Settling Down in Richmond

Unfortunately our access to the internet is somewhat limited around this boat harbor. A small nearby shop offers free internet but they can offer no electrical power which makes my battery-dead laptop useless. Brenda was able to do an hour's work there before her battery died but we have concluded that our internet work will have to be done at a proper cafe like the one that we used to get the last set of photos out to the blog. Traveling to this cafe will be easier now that we understand the bus system better and that I have my Christmas present (to be explained below). Anyway, I expect to produce fewer than daily blogs entries while at Richmond, and some of those entries - such as tonight's - will be via Sailmail and the HF radio which means no photographs.

On Saturday, after having lunch and sending out the last blog at an internet cafe about a mile from the harbor we asked directions to the BART station and were told that it was about "two blocks" away. We walked and walked and soon found ourselves walking through run-down and "economically challenged" neighborhoods that would appear rough and dangerous to many people. This was a big contrast to the up-market neighborhood of Brickyard Cove and I told Brenda that we were walking through what is much of mainstream USA. Soon we came up to a Latin American family and asked the way to the BART station. Each of the two men pointed in different directions. After they got their story straight we thanked them and resumed our walking. Then one of the men called asking if we wanted a ride. Soon we were in the car being driven by the lady of the house. At the BART station, which was quite a distance away, Brenda gave her a bottle of red wine over her protests. ... So much for rough and dangerous neighborhoods.

Yesterday was Sunday and we took advantage of it to have a quiet day. We spent more time exploring our surroundings by foot and Brenda had her hour of internet connection at that nearby store. We also went for a walk where we stumbled on the "Rosie the Riveter" memorial (explained in a later blog). We also got a visit from Noel and Jacky, two Australians who that week had purchased a 51-ft sail boat that they are preparing for departure to Australia in about two weeks.
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Today, Monday, we hit the deck running with a set of objectives and had a successful day. Just after 9 AM I made contact with Elizabeth at Durant Canvas at the KKMI Boat Yard on W Cutting Road and she agreed to repair my cockpit spray dodger that I had removed the day before. She said that it was not far from West Marine, another of our destinations. We got on the no. 74 bus and at the BART station transferred to a no. 72. We got off the corner of W Cutting and Garrard and walked past West Marine to Durant about a half mile down the road. Elizabeth seems to run a small one-person show and seemed perfect for the small dodger repair job. As usual, I gave her license to do any strengthening work that she deemed appropriate. When I told her that I needed that dodger to get me around the Horn she said that her grandfather had rounded the Horn, she had seen film of what it was like, and I was crazy to try to do it. I thanked her with all sincerity for calling me crazy. As we walked away I realized why I was so happy at being complimented with the word "crazy". I had just finished the best book on small boat sailing that I had ever read, "Sea Quest" by Charles A. Borden, subtitled "Global Blue Water Adventuring in Small Craft". This is a book given to me by Robert on the slip next to ours in Port Townsend. The word "crazy" put me in distant company with the truly amazing crazies of small boat cruising.

We then walked back to West Marine where I placed a Navionics 18XG cartridge on order. (It will arrive tomorrow.) For $199 I'll get charts covering all of South America including the Galapagos. I did not purchase the 17XG cartridge which covers Central America and the Caribbean because it would provide for my needs only the West coast of Central America. I'll rely on C-Map for that section.

While I was dealing with the cartridge Brenda spotted some fold-up bicycles for sale. We both did a trial run on one that had been marked down from $299 to $199 and after mutiny from the crew over who would pay ("Who's the captain?" the salesman said; "I thought I was." I replied) Brenda won and I had my first Christmas present of this year. And a fine present it is: aluminum frame and wheels, 3-speed, and folds up to a small and light package.

Brenda then departed on foot for the little town of Pt. Richmond and I proceeded to Brickyard Cove where I saw Evan and picked up a wool sweater that I had left at Dick's home. I then rode to Pt. Richmond where I connected with Brenda again and we had Reuben sandwiches for lunch. We then went on a stroll through the town and stumbled onto the tourist center where Craig and Michelle were very enthusiastic in providing us with maps and other information of the area. Craig gave me a 247-page book published by the US Department of the Interior titled "Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historic Park" which contains much of the history of Richmond in WWII which I consider fascinating. (I would like to say more on this history later.) I signed the guest book and they said that we may have been their most distant visitors yet, though they had had a visitor from Zambia.

We then went to bus terminus and with some help I mounted the bicycle on the rack at the front of the No.72 bus and we rode to the BART transfer station. Their counter was open and Brenda and I purchased BART senior tickets that normally cost $24 for $9 each. (Getting older does have certain advantages, doesn't it?) We then got on a no. 74 bus and returned to the boat harbor. I wondered what the "Chateau De Sabazan" 1995 French red wine that I had purchased in Pt. Richmond for $9.99 would taste like. (It turned out to be an excellent buy: smooth with lots of flavor.)

