I just had to post this shot of Mahdee that John Swain of the San Francisco Yacht Club took of Mahdee. He was aboard the deck of the 115 ft long schooner Eros.

There are many pictures of the schooners at the docks coming soon!

I must say, the folks at the San Francisco Yacht Club are very hospitable. We sailed over to the club on Thursday morning so that we would be able to meet with Jim, the son of Mahdee’s former owner, a day before the schooner event at the club. Because of expectations of several of the 17 schooners arriving on Thursday, the SFYC had several folks ready to handle lines and assist us in docking. So nice. As we were coming into the channel to the SFYC, my cel phone rang with a call from Jim. I said “hi, Jim, bye, Jim, talk to you later I’m docking” and promised myself to stop answering my cel phone at times like this! Later I learned that Jim had planned on giving directions into the particular courtesy dock if needed. Bless him. When we arrived, we briefly met Jim and his uncle Howie (brother of the former owner of Mahdee) as well as several kind folks who were instrumental in making the Great San Francisco Schooner Event (um…Race) a big success and lots of fun. Another couple we met in the Delta, Bob and Jane aboard Misty, stopped by to say hi as well. We immediately felt right at home–and perhaps that is because Mahdee felt right at home since she did spend a good part of a decade sailing in and out of the SFYC!

Later in the day, we walked over to Jim’s office near the SFYC and saw several lovely photographs of Mahdee (as Privateer) under sail. We are hoping to arrange to obtain copies of a few of these pictures as they were shot by a professional photographer and really were dynamic. He also had a very nice model of Mahdee (as Privateer) which we looked over with lots of interest since it showed her deck layout and rigging plan which we’re always interested in. It does seem that it might have been Jim’s father, Dave, who put all the bronze traveler tracks on and removed the horses from fore- and staysail. We did learn that Dave put a new boom on her–and the old on is being used as a flagpole. We also learned that their family had made two spinnaker poles that the boat no longer has. We’ll have to get with the owners who had Mahdee in the 70’s and the fellow we purchased Mahdee from to find out the story of where they may have gone. We’ve found that most stories of “change” aboard the boat are quite interesting.

Jim told us a few stories about the 1967 Transpac race (he was 20 at the time) and his wonderful times with the boat while he was in his collage days. Both being the oldest child of the family, I think Jim has more than a few things in common with David. It seems that Jim had the same sort of good trust relationship with his father as David has with my father-in-law, Bob. I’ve never understood how fathers can simple let their sons take charge of boats and cars and such and not worry–but indeed that is what Jim’s father did by letting Jim use Mahdee/Privateer whenever Jim wished to use the boat. Alone with his college friends he’d sail the SF Bay. Once he climbed the foremast (up the mast hoops) while under sail so he could watch the happenings from aloft (I think) and then realized, as they went by the Golden Gate Bridge, that he was the only one aboard who actually knew how to sail–and perhaps he’d best get back down on deck! Unlike David, who has shared with me several costly “incidents” when entrusted with his father’s car (including driving it into Lake Monroe…), Jim didn’t reveal any really major “oops” moments during those excursions alone with the (much more valuable than a car!) sailboat–only one ramming the dock incident which really didn’t sound that bad! I suppose oldest sons just have a special spot in the hearts of their fathers.

As it turned out, no other schooners came to the SFYC until Friday, so we had a day of the spacious courtesy docks to ourselves. Mahdee was front-and-center and lucky girl, all cleaned up and spiffy, she had loads of pictures take of her by the SFYC member, John Swain, who organized this year’s Schooner Event.

