headlands above the cove and pouring its misty and mysterious self down the hillsides.
As we tacked to sail parallel to the gate and passed the north tower, she was given a sun-bleached fog halo.
We soon tacked and ducked out the gate in strong winds, and then quickly came about to head back toward home port, pulling out the jib to full for downwind power, and observing that the fog horns were not blowing as they usually are. We hadn't gone more than a quarter mile away from the gate, when the fog horns started blaring, and I took a short video clip of the fog over the gate and headlands, which you can find on youtube.com at this url: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZgq7lhRjmA
About a mile inside the gate, we were enveloped in the fog and could only see about 400 yards around the boat with no shore features in sight, but we sailed to compass east, knowing that that would take us to the cityfront and visible features on shore eventually, and soon we were able to see Fort Mason piers ahead, and then we passed Aquatic Park with city lights brigtening in the mist.
The financial district buildings usually visible, and Coit Tower, had been swallowed up by the mist as we approached home port, sailing direct downwind after pulling in the jib, so we could do that and avoid having to gybe a couple of times in the strong winds that had shifted from the SW into the west.
We sailed into the lee of pier 35 to douse the main and ready ANTICIPATION for landing, motoring into the marina and landing about 8 pm. A nice, though sometimes challenging outing on what seemed like a mid-summer July day, not a late-winter day in mid-march.
# posted by charlie bergstedt @ 9:39 PM 
