Tuesday, November 27, 2007
TUESDAY, 27 NOV. 07-- OUTING TO BAY BRIDGE AND BACK
Over the weekend, the breeze was either very light or non-existent, and afternoon currents were very strong, so getting out there was not an attractive proposition and we stayed in port. Same on Monday, but today a light northerly was blowing in the early afternoon so we decided to head out and hope to get in a little bit of sailing anyway.
Only a couple of knots of wind were blowing when we left port about 1:15 pm.
We headed out into the central bay and then pointed our course toward the D-E span of the Bay Bridge, hoping to sail around Treasure Island, and this Coast Guard patrol boat was headed in that same direction.
The city was locked in haze...
...and, while Alcatraz was enjoying some sunshine, Mt. Tam in the distiance was barely visibile in the haze.
Up in the north of us, a sailboat was heading eastward, toward the north side of Treasure Island.
The Naval Museum on Treasure Island was looking pretty clear as we ghosted along with a waning flood current assist.
Behind us, Telegraph Hill was hazed out, but we now started to experience a freshening northerly of 7-10 knots and began to make some serious headway toward the D-E span.
We spotted a couple of sailboats south of the Bay Bridge, one heading east and the other heading north.
We sailed under the D-E span and enjoyed a distant view of the beautiful lightouse on the south end of Yerba Buena Island.
The breeze south of the Bay Bridge was insufficient to give us any headway toward rounding the south end of Yerba Buena, especially since the ebb current had started, so we headed back toward the D-E span, after this tug siddled up to us and advised that a freighter was coming inbound though we couldn't see any at that time.
After passing under the D-E span again, we sailed parallel to the bridge with the waxing ebb current tending to drag us norhtward, and eventually we were approaching the SF shoreline with the Bay Bridge gleaming behind us.
We tacked back to the north after approaching the Ferry Building.
Behind us, the ferry DEL NORTE was blasting her way toward the Ferry Building terminal.
That freighter that the tug crew member warned us about was just ghosting toward the D-E span as we sailed past pier 23.....
...and she was followed by another freighter, also just ghosting eastward. We later saw another freighter heading out of the Port of Oakland and steaming through the D-E span and surmised that these two freighters were waiting for that one to get out of their way before proceeding.
Out in the west, a sailboat was sailing downwind against the now strong ebb current, and probably making very little headway.
We sailed into the lee of pier 35 to douse sail and ready for landing, them motored around the pier, encountering this rower on the west side of the pier. He was rowing eastward against the current.
We motored into port and landed fine with the strong ebb current flowing, happy to have been able to enjoy a few hours of fall sailing with at least some wind to propel us around a small part of the bay.
Over the weekend, the breeze was either very light or non-existent, and afternoon currents were very strong, so getting out there was not an attractive proposition and we stayed in port. Same on Monday, but today a light northerly was blowing in the early afternoon so we decided to head out and hope to get in a little bit of sailing anyway.
Only a couple of knots of wind were blowing when we left port about 1:15 pm.
We headed out into the central bay and then pointed our course toward the D-E span of the Bay Bridge, hoping to sail around Treasure Island, and this Coast Guard patrol boat was headed in that same direction.
The city was locked in haze...
...and, while Alcatraz was enjoying some sunshine, Mt. Tam in the distiance was barely visibile in the haze.
Up in the north of us, a sailboat was heading eastward, toward the north side of Treasure Island.
The Naval Museum on Treasure Island was looking pretty clear as we ghosted along with a waning flood current assist.
Behind us, Telegraph Hill was hazed out, but we now started to experience a freshening northerly of 7-10 knots and began to make some serious headway toward the D-E span.
We spotted a couple of sailboats south of the Bay Bridge, one heading east and the other heading north.
We sailed under the D-E span and enjoyed a distant view of the beautiful lightouse on the south end of Yerba Buena Island.
The breeze south of the Bay Bridge was insufficient to give us any headway toward rounding the south end of Yerba Buena, especially since the ebb current had started, so we headed back toward the D-E span, after this tug siddled up to us and advised that a freighter was coming inbound though we couldn't see any at that time.
