We enjoyed being at anchor with a view of the Ghiradelli sign in downtown San Francisco. While David and I enjoyed the scenery and visions of chocolate chip cookies danced in our heads, Beryl snuggled up to the warmth coming from the main saloon heater and dreamed of…being a rabbit perhaps?
It just hit me–Summer is over. Finished. Done. No more. Gone. It all started with our plans for a 2013 summer spent cruising around the California Sacramento river and San Joaquin river deltas usually just called “the Delta.” There are around a thousand miles of navigable waters to explore. Our first exposure to the Delta was the summer of 2010 when we ignored all the advice to stay away from the Delta due to the bugs, heat and dangerously shallow waters. Both Brenda and I loved that visit which was planned to only last three days; we left a month later when food and our various commitments forced us to go. But we vowed to return for another longer visit. Someday.
Little problems like a broken anchor windlass earlier in the summer kept us from heading up into the Delta until August. We figured a short late-summer visit was better than no visit at all and that we would leave the Delta when the weather became “worse” than that of the San Francisco Bay. That finally happened this past week. Of course the recent cold snap weather was everywhere in this part of California, but by closely monitoring the NOAA data, we decided that we would be warmer in San Francisco, so it was time to leave.
Hoods, gloves and scarves have replaced shorts, T’s and sunblock.
As we moved downstream towards San Francisco, we experienced early morning icy, frosty decks aboard Mahdee and chilling winds. But each day was nicer than the last. Despite the cold, however, the realization that Summer was over occurred when we stopped in Antioch and I went to take a shower and realized that this was the first time since Labor Day that we had been able to take an unlimited hot shower. We were back to “civilized sailing.” For months we have either gone swimming, used the solar shower, or had coin operated showers. What a treat, especially since the sail to Antioch had been cold.
Another benefit to departing the Delta when we did is that the weather for leaving was perfect. Normally, one wants the tide going in the direction of travel–an ebb tide leaving the Delta. But, crossing Susuin Bay and San Pablo Bay can be very, very rough because the prevailing winds are head winds while leaving the Delta and they hit the ebb tide head on in the shallow waters and that creates steep breaking waves that make returning to SF Bay a rough and uncomfortable experience.
For our trip, however, there was a North East wind blowing, so we had a strong ebb tide and following wind and seas. Everything in the same direction. We saw a couple of boats heading in the opposite direction and their ride looked miserable. For us, the only downside was that our plan for anchoring at China Camp had to be changed because it was too rough there with breaking waves and a lee shore. Instead, we pressed on to Aquatic Park in downtown San Francisco.
Entering Raccoon Strait from the East.
And so ended our Summer Delta adventure. The only confusion came when sighting all the swimmers in the cold water coming alongside Mahdee to ask where we were coming from and how long we planned to stay. But then I reminded myself that here, swimming in the Bay is not just a Summer sport, it’s year round, and yes, Summer was truly over.
Sunset looking towards the Golden Gate Bridge from Aquatic Park
Hauling up the anchor in front of the San Francisco Maritime Museum at Aquatic Park
“The days pass happily with me wherever my ship sails.” – Joshua Slocum.
For these past several weeks, our ship sails the waters of the California Delta. Fed from the Sacramento River, the Georgiana Slough is our anchorage for now. The rich agricultural history of the Delta is still here: Pear farms, grapes, fields of ripe tomatoes, corn ready for harvest stands dry and golden in the fields. New Delta friends tell us that in the days gone by there were packing sheds alongside the sloughs and docks everywhere because the fruits were taken to market on the rivers and sloughs–not by truck. Today, we see the farm trucks going by with their loads of hay, grapes, tomatoes, and other good fare. Heavy equipment on the levy road; it makes me smile and remember growing up in a farming community in Indiana. River otter, mink, muskrat, woodchuck, familiar furry neighbors. The birds overhead include eagle, falcon, swallows, phoebe, egrets, heron, and the usual assortment of songbirds and unidentified little brown birds. Fish jumping, big and small, but no anglers are successful in luring them to hook. I call out to the passing fishermen “did you catch anything?” and I hear “no, not today” even as I see a big fish jump near Mahdee.
Slough sounds and sights from the dinghy:
The evening sun shines over the slough side and onto the calm waters.
Blackberry days are over and the rose hips are the autumn gifts to the birds and canoeists along the slough-side.
Beryl’s new bird-watching spot is just outside the companionway door.
The ending of yet another beautiful day on the water.
