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Thread: Muddy Water

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
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    Montara, CA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Intermission View Post
    You can't make this stuff up.
    Fer shur. Jackie's sailing stories are the only Real News I enjoy reading these days! What an adventure.

    Curious why the names have been changed....is it to protect the innocent skippers who only bring a cup of fuel because "it's a sailboat"? I once helped tow a sailboat from way inside San Pablo Bay to Richmond after the last Vallejo 1-2 because he also only had a little bit of gas. This mindset seriously baffles me.

  2. #12
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    Sep 2007
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    3,688

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    Since SF#1 is busy painting his boat, SF#2 will fill in for him and plead his defense.

    SF#1 made the same trip last year with the same amount of fuel. But this year, an unexpected early haul-out deadline and no wind between Richmond and Vallejo meant motoring with pedal-to-the-metal. Once past Vallejo, the ebb in the river was strong and could not have been avoided given the day's schedule. Due to draft, it also could not be avoided by hugging the shoreline.

    We did an admirable job of short-tacking the muddy shoreline, even as it got narrow towards our destination. A bit of local knowledge vs. relying solely on the chart and we would have been fine.

    The fish tacos and craft beer at Downtown Joe's in Napa more than made up for the "lemon bread stops," and a good time was had by all. I'd make the same trip again with these two in a heartbeat. And yes, I'd bring an extra tank of fuel.
    Last edited by BobJ; 05-15-2018 at 07:21 PM.

  3. #13
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    Sep 2008
    Location
    Saratoga
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gamayun View Post
    This mindset seriously baffles me.
    Weight nazis.

  4. #14
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    Jan 2013
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    Montara, CA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Intermission View Post
    Weight nazis.
    Right....?!? I guess it's the former motor boater in me.

    Didn't mean to out you guys! It really did sound like a great day. The part that freaked me out in Jackie's telling was running out if fuel AFTER the bridge and drifting back. The bridge during the Sunday start of the Vallejo 1-2 races always seems closer than it is when the flood is building and the sails are flogging.

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
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    Once upon a time, before I had any gray hair, I was asked to deliver a boat from Berkeley marina to Alameda marina in early December. Made it out of Berkeley harbor ok and then was becalmed about a half mile West of the marina only to discover that the fuel for the outboard was apparently too old to be useful. While thinking about ways to use the hatch board to paddle back to Berzerkely for fresh gas the wind arrives and I assume my troubles are over. After a lovely sail around the pier and a romp into the estuary the fickle breeze decides to take the day off. Six hours later I finally managed to complete the last 4 miles and arrive at my destination. That was the last time I ventured out with any kind of schedule and any uncertainty about auxiliary power options. I did have a few moments of enjoyment watching the boat make about .2 knots through the water and one knot backwards over the bottom due to the ebb. The excruciating frustration of watching such hard earned progress disappear may well have been the start of my gray hair...

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    3,485

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    Good one, John! The thing about the Berkeley marina is that, if you run out of either wind or gas or diesel, a flood will always, eventually, wash you back in. Don't ask how I know this.

    I have also been told that the Olympic Circle is the purview of the Berkeley harbor patrol, so if you have difficulty getting back in, they will come get you. What they will NOT do is tow you from your slip to the Berkeley Marine Center. Don't ask how I know this, either. Since Engine By Dave it hasn't been an issue.

    The Alameda assessor's office has recently targeted Berkeley Marina tenants. Dura Mater's assessed value was increased 500%. When I appealed (and you can be sure I appealed in writing) her assessed value was reduced 5%. I have heard it said that beautiful, high maintenance partners are valued more according to the expense they incur. Dura Mater and I don't have that kind of relationship. I love her grubby self unconditionally.

    The large dirt parking area east of Cal Sailing and Cal Adventures, where windsurfers parked and launched their boards, has been turned into a paved, managed parking lot, complete with curbs and entrance. Maybe a precursor to paid parking for the increased ferry service out of Berkeley. I suppose Dura Mater's property tax assessment will help pay for that.
    Last edited by Philpott; 05-16-2018 at 04:29 PM.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Montara, CA
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    803

