WHETHER THE WEATHER...

This little fellow greeted me with a smile at breakfast
...then I ate him! 

July 1, 2016  Weather the weather will ever let us leave the San Fransisco area. That's the question!

The last fives weeks of cruising in the waters of San Fransisco provided us with a variety of weather, that’s for sure! We were in perfect sailing conditions, temperatures in the mid 80’s when visiting the cities of Sacramento and Stockton.

Anchored in a narrow channel near Pittsburg in the river delta.
 People were swimming and water skiing into the early evening
when it cooled down a bit.

You never know who you'll meet on the river.

These pelicans were perched on barely visible pilings, trying
to get out of the thermal winds that the windsurfers loved so much. 

After three weeks of 80 - 90 F temps in the Sacramento River Delta we headed back to the cooler temperatures of San Fransisco to see some of the city sights.

We had a fast trip down to the mouth of the Sacramento River motoring at 8.5 knots with the current until we exited the quiet of the Delta only to be slammed by both wind and waves while heading back towards Angel Island and the more open San Fransisco Bay.

We went from trying to cool down to trying to stay warm and dry. Waves crashed over the bow and salt spray shot up and over the starboard deck continuously.  When we passed by Alcatraz Island, it was blowing over 34 knots!  We thought it was a bit excessive but clearly the locals didn’t. It was a traffic jam out there!  Dozens of sailors were out for the day, clothed in foul weather gear, boats heeling over with reefed mains and head sails.

We moored right in downtown San Fran at Pier 39.  Their rate was only $60 US a night instead of $96 US a night expected at the municipal marina a mile away.  That should have been our first clue!  Paying less is not always better.  It turns out that Pier 39 is also the loading and unloading area for numerous passenger ferries, catamaran cruises and large harbour tour boats that operate from 9:00 a.m. til 10:00 p.m. daily.

That's Falcon's red Canadian flag to the right of the big passenger ferry
at Pier 39's docks.  Notice the empty slips.  Seems no one wanted
to stay at these docks unless they had to.

San Fransisco's skyline above the marina and warehouse district.

The wakes caused by their arrival and departure were extreme, coupled with an even nastier current. Poor Falcon lurched from side to side and fought her tethering lines every time one of the huge passenger vessels went by. Our fenders and mooring lines took the most abuse of anywhere to date, including our stormy five summer months in La Cruz, Mexico two years ago!

The entrance to Pier 39's windy marina. Late afternoon winds hit 30 knots
 off of Alcatraz and Angel Islands.  Locals sailors didn't seem to mind, though.

We left Falcon tied up the best we could and ventured to shore and meandered around the famous San Fransisco waterfront all afternoon.  Since school was out, families were plentiful; the harbour promenade was congested with thousands of visitors, talented musicians and entertaining buskers. Ice cream stores, bike and segue rentals, tee shirt shops, etc. were plentiful.

A small look at the huge Pier 39.

Buskers and musicians performed next to this 2 story merry-go-round.

Pier 39, originally a huge waterfront warehouse, now houses various seafood restaurants, souvenir shops, tattoo artist studios, jewelers, bars and candy stores.  We dodged pedestrian traffic and strolled west along the waterfront past Aquatic Park and the Maritime Museum where we anchored in 2013 on our way south. We checked out the famous Ghirardelli’s Chocolates store and soda shop, shaking our heads at the prices people paid for small bags of assorted chocolate squares, chocolate floats and gooey desserts.  Towards evening we returned to bouncing Falcon for the evening, waiting patiently for the last ferry to make its run.

Driving down famous Lombard Street, one of America's crookedest streets.

A few lazy sea lions lounged on the right hand dock, set aside just for them.
Visitors flocked to an observation deck overlooking this part of the Pier 39
marina just to get a glimpse of them. Monterey's docks had way more!

For us, the next day trumped anything else San Fransisco had to offer. Jim’s written a separate blog posting about our visit to the Presidio district, sight of San Fransisco’s origins.  I encourage you to read it for a completely different perspective. 

The Spiral art installation in the Presidio forest.

View of Alcatraz and the Palace of Fine Arts.

Jim reflecting, overlooking the National Cemetery.
Full story written about in his separate blot posting.

Wild flowers sprung up near the woods of the Presidio.

Hard to believe this was so close to the city.  We wondered how
many locals walked the trails and enjoyed the beauty of the Presidio.

This gives you some perspective of the Spiral's height.

Spiral, created out of trees that had to be removed for
replanting since the originals were too close together.

We didn't expect a forest so close to the City.
These planted eucalyptus and Monterey pine acted as a well
placed wind block and created the feel of a much bigger forest.

