Weekend

We took an early bus on Saturday for the Hilltop shopping center primarily to get tubes and a repair kit for my bicycle. Saturday was a very good day for the trip because on weekends the no. 74 bus takes us from the marina to Hilltop and back without a bus change. Barry's advice to go to WalMart for the bike parts was good. I was able to purchase three extra thick tubes with goo in them to "guarantee" that they will never go flat. I also found a patch kit for repairing the punctured tube. We left the shopping center fully loaded with provisions for the boat.

The afternoon was not so successful. I had a brief session on the local internet service using Brenda's computer trying to find a spear gun. The twice-recommended Steele's in Oakland did not have any in stock, and the dive shops I phoned did not sell them. A dive shop that was recommended to me did not answer their phone but their web site listed several types of spear guns, the first costing an even $1,000. (Tax would probably add another $80.) They listed a reasonable-looking one for $415. However, when I looked up their location, I learned that Bodega Bay is about 20 miles north of Sausalito. I decided to give up on spear guns in the Bay area and try my luck in San Diego or Mexico. Barry confirmed decision this later when he told me that spear fishing is not that big in this area because of the murky waters. He agreed that the prospects in San Diego are much better.

After lunch we took a bus to the BART station in a quest to find Moe's book store in Berkeley, which they modestly claim to be the best bookstore in the world. We followed their instructions to get off at the Ashby station then head east across to Telegraph Avenue. On the way to Telegraph Ave we had lunch at a smart looking coffee place which turned out to have the feel of a University hangout, with its serious young people engrossed in their MacIntosh computers, stray conversation about a German Literature course, a feral child running from table to table wreaking havoc while in my mind its sole parent was engaged in deep discourse about his/her sociology or psychology program. For someone who enjoyed their university years this would have been a great experience. For me it sucked. I'd rather be sailing.

We moved on and found ourselves in the 6000 numbers of Telegraph Ave but the address we had been given was 2476. This puzzled me because the person at Moe's assured me that we would emerge "right there" at the shop. After walking a few blocks I concluded that it would take between 1 and 2 hours to arrive at 2476. I phoned Moe's and was told that the address was 3054, different but not much better. We took a bus and found that 3054 Telegraph Road was in the middle of a large hospital complex. We gave up and fortunately found ourselves near the MacArthur BART station not too far away. This was good because it was about 4 PM and I did not want to be caught in Oakland after dark. With the fast BART service and a quick bus connection we found ourselves back at the boat before 5 PM, well before dark at 5.30 PM. We had not achieved our objective but the afternoon had not been a total waste of time: we had walked through parts of Berkeley and Oakland, which was all new to us.

Yesterday, Sunday, Barry and Joyce from Jubilee II, an Islander 36, Took Brenda, myself, and Noel & Jacky from Pywacket, a 51-ft sloop, on a car tour to the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge. We started off by going to Berkeley to pick up two solar panels that Noel and Jacky had purchased. After tying them on the roof rack we headed for the the Richmond – San Rafael Bridge (officially, the John F. McCarthy Memorial Bridge) then Sausalito then the state park at the north end of the Golden Gate bridge. It was a clear and sunny day and the views were spectacular. We drove up a road taking us to the west coast and along the way Brenda saw her first coyote (but no mountain lions that are reputed to inhabit the park). The drive back down the hill was a difficult one with cars parked on both sides of the narrow road and our group of about 7 cars meeting cars trying to come up. Things locked up and because we were in the lead car I did my civic duty and got out to play traffic cop. I don't know if it was my gray hair or my official-looking yacht club jacket or just plain politeness, but everyone cooperated with no resistance and soon we were on our way.

On the way back to Richmond we had a good look at the very up-market Sausalito and its seemingly miles of marinas.

In the evening Brenda and I were treated to dinner on Jubilee II where Barry and Joyce presented us with a banquet of Barbecue spare ribs with a huge salad, vegetables, and hot rolls. Brenda and I provided a bottle of Australia Jacobs Creek red.
Jubilee II reinforced what I've noticed from visiting Bud's Canadian Seacraft 36 Fandango and other boats here in the USA. American boats seem to be designed more for cruising, space, comfort, and have interior fitouts to a higher standard than I've seen on the average Australian cruiser/racer such as, alas, Pachuca. Great panelling, joinery, and furnishings.

The top photo is of Raccoon Strait with Angel Island on the right. Richmond is straight ahead in the background and Sausalito is to the left of the photo. The north end of the GG bridge is in the foreground.

The next two photos show a sail boat doing it tough trying to sail back into the Bay against an ebb current.

The fourth photo is a look up the rocky west coast.

Farther down are photos of Brenda with Joyce, then myself with Brenda, then Barry, Joyce and Brenda. (The lighting was difficult because the sun was in the background.)

Then a bit farther down is a photo of me with Joyce and her big smile, with Barry at the back helping Noel load the solar panels, and Brenda on the right.

The next few photos are of houses in the Berkeley area. I credit myself with the only house photo that I took - the last one of the Alliance Francaise house that I took with friend Barbara Cairns of Canberra in mind.