Outfitting for Cruising

It was a big day when the solar panels were installed!

Svendsen's Metal Works - We spent a good part of the winter at Svendsen's in Alameda.  Our slip had a great view of the Alameda estuary, with the US Coast Guard across the way and the Cal Berkeley's crews practicing right in front of us.  It was entertaining at times, especially listening to the coach's bullhorn at 6:30am.  Despite the industrial-park ambiance of living in a boat yard, we really enjoyed getting to know Alameda's grocery stores, restaurants, laundromats, WiFi hotspots, and every one of the many sources for boating supplies.

Berkeley Crew practice

This was our first winter living aboard and we also learned what happens when constantly using two space heaters - breathing, cooking and taking showers in a small space  - ­­when its much colder on the other side of the fiberglass.  In other words, we learned all about condensation and the mold that comes with it - lots of mold!  So we bought our first dehumidifier, which we think is a pretty good likeness to R2D2.  We ran R2 for a few hours every day.

Our new humidifier - aka R2D2

We accomplished a lot while at Svensen's.  At the very top of our project list was the design and construction of an arch by Chris Evanoff and his team at the Metal Works Shop; Rodrigo, Jair, Heriberto and Nicholas.  The arch will see duty as a platform for our solar panels, satellite phone & wifi antennas, stern & cockpit lights, a means to lift our dinghy and outboard and to store our outboard gas tank.  Chris and his crew were great to work with, very creative and professional.  We feel the end result is elegant in both form and function.

An early fitting

Arch frame in the shop ...

... with the solar panel bracket

Installation was definitely a team effort

Brian Theobald, who did all our electrical commissioning, also wired the solar panels and wired & installed the solar controller, the antennas and lighting.  Routing the wiring was often the biggest challenge.

Brian at work

The finished product ... 560 watts of solar, wifi and satphone antennas, stern lights, dinghy & motor lift ... the dinghy is high enough to see under when backing.

Grand Marina - Our next stop was Pacific Crest Canvas at Grand Marina for canvas work.  We've worked with Pacific Crest before and were really happy with the result, so it was a proven source for a bimini and a transition piece connecting the bimini to the dodger to shade us when we arrive in the really warm parts of the world.  We also added a dinghy cover to protect it from the sun & rain.

 Tight fit - it was good that we arrived on a windless morning

Pacific Crest's work slip was at the exit ramp for 3 docks, so people from dozens of boats walked by every day.  It was a big change from being at the boat yard with only a few other boaters nearby.  It was a fun place to stay for a few weeks and we met a lot of nice people.

 Pacific Crest owner Eric McKinley (right) and one of his employees - his dad!

 Transition canvas fitting

 Dinghy cover, bimini & transition

Hansen Rigging - We worked with Glenn Hansen when Agave Azul was commissioned.  Glen is one of the top riggers in the bay area.  Below is his repair dock ... another temporary home for Agave Azul and hopefully our last stop for projects for a few months.

Yet another marina - Hansen's repair dock

One of the items we had on our warranty list was a "twisted boom".  We had a lot of experts look at it, but the consensus was ... "it looks OK to me".  So I asked Glenn for his opinion and he suspected it was the toggle that holds the boom to the mast.  When the part finally arrived, Glenn made quick work of the job and the new toggle corrected the problem.

Does this look OK to you?

The toggle was quite twisted

The new toggle installed ... and no twist in the boom!

One of our final projects was to find a second anchor.  Although there is little agreement on the best anchor, an accepted rule of thumb is that bigger is always better.  We've read enough stories about cruiser's dragging their anchors that we didn't think our primary anchor was big enough to let us sleep soundly during a blow.  Although we had the "correct" size for our boat and appropriate for most anchorages, we wanted an oversized anchor that would join our primary on the bow roller.

But we had difficulty finding a bigger anchor that would fit alongside our primary.  So we decided to order the next larger size of the one we had and sell the old one to another 470 owner.  We increased the size to 80 pounds from 60.  West Marine had to order it and the day before we were scheduled to leave Alameda, the new anchor arrived.  I had to temporarily install it on the bow to mark where the pin would go that holds it in place while we are under sail.  Then a quick trip back to Svendsen's Metal Works to get the hole drilled.

Rodrigo and Jair at Svendsen's Metal Works

80# Manson Supreme

We still have a few more projects to complete, but if we needed to depart tomorrow we would be OK to go.

Agave Azul on San Francisco Bay

Sausalito sunrise

We haven’t posted an update for a while.  We needed to get busy completing boat projects before we head south to join the Baja Ha-Ha in September in San Diego.  As you’ll see in the next few entries, Agave Azul spent a lot of time in boat yards getting cruising and offshore items (arch, solar panels, electronics, antennas, lighting & rigging, dinghy & motor lift) designed & installed and we’re testing everything this spring.  There are a few more items to complete, but we’re taking a short break from boat projects.  It wasn’t all work, however, and I’ll include some photos of the fun activities we were able to enjoy in the Bay Area while getting our boat ready.