As we walked away from the Presidio parade grounds, a kind woman saw us checking Google Maps and approached to help.  She suggested we stroll through a nearby campus on route to the Lincoln district.  We thanked her and quickly found a paved path that wound around two story educational buildings, lush lawns, colourful flowerbeds and flowering trees. It was quiet, serine and a perfect transition back to being in the big city.

Since conditions outside the Golden Gate Bridge were still unmanageable, we happily took another five hour motoring trip back into the river Delta where we once again enjoyed a gentle downwind sail on the Sacramento River til Pittsburg where we moored to finish waterproofing our canvas at their covered dock.  It wasn’t all work, though.  We enjoyed the monthly outdoor jazz, local art show and wine tasting show held on the promenade lawn next to the marina before wandering into town for a tasty meal at Lumpy’s 50’s diner.

Here's a look a the weather we were facing and the reason we were staying in the Delta.   The pink represents the highest winds.  Plain blue represents no wind (no blue there!).  So you can see what we were faced with.  Though the image didn't produce very well, the top wind speeds expected near Eureka were 48 knots!

A short three days later we reluctantly exited the Delta only to be slammed by big seas and adverse current again, cutting our speed down to 3 knots, instead of 7.2 knots with no current.  We fought our way back to the only possible anchorage at Angel Island.  The brisk winds buffeted us about while we struggled to anchor in what little shelter the island afforded. That evening we readied Falcon to leave San Fransisco Bay since we had a short weather window and felt we had to take it.  Bye Bye San Fransisco…hello open coastline.

Rail tracks disappeared into the sunset at an
old historic pier in San Fransisco.

Good bye, San Fransisco.  Thanks for some great memories!

Until next time….

Jim and Tricia Bowen
S/V Falcon VII
email: tandjbowen13@gmail.com.

A SURPRISE AND A FEW TEARS

Somewhere or other, I forget exactly, Trish and I heard about a place called the Presidio; that it was a good place to hike and not too far from the city.  We didn’t really know much about it except that it originally had something to do with the military and that now it was a National Monument; the equivalent of a National Park in Canada.  We got up one day and walked into the part of San Francisco next to our marina and caught an Uber ride to the park.   Our driver was a man named Hugo who had emigrated from Guatemala a few years ago and we were grateful to be able to converse in Spanish a bit.

We arrived at what we soon realized was a pretty unique space.  The original builders of the base, the U.S. Army, implemented the largest landscaping project ever completed by the military.  From 1886 to 1900 they planted thousands of trees in a huge serpentine pattern in order to make the space seem larger than it was and to abate the relentless cool winds which blew over what was originally a huge tract of sand dunes.  Yes, they destroyed the original dune ecosystem, which we now know to be fragile and in danger, but their intentions were good at the time and the end result is an amazing place to spend an afternoon hiking.

Hugo let us off at the edge of the original parade grounds next to a wonderful cool, moist pine forest. As we walked up an incline on the trail, we began to see row after row of headstones through the trees.

We realized that this part of the Presidio was a military graveyard, and soon the enormity what was slowly being revealed through the trees settled over us as we began to comprehend the scale of it. We found a sign which said that the graveyard was dedicated in 1884 and was the first National Cemetery on the West Coast.  It contains the remains of 30,000 mostly young men who were sent to fight for causes which can seem awfully far away when sitting on the hill overlooking all that carved marble.  30,000 people who never married, never had children, never got to live the life that the people who sent them there held so dear.

Trish and I each found a spot to sit and ponder and to shed some tears for this terrible waste.

The poetry engraved in stone in this picture is from The Young Dead Soldiers by Archibald McLeish.

The Young Dead Soldiers

The young dead soldiers do not speak.

Nevertheless, they are heard in the still
houses:  Who has not heard them?

They have a silence that speaks for them
at night and when the clock counts.

They say:  We were young.  We have died.
Remember us.

They say:  We have done what we could
but until it is finished it is not done.

They say:  We have given our lives but
until it is finished no one can know what
our lives gave.

They say:  Our deaths are not ours; they
are yours; they will mean what you
make of them.

They say:  Whether our lives and our
deaths were for peace and a new hope or
for nothing we cannot say; it is you who
must say this.

They say:  We leave you our deaths. 
Give them their meaning.

We were young, they say.  We have
died.  Remember us.

Archibald McLeish

We were both quite overcome with emotion, especially since we had stumbled on this solemn place quite unexpectedly.

After a while, we continued on our hike and enjoyed quite a few hours of wandering along paths and narrow winding lanes, all the while cradled in forests of hundred and thirty year old trees.  We were both feeling like the forest was welcoming us back to a more northern part of the world.  Conifers rather than cactus, coolness rather than heat, pine needles rather than sand.  We both were starting to feel that we were not so much on our way home any more, but rather on the home stretch.

