Wednesday, May 23, 2007
SATURDAY 19 MAY 07-- SAIL TO GATE AND BACK IN VARIABLE WINDS
After Bob's Last Sail on Friday, I was feeling a little bit melancholy during the day on Saturday. Olivier came over for a chat in the early afternoon and we talked about going out in the late afternoon and buddy boating to the gate.
We left port about 5:45 and raised double-reefed main and headed out into the central bay where the winds were blowing at about 15-20 knots.
We sailed around under main only to wait for Olivier and Brooke to come out on Corto Maltese, an Ericson 34, and meanwhile this Catalina 34 passed in front of us, heading west and looking good!
The flags on the end of pier 39 were fluttering aggressively in the early evening breeze.
We watched Adventure Cat2 head out for its sunset sail, and also PRIVATEER
heading out, and you can watch this brief video of PRIVATEER if you care to do so.
A while later, we pulled out some jib and then sailed back toward the marina entrance. When we arrived there, we saw Tim on CHEWINK sailing out for an evening sail.
A bit later, we spied Corto Maltese heading out behind CHEWINK, and prepared to come about and sail out again with her.
Brooke was at the helm and Olivier was relaxing as we sailed westward.
Check out this video clip of Corto Maltese, first sailing off port and then behind us off starboard-- some great sailing conditions, banging through some wind waves.
We managed to stay close with Corto Maltese for a while, then they pulled ahead and we let out some more jib to catch up, and eventually had to reduce sail again by falling off to dead downwind, so we got separated from them.
When we were about a mile inside the gate, the breeze started to soften dramatically, so we pulled out the jib to full again and continued westward, watching this small catamaran sailing back downwind from the gate with full canvas, with some cormorants flying past.
Behind us a lovely large sailboat flying full canvas was sailing directly across the bay on a beam reach.....
...followed by another nice sailboat on the same course.
Just outside the gate, a lovely cutter rigged ketch was sailing parallel to the bridge and enjoying the soft breezes.
As the breeze continued to soften, we shook the double reef out of the main as we were approaching Horseshoe Cove and found ourselved beseiged by some rather large ocean swells-- unusual for this time of year. When we tacked to sail parallel to the gate, we were climbing and falling in the swells quite dramatically.
We sailed almost to midspan and then tacked and headed out the gate, and soon saw Adventure Cat sailing out the gate under main only--- check on this short video clip.
We soon came about and headed back inside, taking another video clip as we sailed under the GGB in rolling ocean swells.
As we headed toward home port on broad reach starboard tack, we saw this Ranger 23 sailboat heading our way.....
...and then tacking to head toward the gate.
Behind us a little bit of sunset color started to develop on the clouds behind the gate and over the Marin Headlands.
The garrish-looking San Francisco Belle steamed past to port, heading for the gate.
Some brilliant sunset pinks and purples developed in the west as we continued on toward home port in freshening breezes.
When we arrived in home port, after dousing the sails in the lee of pier 35, the planet Venus was hanging below the moon like a diamond dangling on a string from the moon's edge--- very beautiful-- check out the short video.
It was about 9:30 pm when we arrived home-- happy to have an outing in wind conditions more like we experience back 5 or more years ago, when the breeze almost always softened after 6 or 7 pm, instead of continuing to howl at 15-20 knots or more well into the evening.
After Bob's Last Sail on Friday, I was feeling a little bit melancholy during the day on Saturday. Olivier came over for a chat in the early afternoon and we talked about going out in the late afternoon and buddy boating to the gate.
We left port about 5:45 and raised double-reefed main and headed out into the central bay where the winds were blowing at about 15-20 knots.
We sailed around under main only to wait for Olivier and Brooke to come out on Corto Maltese, an Ericson 34, and meanwhile this Catalina 34 passed in front of us, heading west and looking good!
The flags on the end of pier 39 were fluttering aggressively in the early evening breeze.
We watched Adventure Cat2 head out for its sunset sail, and also PRIVATEER
heading out, and you can watch this brief video of PRIVATEER if you care to do so.
A while later, we pulled out some jib and then sailed back toward the marina entrance. When we arrived there, we saw Tim on CHEWINK sailing out for an evening sail.
A bit later, we spied Corto Maltese heading out behind CHEWINK, and prepared to come about and sail out again with her.
Brooke was at the helm and Olivier was relaxing as we sailed westward.
Check out this video clip of Corto Maltese, first sailing off port and then behind us off starboard-- some great sailing conditions, banging through some wind waves.
We managed to stay close with Corto Maltese for a while, then they pulled ahead and we let out some more jib to catch up, and eventually had to reduce sail again by falling off to dead downwind, so we got separated from them.
When we were about a mile inside the gate, the breeze started to soften dramatically, so we pulled out the jib to full again and continued westward, watching this small catamaran sailing back downwind from the gate with full canvas, with some cormorants flying past.
Behind us a lovely large sailboat flying full canvas was sailing directly across the bay on a beam reach.....
...followed by another nice sailboat on the same course.
Just outside the gate, a lovely cutter rigged ketch was sailing parallel to the bridge and enjoying the soft breezes.
As the breeze continued to soften, we shook the double reef out of the main as we were approaching Horseshoe Cove and found ourselved beseiged by some rather large ocean swells-- unusual for this time of year. When we tacked to sail parallel to the gate, we were climbing and falling in the swells quite dramatically.
We sailed almost to midspan and then tacked and headed out the gate, and soon saw Adventure Cat sailing out the gate under main only--- check on this short video clip.
We soon came about and headed back inside, taking another video clip as we sailed under the GGB in rolling ocean swells.
As we headed toward home port on broad reach starboard tack, we saw this Ranger 23 sailboat heading our way.....
...and then tacking to head toward the gate.
Behind us a little bit of sunset color started to develop on the clouds behind the gate and over the Marin Headlands.
The garrish-looking San Francisco Belle steamed past to port, heading for the gate.
Some brilliant sunset pinks and purples developed in the west as we continued on toward home port in freshening breezes.
When we arrived in home port, after dousing the sails in the lee of pier 35, the planet Venus was hanging below the moon like a diamond dangling on a string from the moon's edge--- very beautiful-- check out the short video.
It was about 9:30 pm when we arrived home-- happy to have an outing in wind conditions more like we experience back 5 or more years ago, when the breeze almost always softened after 6 or 7 pm, instead of continuing to howl at 15-20 knots or more well into the evening.
# posted by charlie bergstedt @ 10:54 AM 
