One thing we debated back and forth and finally decided to do was to hire someone to accompany us for some of the trip north. We have a fare amount of cruising experience, but we though that the combination of a new and unproven boat, a boat that is all new to us, and a coast that is all new to us was a lot of risk. Any one by itself would have been fine - perhaps even two - but all three seemed like it was asking for trouble.
On-board time was set for Monday at 7:00AM, and around 7:30 we were pulling away from the dock. That's when the first problem occurred. The bow thruster was intermittent thrusting to port from the wing station. I tested it at the main helm and it seemed to work reliably, so we kept going. One thing for the list.
The first half day was smooth, but things started to pick up through the Santa Barbara channel and around Pt Conception. But all-in-all it wasn't too bad. The second day was very calm all 24 hrs and made for easy shifts. But bad weather was on the horizon. A big system off shore to the north was whipping up some big seas north of San Francisco, so we decided to put in for a few days.
Coming into San Francisco was fun. Our initial approach was in the dark with first light just as we approached the Golden Gate Bridge. A cruise ship, a couple of tankers, and a cargo ship all converged, more or less, plus a research vessel, a tug, a few pilot boats, and a dozen or so fishing boats. Busy, but still not as busy as NYC.
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| Entering San Francisco at first light |
We are now tied up in Sausalito to wait out the weather until we can continue north.
SF was our home port for years. Svendsons boatyard is the best chandlery in our view. It's in Alameda just south of you in the bay. Most weekends Sausalito has great activites and don't miss the guy stacking rocks near the ferry landing.
ReplyDeleteWORKNOT N5017.
Congratulation! Been following your adventure from the start and hopefully meet up with you sometime in the future.
ReplyDeleteJim Evans Fairbanks Alaska, future owner!
you love to see a detailed walk through of your baby. All the nooks. not to many good videos of a 55 or 60 online.
ReplyDeleteAnother great adventure!! You timed it just right for our first storm.
ReplyDeleteSausalito is beautiful. Are you at Schoonmaker Point Marina? If you're going to be there through the weekend, maybe we could come by to meet you and see your new boat.
Wowzers Peter, welcome to my neck of the woods. You must have posted this update right after my last comment. Congratulations on a safe and sane first leg up the coast.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Laurie and Peter for allowing me to board Tanglewood today, and the tour. Absolutely a spectacular boat; a whole different perspective in person vs. photos. I wish them nothing but safe travels, and fun adventures.
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