Our ten day stay in San Diego was punctuated by bursts of activity and a lot of fun. As far as the work situation was concerned, we had to pain the hull, which we did while we were lying along side of the dock. Then we went along side the ways at the Kettenburg Docks and had a new water line put on. We are laden down with food and other gear to the extent of approximately eight inches. It was necessary then, to take a machine sander, sand down all the white and blue paint around the water line and put on three coats of copper paint so that we would be protected from marine life which eats into wood below the water line.
This only took us a day. There were a number of men at the yard working on it and when we came along with our new water line, we felt a sense of security that we have not had since we loaded the boat at Oakland. During the two of three weeks that she was being loaded, it grew quite a growth of grass on the white paint that was thrust below the water level from the extra weight of the loading.
In addition to that there were a number of things to be obtained that we had forgotten. It is amazing how many things you do forget and we obtained many of those, although I find now that I am in Ensenda that we did not get several things that actually would have been useful. None of them are very important and yet the more useful things that you have, the more comfortable life becomes. I am thinking now, particularly of a small tool that makes grommet holes and puts in grommets.
Ray made a bag yesterday, to hold the portable oven, and if we had had a couple of grommets to put in, it would have been much simpler. Instead of that, he had to sew for about an hour in order to make some holes and sew a piece of rope onto the bag so that it could be hung up.
In the fun department, we had someone entertaining us practically every evening and many times at lunch. We had a lunch at the San Diego Yacht Club with my sister Lucille and her husband Jack. We had a dinner at the San Diego Yacht Club with Fred Allen of the Fairweather and his charming wife.
We were entertained at dinner by my sister Joy, and her husband Paul and we were entertained by Louise Cohn Scull and her husband Bill, at the Koni Kai Club, which is a very fancy new club built out on an artificial peninsula in San Diego Bay.
Back to the present: a dark and stormy night?
Naw, it was just a Friday evening at the end of September, with fog streaming towards the Berkeley Hills, wind and waves keeping pace in the gathering gloom.
Surprise! Genesis pulls a rabbit out of a hat!
The final Berkeley Yacht Club Beercan Race on 9/26/2008 began with the sun going down behind the hills, the fog streaming into the bay and us picking up Tim off of the guest dock after we had raised the main. We bent the small jib onto the forestay, everyone anticipating we’d have wind. The start of the race was a quick affair and we began the climb upwind towards “D” the first mark. On the charts it’s #3, the pole that marks the middle of the ruins of the Berkeley Pier and the northern side of the ship channel. It’s a black piling jutting out of the water with a green placard on it and a light to find it in the dark. It’s getting dark, not the black of night but the dark grey-green of an evening fog making it’s way to the surface of a roiling Olympic Circle seascape. Tim and I trade thoughts as to when it’s time to tack, not that it makes any difference; at the helm Paul works it out for himself, and we make a nice rounding, with boats both ahead and behind.
We are off to the north to find ‘XOC’ the Bob Klein memorial mark at the center of the circle.
The picture above was taken the next Wednesday night from a J24 when there was . . . well, visibility.
Again, Tim and I trade thoughts as to where it is exactly. There are boats ahead we can barely make out in the gloom. But it is clear to me. There, at the edge of our sight, boats are bearing away, rounding the mark and jibing. Paul is guided up and down the lay line, and we put another mark rounding behind us. We won’t be flying the spinnaker tonight; that much is clear. Paul offers me the helm, and I get the feel of directing a Ranger 33 through the rolling motion of a broad reach in heavy seas, with a wheel that seems tiny compared to that of a J105.
There is another boat behind us that handles these seas better than Genesis, and she comes from behind and almost passes us to weather. The two boats thread their way through the breakwater to catch the horn as we pass across the imaginary line that marks the finish of the race. They’ve got us by a boat length.
It was a great sailing experience. Not of the sunny, warm, just enough wind to move you along in shirtsleeves, but something else entirely.
As I’m sitting at the table, waiting for Paul and Tim to show up, the awards are announced. No bother, Genesis has never won one, so I’m half listening. As the places are called out, and Genesis in not in 6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd . . . hey 2nd would be cool!
But we weren’t second! The first two boats had been over the starting line early and disqualified. We are 1st! Paul is not there to accept the trophy, so I go up. As I sit down at the table, Paul and Tim walk into the room and sit down.
”Who won?” Asks Paul
“We did” I reply
“No, that can’t be”
“Yes, here is your trophy to prove it” I smile as I turn over the plaque.
Sweet
The look on Tim’s face is one of wonder.
Cool
No comments:
Post a Comment