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New Home for Pachuca

Yesterday we moved Pachuca from Dick's dock to Slip 264 of the Marina Bay Yacht Harbor in Richmond.

Our plan was to depart at about 12.30 PM on a rising tide. Brenda and I had seen very little of our host Dick Spight since he had helped take our lines on that first day. I had been busy with the insurance procurement effort and Dick had been laid low with a cold. Fortunately Dick was well enough to have a cup of coffee with us and Brenda and I spent a enjoyable hour with him talking about all sorts of things. Dick has been a very successful business man and he has given a lot back to society through his conservation work.

After coffee we went for a short bird watching walk then returned to the boat to prepare for departure. Nancy said goodbye from her veranda, we cast off at about 12.30 PM in a gentle breeze and light drizzle, and I gave two short bursts of the fog horn before we cleared Brickyard Cove.

The drizzle was turning into a light fog but we were not apprehensive because thanks to Nancy we knew exactly what to expect. The trip by water was only about 2 miles and we entered the MBYH in about 30 minutes. Our slip was an outer one, 6th from the left, and entry was a simple straight shot. The lowest depth I encountered was 3.2 meters, thanks to our passage at near high tide.

In the afternoon Brenda and I went for a walkabout and started out by checking the shower facilities (no quarters required, YAY!) Then we found the little cafe/store that provides free WiFi. We also looked over a pub with an elegant Italian restaurant. Then we scouted the laundry facilities.

The Marina Bay Yacht Harbor is a public one built about 10 years ago to a grand scale. It appears to have about 500 slips and has enormous expansion capacity. However, at present it appears to be under utilized possibly because of the economic down turn and possibly because long-term projects like this can take years to bear fruit. ("Build it and they will come.")

Anyway, for Brenda and myself this marina is ideal: quiet, reasonably priced at $438.75 for 1 month, has a shopping center within walking distance, is serviced by bus which can take us to the Richmond BART station. (Bay Area Rapid Transit, which gives us access to the entire Bay area, from which we can get bus, cable car, and ferry access to anywhere we are likely to want to go. See http://www.bart.gov/stations/index.aspx)

At 5.30 PM Nancy picked us up for dinner with some of her friends at the Richmond Yacht Club. This is a true everybody-pitch-in-and-help yacht club that reminded Brenda and myself of the yacht clubs in Opua, Adelaide, and Western Australia. We felt very much at home there. The food was great: Brenda and Nancy had lamb shank and I had a superb grilled trout with rice and green beans. This all went with access to a comprehensive salad bar and a superb bottle of red that Nancy suggested.

We met some terrific sailors. Greg and Donna of Magic Carpet gave me a lot of valuable information, particularly about the Sea of Cortez where they have their boat. The Sea of Cortez sounds like such a paradise that I am truly worried that I'll like it too much and will not want to move on. This is not an unfounded fear. They know several people who started of on circumnavigations and have gotten no farther than the Sea of Cortez, where they've been for up to 10 years. Their description of the society, climate, terrain, clear water, abundant aquatic life, and great spear fishing exceeded any expectations that I had. Greg and Donna will be returning to their boat soon and I am confident that I'll make contact when I'm in the area.

We also met Peter, a well known and respected sailing identity. Peter started to sail at the Royal Perth Yacht Club when he was 8 years of age. Jon Sanders mentored him and in his late teens he was in big-time ocean racing, skippering his first ocean racer at the age of 19. He's raced around the world and has participated in all sorts of races in Europe and the Atlantic. Now he has a rigging business and does a lot of boat deliveries.

The top photos are of Pachuca in her slip. If you enlarge the top photo (left click of mouse) you'll see San Francisco in the background. Note that the slips are individual with a walkway on each side. The third photo is of Dick's house and dock which we took as we departed. Next is a photo of Dick, holding a photograph of his now-sold boat Blitzen that he had for many years, with Brenda in the middle and Tom, one of Dick's employees on the right. Tom was extremely helpful to us, giving us vital support with printing and faxing information and providing access to the bathroom and shower. Unfortunately Evan, another member of the team, was not present when I took the photo.

The city in the next photo is Oakland. The lower photo shows Pachuca on her first day at Dick's dock, with gear drying on deck.

Brenda's Travel Arrangement

This morning Brenda started fooling around the internet investigating air links to Australia and soon she got into a geeky mode that amazed me. With little help from me she booked a flight to Australia with Orbitz.

She flies to Vancouver on Air Canada on 1 December and after a short layover flies to Sydney where after another short layover she will board a Qantas flight for Perth. She is scheduled to land in Perth on Thursday 3 December at 1.55 PM.

But between tomorrow when we settle the boat down and the sad time of her departure we've got a lot of great things to do: friends to see, places to visit, and good cuisine to investigate.

New Home for Pachuca

Once I had the insurance "binder" document I contacted Amanda at the Marina Bay Yacht Harbor. I have leased slip number F-264 for one month. Soon after I had my slip assignment Nancy from next door drove Brenda and myself to the MBYH where I completed formalities of the lease. Along the way Nancy showed us the various amenities around the MBYH then took us to an excellent vantage point from where we could see in detail the exact path that we must take to the marina. On the way back Nancy gave us a quick tour through the charming old town of Richmond Point.

We expect to move the boat to her new home tomorrow around mid-day on the rising tide.

Insurance Success

Frank Stevenson of AB Stevenson Insurance has set me up with a "Third Party" insurance policy that will meet the requirements of California marinas. The policy is for one year and good only within USA waters. The $500 cost will actually be $250 because I will make a first payment of $250 and I will cancel the policy before the second $250 is due.

Frank is not charging me brokerage fee because he has such good memories of visiting Townsville Qld with the US Navy in 1956 that he wants to return the good will. I protested that he needs to put food on his table and to please include his brokerage fee but his mind was made up. It's amazing how this good will has spanned a full 53 years!

But all is not lost. Frank and I have had good conversations about Australia and this circumnavigation (He has a 32-ft boat.) and I feel that we've become friends. We plan to meet for lunch next week. Lunch will be on me.

Frank will mail the insurance details to the Marina Bay Yacht Harbor (http://www.marinabayyachtharbor.com/) and this afternoon I will try to make arrangements to move the boat tomorrow.

Plans

Brenda and I would like to thank our friends and "fellow travelers" for their kind thoughts in both blog comments and email messages. Your interest, encouragement, and genuine concern for our welfare has helped us a lot and enhanced the quality of our experience.

Yesterday we contacted a marina which met our requirements of having local amenities and being close to transportation. However, for the first time in my 10 months in US waters I was asked to produce proof of boat insurance. I contacted several big companies who either could not help me (e.g. must be USAA member.) or offered no products for transient boats. I then started contacting local insurance brokers. Two never returned my call but fortunately the third one answered the phone and he thinks that he can help me, though I may have to purchase insurance for an entire year. The problem, as in Opua New Zealand where I was in the same situation, is the requirement for a boat survey. I would like to avoid the expense of a boat haulout and survey if possible. So I spent most of yesterday going through my documentation and sent to the broker the results of two boat surveys - the most recent in 2005 when I purchased the boat - and a history of all of the maintenance and upgrade work in the four years that I've owned the boat. I also included a spreadsheet of the major expenditures and another of Pachuca's cruising history. I told him that I was willing to visit his office with my thick dossier of reports, receipts and work sheets that will back up my statements. I will telephone Frank the broker this morning and see if this will suffice. If there is still a problem I will remind him that all I require is "third party"cover which should eliminate a strict survey requirement, given that the boat itself would not be insured.

This insurance issue is very important to us because according to what I've been told this insurance requirement has been in effect for about 3 years and is California-wide.

Brenda and I had a discussion about our plans for the next few weeks and we decided to stay in the San Francisco Bay area until Brenda departs for Australia in early December. We concluded that we would get more out of exploring what the Bay area has to offer than sailing on and getting glimpses of Monterey and other destinations further south. There is another very practical advantage: it will be much easier to book Brenda's flight and get her to the airport from a stable situation here in San Francisco than from the uncertainties associated with sailing down the coast.

This means that I'll do much of my preparation for Central and South America here in San Francisco rather than in San Diego. Fortunately the requirements are minor, e.g. repairs to my cockpit spray dodger that got torn probably when that big wave it us, Raymarine chart cartridges for Central and South America, courtesey flags for Mexico and other countries that I am likely to visit, and possible extend my Sailmail license for another year because I don't know where I will be at renewal time next March or April.

After Brenda departs I expect to be in "solo sailor" mode and will probably travel quickly down the coast, with maybe a night or two in the Channel Islands, and make for San Diego for a short stay before heading for the Sea of Cortez.

Brenda has lost weight and looks slimmer. I am encouraging her to write "The Pachuca Seasick Diet" which could turn out to be a best seller. (30% of the proceeds would go to the Pachuca maintenance fund.

SF Sail Photos

The top photos shows a "situation" on the chart plotter. I've got a tug towing a barge heading for me but I've had to wait for ship to get past me so that I can cut across its stern and get out of the way of the tug.

The second photo shows the AIS data on the tug.

The third photo is an example of how not to run a boat. After surveying this ropey scene I tidied things up fast.

The last photo is of a tired skipper enjoying a spinnaker run.