After coming to the end of the trail and visiting the orderly brick officer’s barracks buildings, we crossed the parade grounds with their incredibly perfect lawns and headed back into the city, grateful to be alive.




Peace.

Jim

RIVER RATS AND LOVING IT

June 21, 2016

First off, I have to tell you that Jim and I feel like we’re licking the cream off the top of the milk jug! We’ve been cruising in the Sacramento River Delta for almost two weeks now and we LOVE it.   We are so blessed!  Cruising on inland waters is pretty much heaven.  Picture this…a warm gentle breeze from behind with a positive two knot current sweeping you forward under headsail alone.

Apparent wind is 5 knots and we’re moving forward at 4.5 knots. What could be better! For at least half of our time in the delta we’ve been downwind sailing in 5 – 15 knots of wind under these perfect conditions. The other half of the time we’ve been motoring upwind, sometimes against the current but that’s fine because we have to charge the batteries anyway.  This ratio of sailing to motoring is far greater than anything we’ve ever experienced ‘outside’ and a real treat.  Even when we’re motoring into headwinds and current, it’s not a big deal since there are no oceangoing swells or waves crashing over the bow.  We were in 31 knots of wind off of Rio Vista on the Sacramento River last Wednesday and only took a few splashes over the bow.  It’s a completely different experience for us!

Looking at the bridge and industry in Antioch, taken from Potato Slough

I can't help it...I love sunset shots!

Three Mile Slough bridge was raised for us.  We always hold our
breath until we make it to the other side.  So far...so good!

The days are flying by; we only left Sacramento last Tuesday after reluctantly saying goodbye to our four friends Bobbi, Tom, Dan and Deb late Monday evening.  Though we’ve only known them since last December we definitely have a connection and know we’ll stay in touch and hopefully see each other again in the not-too-distant future.

Because of current, we couldn’t leave Sacramento until early afternoon last Tuesday, June 14 so we spent the morning walking a few miles along the Sacramento River on a well maintained paved path til noon before untying our lines.  The wind was against us all afternoon but the current was with us so we motored and made good time getting back to Walnut Grove, arriving five hours later.

A cacti flower...hadn't seen that one before

Or this bloom, which was on a tree.

After a lovely quiet evening at Walnut Grove’s public dock (only $30 US a night) we explored Locke, the only rural Chinatown left in the US.   It was a short half mile walk from Walnut Grove to Locke, which was established in 1915 after the Chinese housing district in Walnut Grove was destroyed in a fire.

Currently a Chinese restaurant, this is an overgrown century old building.

Someone decorated their porch with colourful paint brushes.  Great idea!

The Chinese labourers who lived in Locke were recently recognized for their extraordinary efforts in developing agriculture in California.  In its heyday the autonomous island of Chinese culture housed 600 full time and 1000 seasonal workers.  They supported four restaurants, numerous farm markets, dry goods stores, brothels, a post office, canneries and more. Today we found tiny Locke’s layout much as it would have been 100 years ago. A handful of shops, galleries and restaurants are still housed in the old buildings, while others sag under the weight of a century.

Hmmm...it's leaning a bit, isn't it?

This was the theatre entrance in 1915.

The oranges were falling on the ground!  A crime!!!

A peaceful place near the church.

Many of the stores were closed. When we went into an open second hand store, the shopkeeper told us it Wednesday, a quiet business day, so most closed. None-the-less, we enjoyed meandering along the two blocks of streets, envisioning what a beehive of activity it would have looked like 100 years before.

Wednesday June 15 was blustery (we must keep it in context) and cool all day but we left Walnut Grove with positive current mid afternoon anyway.  We experienced higher winds on our nose going further down river, maxing out at 31 knots.  However, 31 knots in the Sacramento River with one foot high waves instead of 10 foot high swells made travelling so easy. Even anchoring was way easier in 31 knots than being on the undulating foredeck in 28 knots when we anchored at Punta Colonet south of Ensenada, Mexico.

We can see why the wind surfers and kite boarders gather regularly near Rio Vista, a weekend hangout easily accessible by roads.

On the previous weekend the beach was full boarders taking it easy, trailers, campers and tents nestled in the tree line.

A large private yacht motors past Potato Slough where we were anchored.

The front of the dodger is unzipped to let a cool breeze blow through.

