I was fortunate to again be on "Song of the Sea", a friend's 112-foot Swan sailboat, for the trip from San Diego to San Francisco.
Monday - I arrived in San Diego early afternoon, as last-minute cleanup, grocery stowage, etc. was being finished. Then to the fuel dock where we put on over five tons (!) (1349 gallons) of diesel fuel. Departed 5:35P. The same crew as was on our Costa Rica trip (Mark, Teresa and Agnes), though Francois had returned to Canada, and John joined us as cook and extra (knowledgable) hand. Also joined by Sue, a friend of Cindy's and another HP retiree circa May 2000. Some lightning and small rain clouds in the evening.
Tuesday - We stayed well offshore, to avoid shipping traffic and to be in better fishing areas, so we saw no scenery. Even the dreaded Pt. Conception was passed 30 miles abeam, so we continued our VERY smooth ride under grey overcast skies with a 6K true wind. Motoring all the way...just not enough wind.
Wednesday - Caught many albacore all day. Also scooped up one of the many jellyfish so we could see what it was like. We throttled back to a slow 6.5K so as not to arrive at night.
Thursday - Foggy, so no sights as we approach SF. So we headed north to Bolinas Bay for salmon fishing and to wait for the fog to lift. Caught three fine salmon, one at the last minute as we were reeling in the lines, then through the Gate, and the fog had lifted enough so that we could see the deck of the bridge but not the tops of the towers. So many people had checked the height of the mast over the last two years that we knew we would make it, but it is always exciting with a mast that is about 140 feet above the water. We were met at KKMI (Point Richmond) by Ken Keefe (one of the "K"s in KKMI) and his team and by Marylyn, who had the ice chest and ice for the salmon.
We did 524 miles; including our fishing in Bolinas Bay, north of SFO. No sailing at all, due to the calm weather.
As John Steinbeck would say, "It was a good trip"
