Fundraising Strategy

Maybe this is how we should fund this adventure?? Anyone interested in an innovative advertising opportunity?? ;O)

Wandering around San Francisco

Some other things I saw while wandering around San Fran:

The Presidio


Crissy Field


Hey girls - remember this beach?


Pelicans are NOT graceful divers..but they are fun to watch


People swim in the bay year round. Crazy? Maybe...


Coit Tower

Murals in Coit Tower...a little California History lesson


More pics on flickr...

Fleet Week

This week is Fleet Week in San Francisco. The Bay area has a long and significant history as a base of military operations, partly due to its key strategic location along the Pacific Coast. Fleet week is an annual celebration is based on welcoming home and showing acknowledgment for the troops, although locals tell me that this celebration is not as well supported these days as in the past. Regardless, the marina is a buzz with activity as all the boats prepare to head out and set anchor for all the action. Think of the chaos in Vancouver Harbour during the annual Fireworks, and then multiply this by at least 10-fold. Now you have a sense of how crazy it is out on the Bay. The boys at West Marine tell me that they are super busy before the weekend when everyone gets their boat ready to go on the water....then they are busy after the weekend, as everyone is fixing the damage they've done and buying a new anchor to replace the one they lost after getting tangled up with everyone else out there!!

What Fun!!

Regardless...the weekend shows were somewhat muted because of the low cloud cover and the odd weather...but I went for a walk in the City earlier this week, and managed to catch the Blue Angels as they were practicing. Here are a few shots.






More photos, as always, on flickr.

Exploring...

We launched the dinghy to explore some of the Sausilito area and run the outboard. We went to the neighboring houseboat marina and poked around. Some of these homes are phenominal... I grabbed these pictures right before we ran aground and broke the shear pin. :O)

Boat Jobs

John and I had a busy two weeks of boat projects, and exploring San Fran! He was able to replace the worn parts on the steering system, and it now works like new. We also ordered new batteries for our house bank, as our Canadian Tire models seemed to have lost their capacity. John also dove the boat to replace the zinc, which was completely disappeared after only 4 months, and give the bottom of the boat a scrub.
I also winched him up the mast, so that we could further investigate our anchor light. Luckily, it was just a burned out bulb.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

A highlight of our time in San Francisco was receiving tickets to a San Francisco Giants game at AT&T Park!! What a fabulous time. The stadium is quite spectacular with stunning views of the Bay. And although I've never been a ball fan....I was surprised at how engaged I became in the game itself. It was the last home game of the season, and we were thrilled to catch it!

Div. 6's Questions - Part 1

Ms. Small's Grade 5/6 class at Armstrong Elementary asked a few questions last week. I'm going to tackle them a few at a time. Here is the first few questions...

What kind of boat do you have?

Our sailboat, "Renova", is a Cape Dory 36. It is 36 feet long and it is cutter-rigged, which means it has 2 sails on the front of the boat, plus one big main sail, which goes up the main mast in the middle of the boat. The boat was build in the USA - in Massechussets - in 1980. Although Cape Dory's are no longer being made, the hull mold has been bought by Robinhood Marine, and they are building Robinhood 36's, which are very similar to our boat. You can see pictures of our boat here, and find out more on the Cape Dory Association website here.

Why did you want to make this trip?

John has been sailing since he was very young. He's wanted to go on an extended sailing trip since he read about Robin Lee Graham going around the world at only 17 years old. At first I thought he was crazy!! Once I learned more about sailing and the cruising lifestyle, I realized it wasn't at all what I had expected, and it sounded like a great way to travel and see new and interesting places! I quickly became as passionate about this adventure, as he is.

Have you almost capsized?

Not yet!! We are planning to keep the boat with the keel in the water for the whole trip. But...because a sailboat is designed with a huge weight under the water, in the keel, if we were to ever lay the boat on her side, the large keel (8000 lbs) would bring her right-side up again. Just in case we have three bilge pumps (2 automatic/electric, one manual) on board to help us pump out any water that might find its way into the boat

Do you have water on the boat?

Yes! We have four water tanks that hold a total of 100+ gallons of fresh water. Most of the time, we only have cold water. We have a hot water tank, but it takes a lot of power to heat up the water (and keep it hot), so we don't use it very often. We boil water on the stove to get hot water for washing dishes. On long trips where we won't be near a dock or marina, we may have to start conserving water by using salt water for some cooking and to wash our dishes, but so far, it has been easy to find water to refill our tanks.

Ms. Small's Class Has Questions!

Ms. Small's Grade 5/6 class at Armstrong Elementary is very interested in our travels, and has asked us a few questions. I'll answer a few questions every week, but here they are:

What kind of boat do you have?

Why did you want to make this trip?

Have you almost capsized?

Do you have water on the boat?

How do you wash your clothes?

How do you store food on the boat?

How do you keep your food cold?

Can you only eat dried food?

Have you almost fallen overboard?

When will you be back?

How do you shower?

How do you cook your food?

Where do all the wastes go?

Will you stop in Hawaii?

Are you worried about pirates?

Have you ever found treasure?

Have you seen dolphins and whales and sharks?

Do you have flares?

What happens if pirates attack you?

have you been sea sick?

Have you been scuba diving?

Do you see many boats along the way?

What souvenirs will you buy?

What's the coolest thing you've done so far?

Have you seen an octopus?

Have you ever been lost?

Do you sail at night?

What's the coolest sea creature you've seen?

Have pets been on your boat?

Amy and Strahan Visit!

More Visitors!! Amy and Strahan were here for a few days. And John got back from working up North. We had lots of fun exploring San Francisco.

We walked in the Marin Headlands Park to take in the views of the Bridge:
We took Renova out for an evening sail in the Bay, with great views of Alcatraz and the City:



We saw the Cable Car Museum:


We walked through the huge Golden Gate Park:



We took the ferry to Alcatraz...


where the audio tour was surprisingly excellent! It was narrated by ex-inmates and guards.



Amy and Strahan were fun to have here...we hope they'll come back and visit us soon!

Wonderful Neighbors

The marina is full of kind and interesting people. I've been lucky to have good neighbors. Fred and Margaret on Falcon were here for the Labour Day weekend, visiting from the East side of the Bay for the Art Festival. We enjoyed several great conversations and a couple glasses of wine.

My dock neighbors are also great. Joe has a beautiful wooden boat across from us, and Conrad lives on his boat at the end of the finger. Carol is also close by. Barry keeps Melita next to Renova, and we enjoyed an afternoon sail on the Bay. It's been fun to have great people nearby.

Funny enough...I've also had visitors!! Yvonne and Bruno from SV MoMo, who we met in Newport, stopped by while in the neighborhood. And...so did Sunny and Al...from Lantzville!! Unfortunately, I wasn't here when they came by. Too bad.