Though many of the smaller twisting channels provide isolated anchorages, we encountered a couple of spots where a handful of houseboats and even a couple of sailboats have established a ‘community’ of sorts.  All have small speedboats tied to their watercraft, an easy way to reach Rio Vista, only five miles away.  So it’s possible to live off the grid but still have the ability to go to town when you need to.  Hummm…nice idea and a very inexpensive way to live!

A river family

Are there any leaves to eat?  I'm waiting....

 In 2011 and 2012, in preparation for our trip to Mexico Jim and I attended seminars put on by Bluewater Cruising Association. One talk featured San Fransisco, the Sacramento Delta and Potato Slough in particular. We were enamored and curious so we visited Potato Slough in 2013 and eagerly returned again this year.  What a beautiful place!  Though different in so many ways than our coastal BC waters, it certainly rivals them.

Weekends are busy with hopeful bass fishermen out early morning and all day.

The one bar on the San Joaquin had a blue gorilla next door.
I guess it probably attracted a few boaters to the stop by for a look.

The names around here are great...Snodgras Slough, Dead Horse Island, New Hope Landing and even Beaver Lake.  There are dozens of winding waterways.  Each day we are surrounded by wildlife and nature with egrets and herons prowling the muddy shoreline, a cacophony of water fowl creating a melodious tune while marsh birds feast on all the insects.  We watched a sleek gull grab a small fish from the surface before climbing vertically in the breeze.  Five times I watched him drop the fish, swoop down and catch it again in his long beak before doing it again.  Each time the fish was crushed a bit more until it finally went limp and was flown back to a perch where the gull could chow down and look for more tasty morsels.  Fascinating to watch.

In addition to our five day excursion to the state capital of Sacramento, we decided to take the adjoining San Joaquin River to the city of Stockton, another inland community reachable by freighters and pleasure boats.

An ultra light just took off beside us.

We left early afternoon on Saturday, June 18 and it seemed like everyone was out in their boats enjoying the weekend weather. We were the slowest boat around, constantly being passed by dozens of watercraft.  A few boaters puttered along the channels but there were also the deafening jet boats, day tripping speed boats with blaring stereo speakers, bass fishing boats built for speed between fishing spots, and noisy jet skis.  Oh, and the odd sailboat. We shared the waterway with all of them, constantly reminding ourselves that this was ‘their’ space, not ours. Even those without boats enjoyed the river.  Many families and even solo fishermen parked beside the levees under the shade of big old oak trees before setting up their camping chairs to fish or just view the river traffic.

Having the Canada flag proudly flying at all times makes us stand out in the channels and we felt like royalty, we waved so much. Just outside of Stockton, Jim waved to three women sunning themselves near the road.  As we sailed by he asked them if this was the way to Canada.  They said it was! Needless to say, he got quite the laugh!

Stockton's river front homes, very sterile looking to us.

This is a boat garage for an expensive boat.

That'a bit too much water in the boat fur us.

We didn’t reach downtown Stockton because of the low stationary bridge but it didn’t matter. We really enjoyed our five hours of downwind sailing until we reached the turnaround basin just outside the bridge and downtown core nestled along the river on the other side of the tangle of freeways.

Turning around at Stockton with the freeway beside us was strange.

Once we got near the bridge, Falcon’s engine was turned on, the sail was furled up and, in under three hours we were back in Potato Slough again, anchored next to the grasses and bulrushes.  What a nice way to spend a day!

Looks like we’ll be around for a few more days.  Spent three at the Pittsburg Marina where we took advantage of a shade structure to wash and waterproof our canvas.

We got up at 6;00 a.m. to work washing and waterproofing
before it got too hot.  By noon it was 90 F down below on Falcon!

We arrived at Pittsburg late Thursday and found out that the annual car show was on in town.  Lots of locals wandering around the old souped up cars.  Some with spectacular paint jobs.  Wish I had my camera! The local park had a 70’s band playing and everyone was dancing and swinging to the music, enjoying themselves while the early evening temperatures dropped to something more manageable.

Mouont Diablo behind Pittsburg. 

We had seen it from a distance for a week or more.

The heat wave has been 29 C most days lately, which keeps the thermal afternoons winds blowing along the waterways.  The winds help us to feel somewhat cooler.

How could I describe this spectacular sunset?

I have NO idea what this was.  It just appeared as the sun set.  It
seemed to grow vertically very quickly and was so bright and distinct.

This is what it looked like about 10 minutes later.  

We’re starting to look at weather windows to continue our trip back to BC but it’s blowing 20 - 25 knots off of northern California for another week to 10 days so we’ll stay around the Delta and San Fransisco Bay a little longer while we monitor the weather forecasts.  Until next time…

Jim and Tricia Bowen
S/V Falcon VII
email: tandjbowen13@gmail.com