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Cheers - Bryan
Sailing Tomorrow
- Thread starter Philpott
- Start date
Intermission
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Take a pool toy or three, and more fluids than you thought you'd ever drink. I am particularly fond of the silver/orange space blankets from REI for shade; the silver side out really kicks the (you know what) out of the heat. I also have a large 13'X7'shade 73% net that helps. If it gets buggy, try pulling out into the stream a bit more. A Hudson garden sprayer for hot showers or self defense in the water gun alleys would be good, and possibly a disposable yellow jacket trap to hoist in the rigging. Many of the places Hal wrote about are gone, or shells of their former glory, but for a polar extreme from the Bay, it can't be beat. Some folks leave a boat up somewhere for the summer and commuter cruise. Impossible to see more than a small fraction of the Delta in any one trip. So don't forget to dawdle.
Aww, I'm jealous. I haven't been "up the Delta" yet. What a fun trip! You might want to bring a floaty thing so you can keep cool and raft up alongside DM when the temps rise above 100. Being in the water should keep the bugs away, too. Have fun. Stay in the channel. Can't wait to see the documentary 
Dazzler
m/v PACIFIC LOON
Delta Dawdling
Jackie, I have many, many years of Delta experience. And for 7 years kept a "Nimble Nomad" power boat (look it up) at Korth's Pirates' Lair Marina, The Garden Spot of the Delta. I'm not pictured in Hal's book, but my good friends are. It's the photo taken on the North Fork of the Mokolumne above Wimpie's. I've spent weeks there.
The deciding questions for your trip are:
1. How long do you plan to be away from Berkeley. Then you can plan where to go.
2. What do you enjoy:
A. Go to one spot, set up "camp" and stay put.
B. Move frequently in hope of seeing as much as possible.
C. Is swimming and water quality high on your list?
D. Are you going to need provisions and/or ice while in the Delta?
E. How social or not do you want to be?
F. Restaurants? Many people want to eat out and there are some options that are accessible for sailboats.
G. Will you have a dinghy?
Be sure to have some form of sun shade. An umbrella is better than nothing.
And do I understand that you will be there over the 4th of July? Hum, depending on what you like to do, there is the full range of possibilities. The Baron Hilton fireworks at Mandiville Tip are famous, but not my scene. The fireworks are visible from other near by locations without being in the mob.
Tom
Jackie, I have many, many years of Delta experience. And for 7 years kept a "Nimble Nomad" power boat (look it up) at Korth's Pirates' Lair Marina, The Garden Spot of the Delta. I'm not pictured in Hal's book, but my good friends are. It's the photo taken on the North Fork of the Mokolumne above Wimpie's. I've spent weeks there.
The deciding questions for your trip are:
1. How long do you plan to be away from Berkeley. Then you can plan where to go.
2. What do you enjoy:
A. Go to one spot, set up "camp" and stay put.
B. Move frequently in hope of seeing as much as possible.
C. Is swimming and water quality high on your list?
D. Are you going to need provisions and/or ice while in the Delta?
E. How social or not do you want to be?
F. Restaurants? Many people want to eat out and there are some options that are accessible for sailboats.
G. Will you have a dinghy?
Be sure to have some form of sun shade. An umbrella is better than nothing.
And do I understand that you will be there over the 4th of July? Hum, depending on what you like to do, there is the full range of possibilities. The Baron Hilton fireworks at Mandiville Tip are famous, but not my scene. The fireworks are visible from other near by locations without being in the mob.
Tom
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After a couple hours of reading many detailed but unordered bits on the internet about the seemingly endless places and must-dos of the Delta as told by folks who insist nothing less than a month will do and the upwind return is an epic misery, it can all seem a little overwhelming.
Then I go and read about the Delta Ditch boats that get all the way to Stockton in an afternoon and think: what's the big deal?!
While there are helpful lists of what to bring and where to go, like Latitude's deltadoodah, I can't really get a sense of how to put it all together into a navigation-ready itinerary.
Tom (et al): let's say one has only 4 days -- a long weekend -- including transit to/from the central bay. Is that a totally unreasonable time frame for a five knot first timer to bend a bow into the brackish up that way and see what all the fuss is about?
Assuming the tides and weather are in my favor, I figure there's gotta be a commendable anchorage I can fetch on day 1, then meander my way into another anchorage for night 2, then work back to a slip in Benicia or Vallejo for fuel and other rites of civilization on night 3 before the sail home on day 4. I'd keep it SSS-style simple for this first foray, entertaining and cooking for myself aboard unless a convenient dock presents an opportunity.
Where does that plan fail?
Then I go and read about the Delta Ditch boats that get all the way to Stockton in an afternoon and think: what's the big deal?!
While there are helpful lists of what to bring and where to go, like Latitude's deltadoodah, I can't really get a sense of how to put it all together into a navigation-ready itinerary.
Tom (et al): let's say one has only 4 days -- a long weekend -- including transit to/from the central bay. Is that a totally unreasonable time frame for a five knot first timer to bend a bow into the brackish up that way and see what all the fuss is about?
Assuming the tides and weather are in my favor, I figure there's gotta be a commendable anchorage I can fetch on day 1, then meander my way into another anchorage for night 2, then work back to a slip in Benicia or Vallejo for fuel and other rites of civilization on night 3 before the sail home on day 4. I'd keep it SSS-style simple for this first foray, entertaining and cooking for myself aboard unless a convenient dock presents an opportunity.
Where does that plan fail?
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Philpott
Cal 2-27 Dura Mater
Oh, Tom. I love Pirates' Lair. Christine told me how she and Jonathan sail down from Owl Harbor with jib only, so I tried it. Then there was enough wind so I could sail back, too. Tack tack tack. Glorious sailing back and forth across that wide river! Very very warm it was.