We had continued fun at the Club through the weekend, meeting several other schooner sailors and quite a few CCA members, too. Friday there was a nice reception for the skippers. My brother, Brad, and sister-in-law, Alina, were vacationing in the SF Bay area so they drove in Friday evening and spent the night aboard Mahdee with us. The plan had been for them to be aboard during the parade of schooners and race, but Alina had a very bad cold and was feeling horrible so they decided to jump ship Saturday morning before the boat left the dock. Bob (from Misty) and his 14 year old granddaughter Lacey joined us for the race and Jim brought along his friend and sailing partner, Sal, for the day. This turned out to be a very nice thing as the winds were quite high and we needed the extra help that Sal could provide. The race course was set up such that each rounding except the last one was a gibe! This was brutal given the high winds. With 5 crew on deck and Lacey keeping a lookout from the chart house, we were very shorthanded for this particular race course. At each rounding, it took Sal, Bob, and Jim–all three–hauling in the main sheet to get us positioned for the gibe. After the line was payed out, Sal would join me at headsail sheet winches to crank in on the jib and then a few seconds later Jim would arrive to assist Sal and I. The two of them worked very well together and it was a blessing to have them aboard. We began the day with me admonishing Sal not to run the lines across my cockpit varnished combing as he hauled in the jib sheet (he was used to self tailing winches on his boat…) and worrying that Sal wouldn’t be injured while helping us with the race and ended the day with Sal sharing my sailing gloves and feeling like I had a new sailing buddy. I smile to think that we had such a nice trio of “older men” as Bob, Jim, and Sal–Jim and Sal (in their 60’s?) are clearly active and strong, Bob at 79 is really quite amazing. We can only hope to be as fit and agile as these three when we’re older. From the start of the “event” with all the high winds, I was set to go behind Angel Island and have a nice lunch while watching the others “event”, but sadly, the 4 men in the cockpit were all looking for a little race action. So, sigh, we did race. I know it was a bit disappointing for Jim as I forced us to be quite reefed down and to sail in a less heeled incline than they would have if I’d not been aboard! As it was, we were sailing at 15 degrees and over–most time at or above 20 degrees. I learned that the cockpit inclinometer stops at 20 (useless!) and of course the inside one stops at 10 degrees. I will have to purchase another one that goes to higher angles to keep David “honest” in the future!

I’m sure David will make a post about the race (ahem…event!) shortly, so I’ll leave that to him. After the race, we met many more of Jim’s family members including some darling little toddlers and there was a great BBQ at the SFYC. On Sunday many boats stuck around to enjoy the club. We’d planned to leave this morning but the race organizer said we’d have no problems staying on the dock a few more days, so we’re still here at the SFYC, soaking in the sun, looking across the Bay at downtown fog and planning an afternoon trip aboard Steve and Ginger’s boat Sea Jay. They are SFYC members who don’t have a slip here yet so they’ve come from their marina to the courtesy dock for a few days.

More later…

The day before my birthday was spent at the Chinese Heritage Festival with Mahdee anchored just off shore with a bunch of Master Mariner boats.  The Master Mariners are the “old boat” group in San Francisco and the festival was a great excuse for a gathering.  The next morning, we had an invitation to another wooden boat for breakfast, but we decided to get an early start back down the San Francisco Bay so that we would arrive around noon with a favorable tide at the marina where we planned to stay for a few days.

Things rarely go as planned when sailing.

We knew that there would be a flood tide running against us most of the way.  The winds in the San Francisco Bay generally blow from the northwest making the trip south a beam or broad reach.  In our experience, those winds would make the trip a fast one despite the tide.  Virtually all of our sailing on the Bay has been with lots of reefs in the sails and no jib.  With all of the recent rig improvements we had made while at anchor in the Sacramento Delta, Brenda and I needed to do a full sail check–especially since the Great San Francisco Schooner Race was less than a week away.  That meant rigging the jib and testing its new downhaul/tricing line.

After weighing anchor, Brenda motored us gently in wide open waters of San Pablo Bay while I shook out reefs and hoisted sails.  In addition to the jib and its new downhaul, we needed to set the new jackline in the foresail and see how the fore went to full height with the new Lazy Ian boom lifts.  We had newly laced the tacks and clews of virtually all sails so that meant some time with every sails’ outhaul setting the foot tension.

Finally, it was time to shut down the Cummins and sail.  It was a beautiful morning, but the winds were very, very light.  What wind there was, was blowing from the South which was right on the nose to get through the narrows leaving San Pablo Bay.  Slowly we approached the shallows on the western side of the bay and tacked.  Our tack angle was just over 90 degrees, but the tide was flooding and the resultant side-slip took us on a course right back to where we had anchored.  That tack was essentially a 180 degree course change.   Once over to the anchorage, I short tacked a few times and made some ground putting us behind some rocks called The Sisters.  Now, however, there was no place to go but out into the channel where the current was strong.  As we entered the channel, the track on the gps showed that we were again paralleling our earlier tack and making no headway.  So, we tried short tacking on the western side but there was very little room between the deep fast water and the shoals where the chart showed only 1/2 foot deep water.  Back and forth we went.

Brenda and I have found the San Francisco Bay to be a fantastic place to be on a boat.  One day, while sitting at anchor in Paradise Cove and watching the sail boats sail against the tide, I told Brenda that they were lucky.  Sail boats move so slowly against the tide that the sailors can sit back and enjoy the ride for hours without having to change course or getting to the end of the Bay — well… or getting anywhere for that matter.  So here we were in that same situation.  I think Brenda expected me to start the engine to get us through the narrows, but this was my Birthday sail and I wanted to enjoy every bit of it.  Besides, I knew eventually the tide would reverse and it would carry us through the narrows.