Bike Tour — Sausalito is an interesting town and one day I did a tour of the nearby streets and alleys.  Here are a few pics, with thanks to my daughter Carrie for letting me use her bike.

Coffee shops everywhere

We should all decorate our mailboxes

Jody from North Bay Boat Works – no fiberglass repairs done here!

 

One of many very cool old cars I rode by

How’d you like to live on this houseboat?

Sausalito has a Corps of Engineers dock where they bring debris to keep navigation safe on the bay.  This is home for old pilings, docks and derelict boats - a very busy place after a storm.

Corps of Engineer’s dock towing a derelict boat

Visitors — San Francisco Bay gets a lot of interesting visitors.  One day we were sailing past the Corinthian Yacht Club and noticed an unusual sailboat.  It turned out to be L’Hydroptere, a 60’ trimaran that set the sailboat speed world record in 2009 – 51.4 knots, or 59.1 miles per hour.

Corinthian Yacht Club

L’Hydroptere

L’Hydroptere moored at Angel Island

One morning I heard on the radio that the space shuttle Endeavour was doing a flyover of San Francisco Bay on its way to its permanent home at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.  For its final flight it flew almost directly overhead of Agave Azul before flying over the Golden Gate bridge.

Endeavour on its final flight

I learned about another famous visitor when I was checking our AIS system.  I saw an AIS icon a couple miles from our slip with a familiar name, Nereida.  Nereida is Jeanne Socrates boat and she is on her third attempt to sail solo non-stop around the world.  She has completed a circumnavigation, but a broken boom rounding Cape Horn and a grounding in Mexico stopped her first two solo non-stop attempts.  

Kathryn offering Jeanne a bottle of wine

On her current trip, she lost her life raft shortly after she left Victoria, B.C.  The rules allowed her to anchor in San Francisco Bay to install a new life raft, but only if she received no physical assistance.  She replaced the life raft and we motored over to wish her well on her way out the gate, but the wind and current didn't cooperate (she can’t use an engine on her solo non-stop sail around the world).  We offered her a nice bottle of wine, but she said she couldn’t accept anything after the start of her trip.  You can follow her travels at http://synereida.livejournal.com.  Fair winds Jeanne!

Nereida

Memorial Day - Golden Gate Bridge Anniversary

Sequoia Yacht Club did a cruise-out to Sausalito over Memorial Day.  It was a busy weekend on the bay since Memorial Day coincided with the 75th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge.  

Kathryn & Lynn with USS Iowa in the background

USS Iowa being towed out of the bay to Southern California

As exciting as it was to see a retired battleship on the bay on Saturday, Sunday was even more interesting.  We planned to sail to Angel Island and drop the hook for a lunch stop, but I saw Oracle's familiar black AC45 sail heading our way, so we stayed and sailed just east of the Golden Gate Bridge.  This time they were flying a special wing to celebrate -  "Happy 75th Anniversary".

The AC45's made their appearance with a special 75th Anniversary wing

Another nice surprise was the Jeremiah O'Brien also showing up for the celebration

We were about to head over to Angel Island again for lunch, but I saw an unusual target on AIS at the entrance to the ship channel.  I had to do a double take, but AIS said the boat, "Vessel 68", was 1198' long with a 230' beam, which must be an aircraft carrier!  Sure enough, about 40 minutes later the USS Nimitz passed under the bridge with sailors lining the entire length of the carrier.  It was quite a memorable Memorial Day!

USS Nimitz

Memorial Day on the Bay

The party continued that evening.  At 9:30 amazing fireworks were displayed on the Golden Gate Bridge and along Crissy Field.

Fireworks waterfall on the Golden Gate Bridge

Grand Finale on the Bridge

In Black &  White

We didn't have far to go to get home this weekend.  We now have a temporary slip in Sausalito.  We're next to the end tie with a great view of Richardson Bay and San Francisco ... and with great new neighbors, too!

Our new temporary slip in Sausalito

When a Bash is Not a Bash ...

On my last trip south Kathryn's brother, Tom, and I took the ABC bus to Ensenada, then checked out of Mexico at the Port Captain's office.

ABC Bus Station in Tijuana

Customs, Immigration & Port Captain

Getting our Zarpe

We'll miss Marina Coral

Agave Azul ready to sail to San Diego

On my first trip down the coast a few years ago, I didn’t get very far.  I crewed on the Coastal Cup and we lost our mast in the middle of the night 30 miles off Monterey.  So when we bought Agave Azul, and decided to sail to Mexico, we did a lot of research to determine the best time to transit the coast.  We worked with Commander’s Weather and left with a good weather window in September for a non-stop shakedown sail from San Francisco to Ensenada.  We had 15 – 25 knot NW winds most of the way, with reasonable swell and seas.  We made excellent time … at least until the Navy requested that we take a detour off San Clemente Island.  We made it to Ensenada in 75 hours, sailing most of the time.


Fast forward 8 months, and it’s time to return to SF Bay.  Our research told us that April wasn’t the ideal time for a return trip north, but we have some retrofits to complete before we start serious cruising and we hoped the weather wouldn’t be too bad.  Commander’s weather preview said “it looks promising”.


