[imagebrowser id=1 ] The plan was to meet Allison in Richmond at 9:00 and shuttle the ManVan back to Emeryville where we would pick Jon up and drive back to Richmond. Unfortunately the ManVan had other ideas. Somehow, after hauling a ton of gear over 700 miles, the ManVan decided to give up the ghost right in the Bay Marine parking lot.

So, we changed the plan. By 10am everyone was on the boat and by 11 we were pushing off. After a hair raising shove off we headed out the channel and into the Bay. The wind was gentle in the morning and we put up full sails but by the time we were lined up with Racoon Straights it was blowing hard enough to warrant a first reef. By the time we were lining up with the Gut it was howling and a second reef would have been prudent. I was loving the speed (6.5 SOG according to the iPhone) and we were so close to Emeryville that it was nearly time to douse the sails anyway, so we let out a bit and enjoyed the wind.

The only small mishaps of the day were: Running through a small boat race and confounding the contestants somewhat. I sheepishly picked my way through the group but a 43′ boat doesn’t just zip through a small fleet like that; Forgetting to close off the sea cocks for the basins. Once we got to a 25º heel the water was just pouring in. I leveled us out and went to inspect, but of course the problem had abated. We dropped a few towels and I closed the remaining sea cock. I’ll have to remember to do that first next time 🙂

Entering our fairway at Emery Cove we found that there was someone in our slip. I called the harbor master and got a back up slip just two slots down from ours. The docking went more smoothly than I had feared, but not as cleanly as I had hoped. I’ll be practicing that more as I find time.

Shortly after we arrived the rest of the Logan Clan (Jennifer, Anika, and Rayna) showed up by land. We gave a quick tour of the boat and then headed off to a lovely (though slightly chaotic) dinner at Chevy’s.

I was pleased as punch to find out, the next day, that the three boats I had identified as CALs—further on down our dock—were in fact CAL 39s.I hope to enlist the help of one of the owners in my docking practice. All in all our first Bay sail on Convivia was a raging success. I’m going to be hard pressed to choose the necessary maintenance work over more days of sailing, but I know it needs to be done!

Don’t miss this related post.