After passing under the D-E span again, we sailed parallel to the bridge with the waxing ebb current tending to drag us norhtward, and eventually we were approaching the SF shoreline with the Bay Bridge gleaming behind us.
We tacked back to the north after approaching the Ferry Building.
Behind us, the ferry DEL NORTE was blasting her way toward the Ferry Building terminal.
That freighter that the tug crew member warned us about was just ghosting toward the D-E span as we sailed past pier 23.....
...and she was followed by another freighter, also just ghosting eastward. We later saw another freighter heading out of the Port of Oakland and steaming through the D-E span and surmised that these two freighters were waiting for that one to get out of their way before proceeding.
Out in the west, a sailboat was sailing downwind against the now strong ebb current, and probably making very little headway.
We sailed into the lee of pier 35 to douse sail and ready for landing, them motored around the pier, encountering this rower on the west side of the pier. He was rowing eastward against the current.
We motored into port and landed fine with the strong ebb current flowing, happy to have been able to enjoy a few hours of fall sailing with at least some wind to propel us around a small part of the bay.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
THURSDAY, 22 NOV. 07-- SPECTACULAR SUNDOWN AND FULL MOON!!!!!!!!!!
A beautiful sunny and clear Thanksgiving Day in San Francisco with no breeze most of the morning. We needed to leave port by 1:15 or so to avoid dragging the keel in the mud at low tide and so hoped that a breeze would come up. By 1 pm, a light breeze was blowing and we prepared to head out for a sail, planning to stay out until about 6 pm, when the flood current will have filled in again with enough depth.
Only a couple of knots of breeze were blowing over the city as we headed out of port.
WE hoped that the breeze would freshen substantially sometime during the afternoon and early evening.
As we headed out into the central bay, a large container ship was steaming past the city, heading for the Port of Oakland.
We were being dragged westward by the strong ebb current, though we were pointing to the north, sailing slowly away from the shore, and then we tacked back toward the lee of pier 45 as this lovely sailboat was motorsailing eastward against the current. The city behind this sailboat was enjoying the brilliant sunshine and clear, clean air.
We tacked back to the north again, headed toward Alcatraz and this nice sailboat passed astern, motorsailing eastward also.
Way over by the shore of Treasure Island, this sailboat was sailing with the ebb current to the north.
This sailboat was attempting to sail eastward against the ebb current, and making little if any progress.
This Tartan sailboat was heading back from the gate and sailing to the north across the current.
The current dragged us well to the west of Alcatraz, but this shot shows a sailboat sailing with the current between Alcatraz and Angel Island... that's the rock west of Alcatraz in the foreground-- only visible at low tide.
That sailboat we saw earlier, heading east, was now passing astern closer to the cityfront and perhaps making some headway against the current, but mostly likely motorsailing.
Tourists were enjoying the sunshine on the grounds of Alcatraz prison.
The breeze freshened a little bit and we managed to sail northward about half as fast as the ebb current was dragging us westward, as that Tartan sailboat was making slow progress against the current along the headlands.
The charter ketch, PRIVATEER, had left port before we did, and was now headed back toward home port, trying to sail against the current.
Meanwhile, another sailboat was headed for the gate.
Eventually, PRIVATEER gave up and began motorsailing toward home port after rolling up her jib.
We spotted this pelican resting on the surface of the bay-- the only pelican we saw all afternoon.
That Tartan sailboat was now passing to the east of the Sausalito shore and another sailboat was sailing closer to shore.
Way over the east, a couple fo sailboat were sailing with the current-- that's Cal Berkeley in the background, clearly visible due to the clear, clean air.
As usual, Mt. Tam was towering over Richardson Bay-- the air clear enough to see the houses on the lower reaches of the mountain.
This sailboat was trying to sail across the mouth of Richardson Bay, probably heading for home port.
Another sailboat further west was sailing near the shore of Sausalito.
That blue hulled sailboat that we spotted in the east earlier was now sailing near the shore of Angel Island.