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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnS View Post
    Once upon a time, before I had any gray hair, I was asked to deliver a boat from Berkeley marina to Alameda marina in early December. Made it out of Berkeley harbor ok and then was becalmed about a half mile West of the marina only to discover that the fuel for the outboard was apparently too old to be useful. While thinking about ways to use the hatch board to paddle back to Berzerkely for fresh gas the wind arrives and I assume my troubles are over. After a lovely sail around the pier and a romp into the estuary the fickle breeze decides to take the day off. Six hours later I finally managed to complete the last 4 miles and arrive at my destination. That was the last time I ventured out with any kind of schedule and any uncertainty about auxiliary power options. I did have a few moments of enjoyment watching the boat make about .2 knots through the water and one knot backwards over the bottom due to the ebb. The excruciating frustration of watching such hard earned progress disappear may well have been the start of my gray hair...
    Ha! That reminds me too of the time I was coming back into the Oakland Estuary with my racing bud, Beccie, in the dark, just coming up to the Port of Oakland, when we nearly ran over a runabout with a guy at the stern shining his cell phone at me and another guy paddling away. I did a u-ee, and after my heart stopped racing, asked if they needed some help. "Engine won't run and waiting for the ebb to turn," one says. You're moving 2 knots toward the Bay Bridge, I say, and it's another hour before you get some current relief (it was also almost 9:30 at night). They did accept a tow to the public boat ramp, waved goodbye when we got there, probably a little embarrassed to be saved by two girls in a big boat. Perhaps I should start a towing service?

  8. #18
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    Sep 2007
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    We once grabbed a J/24 at the mouth of the Estuary and pulled him out of the way of a container ship. The boat was being delivered to StFYC for a one-design event and had no sails on deck, let alone ready to hoist - now that's a mindset that baffles ME. He was mid-channel when the shear pin sheared on the outboard. We had one shot to get him and then it was going to get ugly.

    Another time I towed three soggy ladies on a J/World J/80 back up the Estuary after a SHTP "weigh-in" at RYC. It was in February, and it was cold and raining with no wind. I always wondered if they went on to take up sailing, and I also wondered why J/World insisted on no engines, even in the Winter.

    Intermission, please lay off the "weight nazi" thing - it's a very poor choice of terms and that other thread was about optimizing for racing, not deliveries. I'm sure Chris feels bad enough about it.
    .
    Last edited by BobJ; 05-20-2018 at 12:05 PM.

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
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    96

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    Quote Originally Posted by BobJ View Post
    We once grabbed a J/24 at the mouth of the Estuary and pulled him out of the way of a container ship. The boat was being delivered to StFYC for a one-design event and had no sails on deck, let alone ready to hoist - now that's a mindset that baffles ME. He was mid-channel when the shear pin sheared on the outboard. We had one shot to get him and then it was going to get ugly.

    Another time I towed three soggy ladies on a J/World J/80 back up the Estuary after a SHTP "weigh-in" at RYC. It was in February, and it was cold and raining with no wind. I always wondered if they went on to take up sailing, and I also wondered why J/World insisted on no engines, even in the Winter.

    Intermission, please lay off the "weight nazi" thing - it's a very poor choice of terms and that other thread was about optimizing for racing, not deliveries. I'm sure Chris feels bad enough about it.
    .
    The folks on that "almost a hood ornament for a container ship" J/24 clearly had not been using my outboard, Old Unfaithful. now I think I need to go spend a minute with a map to calculate which side is a shorter walk to the bar after having to dive off a boat before it gets run down in the estuary. Webster Street on the Alameda side must still have a bar or two, even though it is nothing like it was when the NAS was active but there must be something nearby in West Oakland...Research, research...

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Posts
    54

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    Preparing for the SHTP is all consuming, i have felt short of time for more than a year! Friday morning felt no different as the Napa Valley Marina folks reminded me they need the higher end of the tidal range to haul out, so my cut-off time was around 3:30 PM, it was 8 am. So we piled into my car and headed to RYC. Why Jackie and Bob asked to come on this delivery, I don't know, but I guess any time of the water is better than a day of work! My memory said the gas tank was fairly full, but in my haste I neglected to check. The results of that failure to give the can a shake have been documented above.
    After the petrol ran out and the wind was moving us forward, but at pace not in keeping with modern schedules, we speculated on Alma and her sister-ships making their way up the same water, as hay fields still exist on the other side of the muddy banks we were looking at all day. They must have had more patience in those days, but they didn't have a June 23rd start to make, so they could afford the patience!!
    No weight Nazi here, just a sailor in a rush. Besides, Fugu brought a french press to Drakes Bay a couple of years ago, that's luxury on a W30!!

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