Weekend sailing

Weekend sailing

The last week of the official sailing season was this past weekend. In general, once Fall arrives the winds die out and with cooler temperatures come, boating is put on the back burner (for some people). In any case, this was a wonderful weekend to be on a boat. First I had to see a friend in the city so I met her at a place called Tornado in the Lower Haight. This is a classic bar, lots of beer and stuff on the wall. Cash only! But I met my friend and we had a drink and caught up, then my brother met me there and we had to go, sailing was calling.

Start of the race

I headed down to San Francisco for some racing and relaxing. Friday night is the Beer Can races, a friendly race more for fun then extreme competition. Beer Can mean you drink a beer while you race around the cans (markers). This Friday saw a good breeze in the 15 knot range and a few boats from the club. Most Yacht clubs do Can races and boats will race in different races or do a whole summer at just one club event. Again it is more for fun an anything.

After race

Heading down the dock to race

I was able to crew on Ian’s boat, though he was going to have a full crew and Ian was to show a girl how to pilot during a race, so every spot was taken. I ended up being up front and sitting the rail mostly, using my weight to help right the boat. The race started at 6:30 and since the wind had been up, the course would be a short one. Once we were out, the wind wasn't as bad and we could have actually sail a longer course. But it would be fun in any case.

The race course was setup as a back and forth twice, about a mile between marks, so total distance was 4 miles. As in sailing, the start is key. To be ahead at the start can mean winning or not. We worked our way into position and at the gun we were ahead by about a boat length. We had three boats right behind us as we crossed the line. Now one thing, the boats are not the same so some are faster than others. How this is dealt with is a rating system. Slower small boats have a high rating, and the time on the course is adjusted by the rating. The boat I was on had a lower rating, the boat right behind us had a higher rating. So in order to win, we would have to be really ahead.

 At the first turn we were still ahead and moving away, the second boat was about 20 seconds behind us. The wind was good and the boat sailed well. I was up front getting splashed but I had the clothes for it. At the second mark, the turn was no good. The girl who was learning over steered and we slowed down, also the girl working the sail didn't pull it in fast enough which didn't help. We still had the lead but lost time. The ride back up to the mark was fast but the other boats were closing. At the last mark, the turn again was slow and more time gone. It would be a race to the finish, though we were ahead, the ratings would determine the outcome.

We finished, the second boat, an old wooden Folkboat with two old guys crossed. We would have to wait to get the times but it seemed they were going to win. We turned and took the sails down and headed back to the marina. It was fun and all enjoyed the evening, which is the point of course. Once we had the boat back and cleaned up we walked to the club, there the results were posted. We lost by 21 seconds to the two old guys in the old boat... Oh well..

Power boat of stupid...

The next day it was off to the boat after getting the last of the provisions, turned out we had enough for ten people, but we wanted to be well stocked. We loaded to boat and got everything ready to sail, storing the gear and food so it stayed put while we were moving. The sun was coming out from the morning clouds and the wind was light. We decided to head to Angel Island and get a mooring, then row ashore and explore the island.

The ride over was easy and it only took about 20 minutes to motor over. We grabbed a spot so we would have afternoon sun and secured the boat. With the dingy we rowed ashore and wondered around, I have been on the island many times so I knew the trails, it is not a big island but so you can’t get lost and are never that far.

Back to the boat for lunch and a past time of watching the other boats come in at tie up. Some do it well, others, not so good.... As is the case, a power boat came in and attempted to moor, the show commenced! Most people will grab the front mooring first then do the back. The power boater, like most, think like they are driving a car and do the easy stuff first. So with the back tied, took some time and backing over the mooring, they went to the front. Of course the boat is to high to hang down and tied off, they got their launch out and motored over. So how it should work is a line goes through the mooring and back up to the boat. They instead just tied the rope to the mooring... Plus they tied the boat to the wrong one, so the boat was at the wrong direction. Classic power move... In any case, they were there and they promptly all climbed on their launch and went ashore.

Later in the day, they all come back and climb aboard. A short time later the rumble of the engine and the back line comes off, then a guy goes to the bow and... SURPRISE SURPRISE!!! The line is tied to the mooring... How do we get it off??? Let pull... No. Back the boat... No... Lets pull again.. No.. Hmmm... Get a knife and cut the line. Yes. They cut the line and left with fifteen feet of line in the water. What stupid power boaters... Just shows, you can buy a $200,000 boat but it doesn't mean you can use it....

As the sun set, the drink came and came. We had way to much food, enough for at least five more people. But we fired up the BBQ and roasted a chunk of lamb, made salads and grilled vegetables, bread and on and on... Three bottles of wine and many drinks later we had enough... We cleaned up and then pulled out a completely inappropriate card game called Cards Against Humanity. A fun game, I think even if you have not been drinking...

The next morning we woke late and had coffee on deck, then ate and got ready to sail. The morning was sunny and warm and a lite breeze was blowing. We cleared the mooring and headed for the city front. A relatively easy sail across the slot of the main bay, then we took a slow sail along the edge of town, past all the tourist traps and avoided the ferries going in and out.. Once on the east side, we turned north and headed back across the bay. The run North was a easy sail and we saw several common dolphin and a few seals. There was no ship traffic so the sail was uneventful, just a nice sunny sail.

We had to get back tot he dock and clean the boat and unload everything. I had to fly out so we couldn't sail more, but the time on the water was great. Once we cleaned the boat and headed home, it was just kill a little time till off to the airport. The flight was slightly delayed but no big deal, a sooth flight home and a drink to finish the trip. I love California!