Everyone has horror stories about taking a keel boat into the Delta. Now that we have been there, I think the main goal is to keep those not-in-the-know out. When you say you are heading into the Delta, they say “I hope you have a very shallow draft.” We say its 6 foot 4 inches. They suck air and say that they hope you are ready to run aground. With all the negativity, we headed into the Delta with quite a bit of trepidation. After getting anchored, we discover that a neighboring boat has a draft of 8 feet and has been coming into the Delta for decades.
We hear that the Georgiana Slough is really pretty, so we resolve to go there next. This will take us over to the old Sacramento River. You can’t go “that way” through the Georgiana, the current goes the other way too fast. This seems a little strange since the entire Delta is tidal. Another said, there are too many bridges and you had better call days in advance to schedule openings. We plan our trip up the Georgiana for the flood tide. It was a wonderful trip and all the bridges were manned and ready to open without any advance notice.
We were told if you go to the Delta, you must go to “Walnut Grove, but unfortunately the public dock is way too small for your boat.” We discussed anchoring near by, but in the end decided to just bypass Walnut Grove. Right after popping out of the Georgiana Slough, Brenda caught sight of a Mocha and ice cream shop on the edge of the river. Right out in front is a gigantic dock with at least 300 feet of available docking and it’s completely empty. We call out to some fishermen, “is that the public dock?” They assure us it is. By then we see the sign. I scramble around to put out the fenders and rig up the dock lines. We tie off Mahdee and have a wonderful time ashore for the first time in three weeks. We eat Chinese and have pizza and have mocha ice cream. For $20 we spend the night on the dock.
Before heading down the Sacramento River and out of the Delta, we meet a fellow who had an old wooden boat many years ago. Somewhere in the conversation about where we would go next, he says “whatever you do, don’t go down the Georgiana Slough.” We couldn’t help but say that we had just had a wonderful trip up the Georgiana. He has a shocked look on his face and says to us, “you must be much better navigators than I am.” I realize that our secret is Musk Ox. He was aboard Mahdee through the 1930’s and knows Mahdee like no other. Here he is navigating us up the Georgiana Slough. So if you have a Musk Ox, by all means go to the Delta, otherwise, perhaps you should stay away.
Navigating up the Georgiana Slough
Sitting on the public dock in Walnut Grove, enjoying the day.
Bridge into Walnut Grove…see the empty dock on the right side?
Mel’s Mocha and Ice Cream in Walnut Grove as seen from the river:
