Sunday, January 26, 2014

Three Bridge Fiasco - Golden Gate Parking Lot.

Photos Ultimate Yachtshots except for the Pressure Drop Us pictures from the great writeup: 



After crossing over to the North tower, where there were a couple of places with a really nice counter current (ie a flood), the wind dies.

 I managed to hold onto wind for a while longer having taken a wider loop, but a tanker came in and I had to get out of the wind to get out of the way of the tanker. As the ebb pushed me back, and the wind died on me, I mounted the engine at the back and just watched the tanker, ready to fire up the engine in gear. I didn't have to, the tanker ended up going down the Alcatraz path and I wasn't anywhere near its path.


Meanwhile I ended up in the stiffest of the ebb current and swept past the gate. Fortunately right at the gate was still where the wind was the strongest and I tried twice to do what most boats tried to do: sail as close as possible to the North tower, get into the counter current and get pushed back the rocks and into the no wind hole near Presidio Yacht Club.

Unfortunately, once you got there, the ebb would push you back out with no wind so a Moore was having fun with this just sailing under main only and in current. First in with the flood, hitting the no wind spot, then back out with the ebb, then in the flood, etc...sailing opposite all the other boats.


Seeing this and after a couple of failed attempts (a lot of other boats kept trying and trying tiring themselves in the process as it involves short tacking near the North Tower which I have never seen that close to the boat, and still with 239 feet of depth right by the rocks!!!), I decided to just find a heading and keep sailing. It was too deep to anchor but I culd stay motionless over land with a nice speed over water by the bridge. It was nicer than having to tack back and forth.



Then lo and behold, the boat just made progress forward, really really slowly.


and I was back in the Bay! when most the other boats ended up dead near Presidio Yacht Club


Seeing this, I decided to keep plowing forward and get into the central Bay as this is where there was the most amount of wind, and only after that tack over to Raccoon Straits.


Inching along...


Eating lunch


Sails 101 and 102 meet on the water



Getting free from the super strong ebb and getting into slightly shallower water but back near the city front!!!


Trying to make it after the North Tower




Wile E Coyote seems to have avoided the North Tower drama




 A container ship, a tanker and a cruise ship cut through the fleet which was mostly without steerage because of the lack of wind


 It was faster in a kayak than it was in a sailboat on Saturday
 Very dead in the water...here is the North Tower parking lot

 And the container ship...


 You can see the current pushing boats around.

 That was my view for a little while :)

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