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Autumn brings California its finest sailing weather. Two seasons ago we reveled in cruising California’s Channel Islands and produced our first DVD, “Around Santa Cruz Island”. Last year we immersed ourselves in exploring Monterey Bay and our second DVD, “Monterey Bay, Inside Out”, is near completion. Now we are cruising San Francisco Bay to enjoy and reconnoiter this world famous sailing venue.

For many years we raced on the SF Bay. Events like the Three Bridge Fiasco, Delta Ditch Run, Silver Eagle, and Double-Handed Farallones provided us with many thrills and challenges. Now it’s time to slow down the pace and take a bit of time to smell the roses.

The Bay provides some terrific sailing. Strong winds and tidal flows are wonderfully challenging. Although the wave action created during afternoon ebb tides can be positively bouncy, inside the Gate, there’s no big Pacific swell to contend with. Our mornings began on easy breezes that gave way to reefed sails by early afternoon. The sights and sounds of the central bay were something to behold.

Here’s a few formative images and comments from our first short cruise.

After many years of sailing on the Bay we decided to make our first visit to Angel Island, the largest of the islands on San Francisco bay. The island is now state park. The principal mooring area is Ayala Cove. For a small fee, the park provides docks for day usage, and mooring for longer stays. I must admit that for all the cruising we’ve done, picking up mooring is a skill we have rarely practiced. We got a good lesson on the art from friendly boaters in the cove who were eager to help we novices.

We spent a couple of days enjoying the park and even made the hike to top of the island for a 360 degree view of the Bay. The 800 foot summit goes by the rather unattractive name Mount Livermore. The view is better than the name.

One week after our Angel Island visit, a wildfire engulfed the island.

(Photo from Los AngelesTimes)

While atop Mount Livermore we met a few young travellers. Horace was from Toronto, Canada. Hadas, from Israel. We invited them to make their return to the mainland aboard our boat. Wherever and whenever we go cruising, the most rewarding experiences involve meeting new people!

Our guests joined is in our ad hoc visit to Sausalito, where we found ourselves searching for a place to spend the night. The marinas were all booked up but we happened upon the Sausalito YC who provided us with a mooring right off their rickety guest dock. The club made us more then welcome, with great comradery and fine dining.

Another highlight of our first cruise was the arrival of the world’s largest sailing yacht, the Maltese Falcon.

This event, along with our Fleet Week experience later in the month, really confirmed our impression of the San Francisco Bay as a cruising venue. The sights and sounds are terrific. You and your boat are in the middle of the action. But if it’s solitude you seek, this ain’t the place.

Photo by Horace Cheng (whom we met atop Angel Island)

There’s only one way to describe the Maltese Falcon…BIG!

A few days after our Maltese Falcon encounter, another small sailing boat had it’s own encounter with the beamouth. She tacked and T-boned the Falcon!

Photo by Peter (”right-place-at-the-right-time”) Lyons of Lyons Imaging. News by the YachtPals Crew