Ensenada to San Diego ... My brother-in-law lives in San Diego, so he crewed on the first leg from Ensenada.  We left at midnight on April 17th, with clear skies, no wind, calm seas and unusually warm weather.  Within a few miles we were in thick, wet fog that stayed with us most of the trip and we were able to avoid several vessels using AIS and radar.  When we turned north toward San Diego, the sun came out, the wind picked up and we sailed into the bay – a great way to end the first leg.  At the Police Dock the customs team was just finishing up with another boat and before we finished tying up they were onboard for a quick search and paperwork.  Ten minutes and $27.50 later we were on our way to the San Diego YC for engine maintenance and provisioning for our trip to San Francisco.

Typical visibility, wind and seas from Ensenada to San Diego

Dana Point

 San Diego Police Dock & Customs

Just before we departed San Diego on the 20^th, we received the Commander’s Weather forecast.  Although I am steadily improving my weather forecasting ability in preparation for cruising next year, I’m at a loss to understand how a “high amplitude upper level trough on the East coast leads to a steep upper level ridge on the West coast …. resulting in low clouds and light SE-S-SW winds”.  But our timing seemed perfect so we left at 1:00pm for our second leg to Santa Barbara.

Leaving San Diego

San Diego to Santa Barbara ... Since we sailed outside the Channel Islands and Catalina on the way down, we decided to sail inside this time.  The wind never got over 8 knots so we motored in the same cloudy, foggy, wet conditions we experienced on the trip from Ensenada.  We had lots of ship traffic and the entire crew became expert at avoiding weather buoys, fishing boats, towed barges, freighters, cruise liners and mystery ships that turned their lights off as we sailed nearby.  To augment our visual watch, AIS and radar were our good friends for the entire trip.  The clouds lifted and the sun came out when we got close to Santa Barbara.  After 22 hours we tied up at the Santa Barbara YC guest dock, got some lunch, topped off our fuel tanks, took a short walk on the beach and were on our way again by 5:00pm.

How many sailors does it take to .... ?

Oil Platform just south of Santa Barbara

Agave Azul at the guest dock in Santa Barbara

Linda & Kathryn beach walk

Checking alternate courses for our trip north

Santa Barbara Harbor

Leaving Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara to Monterey ... One of the highlights of both trips was Point Conception.  On the way to Ensenada we were well offshore when we passed Conception at 5:00pm with 15 – 20 kt. NW winds and the chute up.  We felt very fortunate to experience such an uneventful rounding.  On this “bash” north, we passed just 4 miles offshore at 11:00pm with heavy fog, no wind, a gentle swell and no waves – water skiing conditions!  This stretch of the coast was quiet all night with no vessel traffic or VHF communications.  A couple hours south of Monterey the sun poked through the clouds and we put the chute up in 15 kts.  Unfortunately I didn’t alert the galley crew who were preparing dinner – I won’t make that mistake again!  When the wind got up to 23 kts. we were surfing well over hull speed so we decided to take the chute down.  I have to remember that this is a cruising boat.  Dinner in the cockpit was easier without the chute anyway.  This was the only typical wind we saw during the trip, although it was from the opposite direction – SE instead of NW.  We motored into Monterey Harbor about 9:00pm after 28 hours, and celebrated with margaritas and every snack in the galley.

Heading North with 20 - 25 kts of wind from the SE

Windex Watching

It was odd to sleep for 8 hours with no boat motion.  We had breakfast at Loulou’s Griddle on the wharf, which was a great way to recover from Agave Azul margaritas.  We rented bikes and enjoyed the day being tourists.  We stayed in Monterey for 24 hours so we would enter the SF ship channel at slack. 

Loulou's Griddle - Robin, Kathryn, William, Linda, Byron & Dan

Play day in Monterey

Point Pinos Lighthouse

Monterey to San Francisco ... When we departed at 10:30pm the weather was calm, but the trip across Monterey Bay provided our most challenging conditions.  The wind picked up to the teens after midnight, but we couldn’t find a sail combination that would eliminate the side-to-side roll.  After pretending to sleep for a couple hours we chose to find humor in the situation and just stayed awake until we got out of Monterey Bay.  We were north of Point Año Nuevo when the rolling finally stopped and our crew were able to get some sleep.  We had just enough wind and sun for our sail into the Bay.  We sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge in light air with the chute up.  The wind picked up and we had a beautiful sail past the city front and under the Bay Bridge to return to Westpoint Harbor where friends from Sequoia Yacht Club were there to welcome us back.

Kathryn in the SF entrance channel

Sailing into San Francisco Bay

Linda at the Helm

Crossing the Tide Line

Alcatraz

All in all, we had a great trip with a very unusual weather pattern.  We know we’ll experience a real bash someday, but this was a nice surprise for our first pseudo bash up the coast.  We had a great crew of bay sailors … many thanks to Dan Lockwood, Linda Ryan, Byron Jacobs, William Levin and Tom McCormick (Ensenada leg).