The breeze now started to freshen up to about 10 knots or so and we headed back to the southeast, hoping to cross the bay and then head for the gate about sunset, and meanwhile PRIVATEER was heading northwest again on her sunset sailing outing.
We made good headway across the bay and eventually approached the shore of the city west of the Ft. Mason piers, enjoying views of Russian Hill and the tree-covered hill of Ft. Mason.
This lovely sailboat was sailing downwind, heading back from the gate and looking good.
We tacked to the west again and began sailing back across the bay again, still being dragged westward a bit by the waning ebb current, and at one point passing this beach ball floating on deep blue water.
The almost-full moon rose over the Berkeley Hills, ghostly as the sun had not yet gone down.
With a container ship steaming into the bay and clearly planning to use the deep water ship channel, as well as a tub and barge headed out to sea, we decided to tack back toward the SF shore once again and after a couple of tacks, we were in a position to capture the Golden Gate Bridge from near the shore.
Some modest surf was rolling in from the ocean just off Ft. Point and some surfers were playing there.
We sailed out the gate between the south tower and midspan of the bridge, enjoying the vivid views of the bridge and the headland cliffs in the late sunshine.
We just ducked out the gate and then came about and headed back inside. The cliffs of the Marin Headlands are expecially beautiful at this time of day.
With sunset nearer, the full moon was now showing up brighter in the powder blue sky.
We sailed back inside the gate on starboard tack, watching as a large flock of terns and seagulls were flitting about on and above the bay surface, perhaps feeding on herring.
After sailing inside for a short distance, we gybed and headed north, passing to the east of the north tower of the GGB just as the sun was behind it.
A short time later, we gybed again and headed toward home port to watch the sundown through the gate, as the city ahead was enjoying the last rays of the sun on the taller buildings.
The full moon was brightening more and more as the eastern sky darkened.
We were perfectly positioned to watch the sun drop into the ocean through the middle of the gate-- an incredible sight!
After sundown, the full moon became quite brilliant in its reflected light.
With waxing flood current assist, but declining breeze, we ghosted toward home port, not in any hurry since we couldn't get into port for an hour after sundown anyway, enjoying the lights of the city as they came up-- here the lights of Aquatic Park and Russian Hill.
The city lights at dusk are always enchantingly beautiful!
The full moon was now creating a lovely path on the sea as she rose over Alcatraz.
City lights were bright and dramatic at twilight....
....and the full moon was at its most gorgeous brightness in the dark sky.
The breeze declined to almost nothing as we were approaching pier 39, so we turned on the engine and doused sail, then prepared the boat for landing and motored into the marina, well pleased with our five hours of sailing on our beautiful bay with all of Mother Nature's drama of sun and moon.
A beautiful sunny and clear Thanksgiving Day in San Francisco with no breeze most of the morning. We needed to leave port by 1:15 or so to avoid dragging the keel in the mud at low tide and so hoped that a breeze would come up. By 1 pm, a light breeze was blowing and we prepared to head out for a sail, planning to stay out until about 6 pm, when the flood current will have filled in again with enough depth.
Only a couple of knots of breeze were blowing over the city as we headed out of port.
WE hoped that the breeze would freshen substantially sometime during the afternoon and early evening.
As we headed out into the central bay, a large container ship was steaming past the city, heading for the Port of Oakland.
We were being dragged westward by the strong ebb current, though we were pointing to the north, sailing slowly away from the shore, and then we tacked back toward the lee of pier 45 as this lovely sailboat was motorsailing eastward against the current. The city behind this sailboat was enjoying the brilliant sunshine and clear, clean air.
We tacked back to the north again, headed toward Alcatraz and this nice sailboat passed astern, motorsailing eastward also.
Way over by the shore of Treasure Island, this sailboat was sailing with the ebb current to the north.
This sailboat was attempting to sail eastward against the ebb current, and making little if any progress.
This Tartan sailboat was heading back from the gate and sailing to the north across the current.
The current dragged us well to the west of Alcatraz, but this shot shows a sailboat sailing with the current between Alcatraz and Angel Island... that's the rock west of Alcatraz in the foreground-- only visible at low tide.
