How Was Your Weekend?
How was your weekend? Do you have any photos or a story to tell? Please send them here, and we’ll publish them in the next few weeks.
On Saturday, we were lucky enough to get on the water while the Bay was doing its best impression of a warm, windless summer day. We sailed out of San Rafael, motored against the ebb, and dropped anchor at China Camp where five or so sailboats had the same idea, and half a dozen fishing boats were working the shallow waters on the west side of San Pablo Bay. The day started with the hint (and maybe even a promise) of wind, but instead glassed off and turned into a scorcher. Not to fear, reader — we were thoroughly provisioned, and brought more than enough ice to keep the beverages cold.
The heat inspired a swim, but we were shocked at how aggressive the ebb was. We found ourselves being quickly swept past the boat, and had to swim hard just to stay in place. Our new editor’s Columbia 24 does not (yet) have a swim ladder, but we thought it would be relatively easy to climb up the lowered outboard motor with the help of some loops we’d tied on a line. It wasn’t. In fact, it was downright scary for a few moments as we tried to get a foothold on the motor’s tiny, slippery fins and awkwardly pull ourselves back on board.
Under the still, slow heat of the sun, it felt like we’d been anchored for days. We put the sail cover on to spare the Dacron from the UV. We experimented with a rope ladder rigged vertically from the topping lift. These were of course just things one does while on boat time (as the empty cans start to accumulate). We were puttering around the boat just for the sake of it, content to sweat and be on the water and resigned to a windless day. Motoring to and from China Camp on an 80-degree February weekend was surely a win in anyone’s book.
But a wind line darkened the water to the west. Within minutes, it took the edge off the heat and filled in with gusto. We raised the main, hauled in the anchor, and just like that, were chugging upwind toward Vallejo in 12 knots of breeze. It’s easy to get spoiled in the Bay, where you can usually set your watch by the wind, so there’s something truly special about getting an unexpected breeze. The day would end up feeling like a two-day cruise: We put the sails up and down multiple times, re-anchored once (for fear of shallow water), set up the table and deck "cushions" for lunch, and slowly shifted gears throughout the day to adapt to the conditions. We wouldn’t have changed a thing.
Have a good week, everyone — we hope to see you on the water next weekend.