Just a quick update on the travels and doings of Autumn Wind. (and Elizabeth and me too)
Spud Pt. Marina |
After having so many good times
in Tomales Bay, and some not so good times we went to Spud Point Marina in
Bodega Bay to try to relax and not worry about boat stuff. Spud Point has a fairly large percentage of
working fishing boats berthed there, so it has a different feel than many of
the marinas we frequent and where we have had the boat berthed for the last
three years. Overall the marina was just
fine, no complaints there. Bodega Bay
itself was another story. It may have
been because we were there over the Labor Day holiday weekend and the locals
had about enough of the tourists or it could be something in the water; but
there were not a lot of smiles or helpful people to be encountered. In addition most of the walking you had to do
to get to the different stores was along highway 1, with no sidewalks or
shoulder. It was actually pretty scary
walking around the place. We weren’t
impressed to say the least and were ready to leave when the time came.
This is what 10 hours of "summer" sailing/motoring looks like |
We motored out of the channel and
tried to do some sailing but there was no wind to speak of, so we ended up
motor sailing all the way to Drakes Bay.
Yes I know we have been trying to avoid Drakes, but it is a logical stop
on the way back to San Francisco.
Somewhere North of Pt. Reyes we passed a large ketch rigged boat that
was sailing in slow circles. More on that later. Drakes was kind to us this time and any lack
of sleep was due to our own paranoia. We
were a little behind schedule due to the engine issue to make the crew party in
Berkeley so we left early in the morning well before sun up to try to make it
all the way back and make the party. As
we motored out of the bay and past the green buoy marking Pt. Reyes what do you
know, we saw the same ketch rigged boat, only its mizzen sail up, sailing in
circles. It had made it about 10 miles
from where we saw it the day before. The
guy must not be a very big hurry. With
no wind we half motor sailed / motored to Berkeley and made it in plenty of
time for the crew party.
Back to San Francisco, will we ever leave? |
The crew party was a success and
we met a great crew member named Laura.
She was recommended by some trusted people we know and we had been in touch
ahead of time. She seemed more than
capable and will bring a lot of experience to the boat. We are excited to have her as crew. Berkeley was a nice stop for us and we ended
up spending four nights there. Went for some
well needed runs after eleven days, and stocked up on groceries and water
again. You can tell that every day is a
weekend for us as we realized it was Friday night at 8:30 and we were in Grocery
Outlet doing our grocery shopping, before the mile walk back. While walking around UC Berkeley we heard
that they had a home football game the next day, so on a whim we bought tickets
and spent another night so we could go to a college football game. Ohh college, it was fun. I guess that all I can say about that. We sniffed out a place called Jupiter. There was a line to get in; so we went in not
sure what it was. We asked a guy who
worked there and he told us that it was a micro-brewery that served brick oven specialty
pizzas in a great outdoor setting. I
have now decided that we may have the sense of a bloodhound for finding
breweries.
The wildlife on our dock at Berkeley |
Traffic I-80 at Berkeley - one of the many reasons we decided to take this trip |
Cal Bears game in the new Stadium |
We are bloodhounds, you can't hide a brewpub from us! |
We left Berkeley ready to head
South finally. The forecast looked good and
we were rested and ready to move. The
sail from Berkeley to the Golden Gate was amazing and we were looking forward to a nice sail
down the coast after all the motoring we had been doing. Elizabeth has adopted the tradition of
donating some money to Neptune as we depart on a voyage. All we had today was a quarter, a half dollar
would have been better. The sacrifice to
Neptune is to make up for the bad luck we cause ourselves by clipping our nails and cutting my hair on the boat. You
could write a book about the superstitions associated with boats. Elizabeth flipped the quarter into the air
and Neptune spit it back at her as it landed on the deck. We should have known then that it would be best
to turn back. About two miles later the
wind had continued to build and the wind waves and swells were beating us up
pretty decently. We had never seen the
porpoises that we always see upon exiting the Golden Gate and the forecast was just as good tomorrow; so we turned around. And here we are, back in Richardson Bay
hanging out with the herd of derelict boats, waiting to leave. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? At least it is sunny and calm, we’ll see what
tomorrow brings.
Glad we could help. What was your final decision about the glow plug solenoid?
ReplyDeleteFair winds,
Stu
In retrospect the solenoid was probably going bad or was spotty at best and the failure of the oil pressure switch brought it to light. We ultimately replaced the oil pressure switch, the glow plug solenoid and the breaker on the solenoid (I don't think the breaker was bad) Now the engine turns over better and quicker then ever before. Thanks again.
DeleteI miss you guys! Thanks for sharing and letting me tag along on your adventure. I hope all is well and that the trip is all that you have hoped for. One thing.......I want to see a wedding picture:) PLLLLEEEEEEEEAAAASSSSSSSE...... Love Shonilee
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