That sailboat we saw earlier, heading east, was now passing astern closer to the cityfront and perhaps making some headway against the current, but mostly likely motorsailing.
Tourists were enjoying the sunshine on the grounds of Alcatraz prison.
The breeze freshened a little bit and we managed to sail northward about half as fast as the ebb current was dragging us westward, as that Tartan sailboat was making slow progress against the current along the headlands.
The charter ketch, PRIVATEER, had left port before we did, and was now headed back toward home port, trying to sail against the current.
Meanwhile, another sailboat was headed for the gate.
Eventually, PRIVATEER gave up and began motorsailing toward home port after rolling up her jib.
We spotted this pelican resting on the surface of the bay-- the only pelican we saw all afternoon.
That Tartan sailboat was now passing to the east of the Sausalito shore and another sailboat was sailing closer to shore.
Way over the east, a couple fo sailboat were sailing with the current-- that's Cal Berkeley in the background, clearly visible due to the clear, clean air.
As usual, Mt. Tam was towering over Richardson Bay-- the air clear enough to see the houses on the lower reaches of the mountain.
This sailboat was trying to sail across the mouth of Richardson Bay, probably heading for home port.
Another sailboat further west was sailing near the shore of Sausalito.
That blue hulled sailboat that we spotted in the east earlier was now sailing near the shore of Angel Island.
The breeze now started to freshen up to about 10 knots or so and we headed back to the southeast, hoping to cross the bay and then head for the gate about sunset, and meanwhile PRIVATEER was heading northwest again on her sunset sailing outing.
We made good headway across the bay and eventually approached the shore of the city west of the Ft. Mason piers, enjoying views of Russian Hill and the tree-covered hill of Ft. Mason.
This lovely sailboat was sailing downwind, heading back from the gate and looking good.
We tacked to the west again and began sailing back across the bay again, still being dragged westward a bit by the waning ebb current, and at one point passing this beach ball floating on deep blue water.
The almost-full moon rose over the Berkeley Hills, ghostly as the sun had not yet gone down.
With a container ship steaming into the bay and clearly planning to use the deep water ship channel, as well as a tub and barge headed out to sea, we decided to tack back toward the SF shore once again and after a couple of tacks, we were in a position to capture the Golden Gate Bridge from near the shore.
Some modest surf was rolling in from the ocean just off Ft. Point and some surfers were playing there.
We sailed out the gate between the south tower and midspan of the bridge, enjoying the vivid views of the bridge and the headland cliffs in the late sunshine.
We just ducked out the gate and then came about and headed back inside. The cliffs of the Marin Headlands are expecially beautiful at this time of day.
With sunset nearer, the full moon was now showing up brighter in the powder blue sky.
We sailed back inside the gate on starboard tack, watching as a large flock of terns and seagulls were flitting about on and above the bay surface, perhaps feeding on herring.
After sailing inside for a short distance, we gybed and headed north, passing to the east of the north tower of the GGB just as the sun was behind it.
A short time later, we gybed again and headed toward home port to watch the sundown through the gate, as the city ahead was enjoying the last rays of the sun on the taller buildings.
The full moon was brightening more and more as the eastern sky darkened.
We were perfectly positioned to watch the sun drop into the ocean through the middle of the gate-- an incredible sight!
After sundown, the full moon became quite brilliant in its reflected light.
With waxing flood current assist, but declining breeze, we ghosted toward home port, not in any hurry since we couldn't get into port for an hour after sundown anyway, enjoying the lights of the city as they came up-- here the lights of Aquatic Park and Russian Hill.
The city lights at dusk are always enchantingly beautiful!
The full moon was now creating a lovely path on the sea as she rose over Alcatraz.
City lights were bright and dramatic at twilight....
....and the full moon was at its most gorgeous brightness in the dark sky.
The breeze declined to almost nothing as we were approaching pier 39, so we turned on the engine and doused sail, then prepared the boat for landing and motored into the marina, well pleased with our five hours of sailing on our beautiful bay with all of Mother Nature's drama of sun and moon.
