Departure

7-27-12 - Alameda, CA - Grand Marina - Day 25

Friday afternoon at 3:30 we finally said goodbye to Grand Marina and slip C-55.  They had taken good care of us for the last three years, but today was the day we had set to leave.  Today was the "leave day".  As you begin to prepare for a journey like ours you consistently hear from others that you must have a "leave day".  Where, within reason, no matter what still has to be done and how many things aren't completed, and how many trepidations you have; you simply must leave the dock.  Some say even if you motor around the corner and drop the anchor for the night; you must leave at some point.  The fact is you will not be ready, you will not have completed everything you wanted to and you must accept that fact.  Thankfully we are joining a rally to the Northern California Delta that starts on July 27, so we had a date, or else, I am willing to bet, we would have stayed a little longer to finish some projects; but the projects never end.  So on Friday afternoon, after fixing a blown fuse in our 12V outlet, replacing the the raw water pump on our engine, selling our bikes and emptying the dock box into the boat; we departed; unfinished projects and all.


Ready to go

A group of people we had met the last month living on the boat saw us off.  We didn't have a distinct departure time, but as the time grew near they began to sense what was happening and started milling around the end of our dock.  Wisely, no one asked to help or spend to much time BSing about our plans.  That had all been done already.  They were simply happy to see us off and wish us fair winds.  People we had met as little as 2 weeks ago took time out of their day to stop by and see us off like family.  The boating world continues to amaze me.  With that we executed a graceful departure and at the marina entrance I let the air horn go for longer than really needed to signal our departure, not just for today, but for the foreseeable future.  Oddly that was the one moment that hit me emotionally.  Then reality kicked in and we motored over to the pump out dock and pumped out the holding tank.

How do you fill a propane tank without a car?

The week and month leading up to "Departure" I will call it, was busy to understate it.  Something as simple as filling our little 3 gallon propane tank took research and time to complete.  Elizabeth took on the challenge of backpacking our propane tank across the island to some little auto repair shop to get it filled.  How do you provision for a 12 day trip with a bike and a backpack?  Probably not a problem if you don't drink and like rice...a lot.  We don't fit that model so with the help of a friend we made the huge final grocery trip, filling up two dock carts for the trip down the dock.  Somehow it all fit in the nooks and crannies of Autumn Wind.  We will probably find a finely aged bottle of Chuck Shaw in a year, when we finally get to the bottom of the food locker.

Final provisioning  - Note this doesn't include any beverages

We received much advice and encouragement from people over the last month.  Without fail every person we talked to had two things to say. First was some piece of advice - some worthwhile, some not so much.  Second was that every person said we would make it.  When we described our tentative plans to head South they would immediately look at us oddly and say "you'll make it, don't worry, you're ready, you'll be fine" We would talk to someone on the dock we had said Hi to for years and once they heard of our plans they would say, I did that last year, here is my advice, oh, and you'll love it!  Our old dock neighbor email us offering up his fishing gear, flares, even a dinghy.  It is as if the success of one boat brings happiness to the entire group and everyone wants to see you be successful.  Sailing South seems to be a rite of passage on the West coast sailing scene.  No one says you're crazy, instead they say, you'll love it.  Like hiding in you basement from a tornado or shoveling your driveway in the Midwest.  People on the west coast think that's crazy, Midwesterners just say it's what you do.  So anyway with the support of the community around us and people we barely knew we are off. 

Even selling our bikes went well.  They sold quickly on Craigslist and the gal who bought them was OK waiting until Friday at 10:30 to get them.  She didn't flake out like so many Craigslister do and she just paid for them, no haggling.  It was nice.  Come to find out they will be re purposed as playa bikes for her trip to Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert outside of Reno.  So I guess it all comes full circle.

On our way!