I sat at the counter of the little diner there and ordered a tuna melt and diet coke. Struck up a conversation with an older guy. Just a bit older than me. He grew up in Alameda and now lives within walking distance of the diner. He was collecting lunch for himself and someone else. His wife, probably. He noticed that I sailed in to the dock, was nice about it. Lucky wind, that. Just enough to glide right up to the restaurant parking spot next to the tiki hut. Owns a motorboat himself, he admitted. I told him I needed a bimini and he told me that he had just paid for a custom-made bimini for his own boat. Cost $1000. "Whooeee! That's a lot of money!" I said. That made him smile. People like to admit spending money on their boats. I know sailors like that.
A few days later I went back again for the onion rings. Yumm!!! This time I drove the car and here's what was parked in Dura Mater's spot at the dock. Is that Ferrari yellow? Save your stories, Tom! You know I will button-hole you and ask for more next time I see you.
Attachments
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BobJ
Alerion 38 "Surprise!"
Synthia is starting on a whole new set of covers for Rags. I'm excited.
The color is "Piper Cub" yellow and the plane has the classic "Piper Cub" markings, but it's a 2001 plane - not older than you are as a classic Piper Cup would be. It's a "Carbon Cub" designed to meet the FAA's "Light Sport License Requirement" which requires less preparation to receive a flying license than a regular license. Sport flyers are lighter and less powerful. By the way, did you know that when the plane is in the water it is a "boat" and must follow the same navigation Rules of the Road than your humble Cal 27 must? Probably not a good idea to yell "Starboard" at a seaplane taxiing for take-off though.
BobJ
Alerion 38 "Surprise!"
Mom's plane was a PA-12 (three place) they named "Mike Piper." When we were little, all five of us would cram in it and fly to the Napa Airport for hamburgers, or to the Nut Tree to ride on the kiddie train (etc.) You couldn't do that today.
Mom's and Dad's airplanes, in about 1968:
Mom's and Dad's airplanes, in about 1968:
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Philpott
Cal 2-27 Dura Mater
Hi, Sir! Wouldn't you like to come visit, stay aboard Dura Mater in Owl Harbor? You can have the V berth and spray as much of my SkinSoSoft as you want all over yourself. I'll collect you from the airport and bake you a pie. But not on the boat. This ain't Green Buffalo.
Philpott
Cal 2-27 Dura Mater
Why not? have the hamburgers become that expensive?
BobJ
Alerion 38 "Surprise!"
Putting five people in a plane certified for three, and three of those are little kids? Today they'd lock you up and throw away the key.
That visual of the General slathering on Skin-So-Soft is funny. Mosquitoes don't bite the General - he swats them with a Howitzer...
That visual of the General slathering on Skin-So-Soft is funny. Mosquitoes don't bite the General - he swats them with a Howitzer...
I know this sounds heretical, but some days I think I should sell the boat and buy an airplane. My father was a pilot, my uncle was a pilot, and I have a cousin who's an engineer for Boeing. It's in the blood. Here's a link to a video on YouTube by a pilot that I really like following. The video features the pilot flying all three current models of the CubCrafter airplanes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx48wP517CA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx48wP517CA
BobJ
Alerion 38 "Surprise!"
The accountant in me is rearing his ugly head: Looks like $300K to start and unlike us sailors who do maintenance when we feel like it (or have to), FAA makes you do all kinds of stuff at regular hours. Then the ramp fees, fuel, etc. (I have a FBO as a client.) Looks like fun but your Farr 36 is MUCH cheaper and you can sail it anywhere.
s/Your friendly neighborhood wet blanket
s/Your friendly neighborhood wet blanket
Philpott
Cal 2-27 Dura Mater
That was just the cutest airplane. The fella had a driver: talked on the phone, indicated he was ready to go, climbed inside and then they were off. That's what appealed to me: having a driver. And the color yellow. Do you think those planes come with a driver? Like optional equipment? $300K doesn't sound like too much for a cute yellow airplane and a driver. I think I'll go hang out at that dock again, if they come back see if I can chat them up. Maybe get a ride. I'll tie Dura Mater up close to the tiki hut so there's room for both of us. Mr Wet Blanket, would that airplane be listed under 1310 Furniture and Equipment or 1390 Accumulated Depreciation? Or maybe 5490 Miscellaneous Expenses. I have a lot of those.
BobJ
Alerion 38 "Surprise!"
Hey now, that's a good idea! I could get a hamburger:
"Sam's Painted Hills Beef Burger $16
red oak leaf lettuce, organic tomato, house pickles, old bay potato chips
Additions
Grilled Onions $1. Avocado $2 Cheddar Cheese $2 Swiss Cheese $2 Jack Cheese $2 Blue Cheese $2 Sauteed Mushrooms $2 Applewood Bacon $3"
If my math is right, a loaded one works out to $26!
Questions:
1) What's the schedule?
2) Will there be wind?
3) What exactly is "red oak leaf lettuce"?
4) Can I order mine with new bay potato chips instead of old ones?
s/ The Galloping Gourmay
"Sam's Painted Hills Beef Burger $16
red oak leaf lettuce, organic tomato, house pickles, old bay potato chips
Additions
Grilled Onions $1. Avocado $2 Cheddar Cheese $2 Swiss Cheese $2 Jack Cheese $2 Blue Cheese $2 Sauteed Mushrooms $2 Applewood Bacon $3"
If my math is right, a loaded one works out to $26!
Questions:
1) What's the schedule?
2) Will there be wind?
3) What exactly is "red oak leaf lettuce"?
4) Can I order mine with new bay potato chips instead of old ones?
s/ The Galloping Gourmay