Got Wind and Water . . .

Sail to Presidio Yacht Club and hike the Marin Headlands II

Aug '09 29 Sat 9:45 AM

Location: OCSC at the Berkeley Marina

One Spinnaker Way
Berkeley, CA 94710
510 843-4200

Attendance: 9 people attended.
5.005 (5 ratings)
Who organized?
John and Peter Antypas

This event generated so much interest that in order to be fair, I added everyone in the order in which they responded to my initial email. Naturally, some of you ended up on the waiting list. Remember, though, that between now and the 29th all kinds of things can change so don't despair. Who knows, I might even pile up everyone on Sabina as we seem to have enough potential rail meat! As for me, I'll be at the bow, of course.

And John Cabrall stepped in and offered to take all the waiting list people out on a second boat. Yippie!

We (those on John's boat) will sail out of OCSC no later than 10am and tack our way upwind through the "slot" into the Presidio Yacht Club. This is the marina just inside the Bay, below the north tower of the Golden Gate bridge. The slip fee is $20 for the day and I ask that you gals (and guys!) pitch in :)

As soon as we dock and change into our hiking gear we will head up to the trails. I expect everyone will be hiking -- this isn't just another sail . . . Unless of course you are sailing with John . . . who is so old and out of shape he probably will have trouble walking up the lawn to the unpretentious restaurant/bar (just kidding! - John will probably hang out and watch the "GREAT SCHOONER RACE" taking place in the central bay the same day We can decide by consensus which trails to take, for how long, and at what pace. You should probably bring something to eat and don't forget water. The yacht club has a very unpretentious restaurant/bar as well. You can read about it here.

I'd like to leave the marina early enough to be back at Emeryville around sunset. I'm flexible, though.

On the way back we (John and his group) are going to leave the marina with Peter and Sabina, and sail with them until the end of the Berkeley Pier, where we will split off and return to OCSC. There is no cost for this event, though voluntary contributions of brownies and cash (to help cover expenses) will be accepted joyfully. Anyone who pukes will get a refund. There is a rumor that we'll put Dramamine in the brownies, but forget I said that. Cheese, crackers, grapes, strawberries, . . . Oh My! These are all good things to bring along.

Photos of this Meetup

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Talk about this Meetup

Posted Aug 31, 2009 5:02 PM

John

Group Captain

Aw Shucks, it wasn't that hard. We did have the engine, but no cooling water, so I was expecting to loose it at any moment. I just let the crew know that we only had one shot at it. The dock was downwind, so we just drifted in.
Posted Aug 31, 2009 3:04 PM

Alan

Experienced Sailor

John executed one of the most masterful, emergency docking maneuvers that I've ever seen -- under bare poles (sans engine, sans sails), coming into a tight harbor from heavy air on the bay. It was a pleasure to sail with him, whose skippership (is that a word?) in general, I think, is superb.
Posted Aug 31, 2009 11:03 AM

John

Group Captain

Experience is making mistakes and learning from them. It's even more important to learn from other people's mistakes. :)
Posted Aug 31, 2009 10:33 AM

paul weismann

Hasn't updated profile questions (yet)

Very intense sailing. It was blowing 30 kts in the afternoon on Sunday. It was exciting, and safe, as our skipper John has 50 years experience. On the ride back, downwind frm Presido YC after dark, John saw the freighters in the distance, and the unlighted buoys on the GPS, listened to the talk on three channels of the VHF. This is the meetup group for people who want to jump into sailing with both feet, andalso for those who already are experienced.
Posted Aug 30, 2009 8:00 PM

John

Group Captain

Debbie's Brownies were fantastic! :)

Who attended?

9 attendees
- Alan
  
  Experienced Sailor
  
  “ Very eventful sail. Good fun (no one went overboard). ”
- Rose
  
  Sailing Addict, Videographer
  
  “ A full day including return to Berkeley by moonlight. Nice group. Cool boat. Fantastic skipper. Let's do it again! ”
- Scherazade
  
  “ People were very nice. Jhn is a great sailor. We learned a lot and had fun. ”
- francesca Spero
  
  “ Sailing in the bay is an awesome experience, especially with such an experienced sailor and gracious host as John!! Everyone is very friendly and helpful to those of us who do not know a lot about sailing. ”
- John
  
  Group Captain
  
  “ It was a great group and a great adventure. Presidio Yacht Club and the Travis Marina was a very interesting and fun destination. The approach is not easy, often with gusty 30+ winds and strong currents, it was a challenge to get in there, but we'll definitely do this again. ”
- Debbie
  
  Co-organizer, Data Cruncher
- Stacy
  
  Novice (for now)
- paul weismann
  
  Hasn't updated profile questions (yet)
- 1 former member