Sausilito - San Francisco

We're finally settled in Sausilito...on the north shore of the Golden Gate Bridge on San Francisco Bay. We'll be at the Clipper Yacht Harbour for the next month. I'll stay here while John goes back for a two week shift at work. We're close to all major services, a West Marine, banks, grocery store, and the ferry to San Fran is a short walk away.

Unfortunately, we don't have internet on the boat, but there is a kinkos just up the street, so we'll be able to keep in touch. We're off to explore.

The Golden Gate Bridge!

We left Bodega Bay early and set a course for the Golden Gate Bridge. Passing beneath the bridge was unbelievable! Once inside the Bay, there were lots of sailboats, enjoying the breeze. Rumour has it that most of the cruising boats tend to stay around Sausilito, so we investigated the local yacht clubs in an effort to find a reciprocal slip for the night. (Because we're members of Campbell River Yacht Club, most yacht clubs will offer one night at no or low cost to visiting yacht club members). We found a well-priced slip at the fancy Corinthian Yacht Club. And we celebrated completing the first leg our our journey by a night out at a fabulous Mexican restaurant - Guyamas.

Bodega Bay

We left Newport on Sunday with several other boats, and had excellent winds pushing us down the coast. On Monday, the winds increased and we sailed in strong north-westerly winds, and fairly big swell and chop. Of course, the boat did well, and we made good time, but we had a hard time sleeping with the confused waves. On Tuesday...the wind died and we motored for the next 24 hours in a flat calm. After three nights at sea, we decided to take a break and investigate some new noises coming from our steering pedestal. We stopped in to Bodega Bay for a well-deserved rest, and to disassemble our steering system. We found a few worn pins that we'll be able to replace in San Fran. This was a great spot that we would have liked to explore more – a small community of about 900 people, but we were pretty anxious to keep moving and get settled in San Francisco.

Leaving Bodega Bay in the fog:

Curious Whale

Today was a no-wind day. We motored for over 24 hours. Around mid-day, I saw a group of humpback whales. They seemed to be coming in our direction, so I turned off the motor, so they could pass in front of us, undisturbed. They cruised by without incident. There were some adults, and a couple of young ones. But one whale took an interest in the boat. He/she came right up to the boat and surfaced beside us, dove under us, blew at us, and generally scoped us out. Luckily, he/she didn't take offense to our lack of a daily shower.