The day’s trip is a simple one, short, but eventful. Many people define major times in their lives when they cross under the Golden Gate Bridge. Both my father and Marian’s father each passed under this massive structure as part of their young lives. My father was about 12 when he and his family left San Francisco to live in the Philippians after WWII. Marian’s father passed under the bridge several times when he served aboard an ammunition carrier during WWII. Both of them told us about their feelings as they went under the bridge and it served as a wonderful backdrop for our own entrance just a few hours away. The morning dawned with a spectacular sunrise. We started the boats and pulled away from the dock as the sun peeked over the hillside. I didn’t mention it earlier, but Bodega Bay is a beautiful collection of hillside homes and sand dunes on an isolated part of the California coast. 
My Mom mentioned that in the early 1960’s we considered vacationing there, but never quite made it. The seas were again as flat as a lake, however there was considerable fog. As we threaded our way through the fishing fleet, it took a few hours for the fog to burn off, just in time to reveal Point Reyes and the beautiful light house sitting sentential on the cliff side. 
Rounding Point Reyes we set our course for the entrance channel to the San Francisco Bay. Susan and Patrick pointed out several significant landmarks along the way, helping to build the excitement as we closed on the bridge. We conversed over the VHF radio and agreed that Alanui would move ahead of Paloma so we could get some pictures, then we would swing behind Paloma and do the same. As we approached the bridge I put in calls to my brother Joe in Alabama and my Mom and Dad in Florida. I figured this was a defining moment for us and we wanted to share it with other family members so far away.
The currents were minimal and there was only a small amount of boat traffic, so we were able to get some great pictures. As we went under the bridge we saw a huge fleet of sailboats heading in our direction and we began to chart a path through them. At one point Paloma was able to make it through the fleet, but we had to take some evasive action and ended up taking a significant detour. No worries, this is what boating is all about; frankly it was nice to finally see a sailboat with sails up!
Patrick had secured slips for us at the Sausalito Yacht Harbor, one of the nicest facilities on the West coast. In many respects it’s like Coal Harbour in Vancouver. Top drawer facilities nestled along a wonderful waterfront community where everything is available and entertaining. The wind did present a bit of a challenge and we actually lost a fender as we entered a very narrow fairway. I flipped Alanui around and went back out to get the fender and then made another try at docking. With Marian’s assistance I was able to back the boat into a narrow slip and get her securely tied up without bumping into anyone else or anything else!
The next 11 days was filled with traveling around the Bay area. We went to Napa and bought a dozen bottles of our favorite wine (Rombauer), did the tourist thing in San Francisco by visiting Alcatraz and ended up our stay by visiting Susan, Patrick and Jonathan at their vineyard in Sonoma. Oh, we also got the Nauticomp display repaired and did some maintenance on Alanui. One of the biggest accomplishments was finally getting confirmation of a reservation at a marina in Mexico that enabled us to book plane and hotel reservations so the Bridget, Asher and Shannon could join us after the holidays.
My Mom mentioned that in the early 1960’s we considered vacationing there, but never quite made it. The seas were again as flat as a lake, however there was considerable fog. As we threaded our way through the fishing fleet, it took a few hours for the fog to burn off, just in time to reveal Point Reyes and the beautiful light house sitting sentential on the cliff side. Rounding Point Reyes we set our course for the entrance channel to the San Francisco Bay. Susan and Patrick pointed out several significant landmarks along the way, helping to build the excitement as we closed on the bridge. We conversed over the VHF radio and agreed that Alanui would move ahead of Paloma so we could get some pictures, then we would swing behind Paloma and do the same. As we approached the bridge I put in calls to my brother Joe in Alabama and my Mom and Dad in Florida. I figured this was a defining moment for us and we wanted to share it with other family members so far away.
The currents were minimal and there was only a small amount of boat traffic, so we were able to get some great pictures. As we went under the bridge we saw a huge fleet of sailboats heading in our direction and we began to chart a path through them. At one point Paloma was able to make it through the fleet, but we had to take some evasive action and ended up taking a significant detour. No worries, this is what boating is all about; frankly it was nice to finally see a sailboat with sails up!
Patrick had secured slips for us at the Sausalito Yacht Harbor, one of the nicest facilities on the West coast. In many respects it’s like Coal Harbour in Vancouver. Top drawer facilities nestled along a wonderful waterfront community where everything is available and entertaining. The wind did present a bit of a challenge and we actually lost a fender as we entered a very narrow fairway. I flipped Alanui around and went back out to get the fender and then made another try at docking. With Marian’s assistance I was able to back the boat into a narrow slip and get her securely tied up without bumping into anyone else or anything else!
The next 11 days was filled with traveling around the Bay area. We went to Napa and bought a dozen bottles of our favorite wine (Rombauer), did the tourist thing in San Francisco by visiting Alcatraz and ended up our stay by visiting Susan, Patrick and Jonathan at their vineyard in Sonoma. Oh, we also got the Nauticomp display repaired and did some maintenance on Alanui. One of the biggest accomplishments was finally getting confirmation of a reservation at a marina in Mexico that enabled us to book plane and hotel reservations so the Bridget, Asher and Shannon could join us after the holidays.
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