In the end, I think it was the slackening tide that enabled us to finally get through the narrows.  Instead of a single tack trip down the bay, the southerly winds kept us tacking and close hauled for most of the day.  South of the Richmond bridge, we met up with one of our new friends from the previous day when Morning Star came close and took some photos of us.  We had told them that we had only one photo of us sailing Mahdee and that was hours after the first time ever that we hoisted the gaff fore sail, and the bolt rope was still shrunken too short from years in storage, and the various lines were not yet in the best order.

The wind was freshening and Mahdee felt good with all her sails up.  This was the first time that Brenda and I, alone, had hoisted all of Mahdee’s four lower sails, and the first time since the day of our arrival that we were not reefed.  We decided to pass well downwind of Angel Island to stay out of the lee, but despite our distance we were soon becalmed.  Little tiny racing sail boats ghosted by with large spinnakers if they could keep them from going limp.  We could see ahead in the “Slot” that boats were healed over so we knew we would get wind eventually.  This was an enjoyable day on the water and I didn’t see any need to rush towards our destination any faster than the wind would take us.

As we emerged from the lee of Angel Island, Mahdee heeled over violently and the sound of items crashing to the floor down below could be heard.  Normally, Brenda would be yelling at me to control the heel.  This being my birthday, however, she was sweetly suggesting that I do something.  I luffed up a little.  Too much luffing and the sails would be damaged by the violent flogging, too little and Mahdee would heel and take water over the lee rail.  In hind sight, we should have eased the fore peak halyard some.  Instead, we noted that our course was taking us towards Alcatraz Island.  There would be a little protection from the wind there and we would reef the main sail to its second reef.  Reefing the main in those conditions almost requires the motor since the main has to luff in order to be dropped on its track and when luffed, the boat acquires a hefty lee helm which can cause Mahdee to fall off the wind and to keep falling off which prevents the reef from being set.  The motor serves to keep us pointed to windward until we can reset the reefed main and reestablish a balanced sail configuration.

Once reefed, we were able to fall off and head towards the Oakland bridge.  We had a few tense moments with very large container ships moving at 15 knots and no idea which way they would turn. Both went to Oakland thank goodness.  As we approached the bridge we saw a large beautiful modern sleek boat there with slack sails.  We came flying up behind them and then our sails went slack and there the two boats sat, side by side.  I took out the main sail reefs.  But, with no wind, the increased sail area did no good.

By now, our journey south had taken hours and hours longer than expected.  The brief moments of near terror had moved us fast, but for only an instant relative to how far we needed to travel.  The tide had changed probably twice and suddenly I realized that in our slack sail state, we were being sucked into an eddy at the base of one of the bridge abutments.  I had gotten a little closer to the big cement structure so as not to hit the other big sail boat.  I called to Brenda to start the motor.  She said “huh?.” We powered past the bridge and then shut off the motor again.  The winds finally caught the sail and we started moving again under wind power.

At this rate, we would miss our originally planned noon-ish arrival at the marina for something close to sunset.  The adventure, however, was not yet over.  Brenda was monitoring the winds forecast and said that the peak winds in the Bay were not in the Slot by Alcatraz, but over by our destination marina.  She suggested that we take down the sails in the current relative calm and then motor the last bit.  I said “lets sail while we can and take down the sails at the last minute–after all we are barely moving in the light winds, how bad can it be only a few miles ahead?” She frowned at me but didn’t say anything. This was my birthday, after all.

We rounded Candlestick Point and all hell broke loose.  The wind was howling.  We got the fore, main and staysail down while just avoiding the shoals.  We fell off with the jib still up but the wind died down as it usually does once we drop lots of sails.    That was just as well, however, because we needed to take the jib off the bowsprit in order to ship the bowsprit for our marina arrival.  In the relative calm, Brenda and I could both work the foredeck while Mahdee tracked straight ahead.  We discovered that the new braid downhaul/tricing line has the same binding problems as the old three-strand.  That cinched a decision to separate the downhaul line from the tricing line.  We will make that change before next week’s schooner event.

Once again, Brenda piloted us into the marina to a fantastic arrival in our visitors’ slip.  It was too late to check in because the office was closed, so I was resigned to no hot shower and dinner from our meager remaining supplies on the boat.  The owners of the boat berthed in the slip on the other side of the dock, however, were wonderfully kind and lent us a key so that we could take hot marina showers and go out for a birthday dinner.

The sail made the day for me, but the evening was icing on the cake.  What a day!  A perfect Birthday!

Our track as we motored out and put up sails and then tacked against the currents and winds:

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