Pied à Mer Plus

Departed WPH on Friday, July 1st at 10:00.Julie, Teddy and Bobby onboard. Easy cruise to San Francisco. 

Once in the “slot” wave height and frequency increased quickly as the wind picked up. NOAA weather radio reported wind as 10 to 20 knots but seemed much stronger. 

We bashed our way north but had to steer towards Sausalito too keep the waves on the bow. Eventually, in the lee of Angel Island we got some brief respite. San Pablo Bay rough more bashing that lasted for two hours. Teddy and Bobby tucked themselves into tight corners and were very quiet. Only when we got to Carquinez Strait did the worst of it abate. 

Finally we could enjoy the cruise. We arrived in Benicia Harbor at 18:00. The tide was out and we could feel Pied à Mer touching the bottom.

We were assigned a side tie on the fuel dock. Another boat was there and, for the first time as a boater, I encountered an asshole captain. As we approached the dock he moved his boat to occupy the center, across two tie-ups, of the dock. Forcing us to half occupy the fuel dock and the remaining half of our designated side-tie. As a result our electrical line would not reach the power – luckily I had an extra long cable I could attach. Jerk.

Benicia is a lovely town, and former state capital. We ate dinner at Sailor Jack’s – the pork chop was incredible. The downtown was readying itself for the parade. The stores were enticing and full of fascination.

The dogs were happy to be back on land and made much use of the bushes and grass, relieved to be relieved I suppose.

July 2nd departed Benicia at 08:00.

Next morning early we set out for Isleton. Under the Benicia bridges and into Suisun Bay and the bashing recommenced. By noon we were in the Delta proper and the wind and waves abated. Navigating in the Delta is surprisingly difficult as there are many rivers that appear at every turn and careful tracking of position and course are needed at all times.

The levees are so interesting. Julie read the entries from Wikipedia about Frank’s Tract and the history of the Delta. Being in a boat and looking down on the sunken land behind the levees was surreal. And seeing where the levees had failed and seeing random trees sticking out of the water. 

Eventually we arrived at Willow Berm Marina. We made our way to our slip, Q10, tried to get in. The boat seemed more difficult to maneuver but we managed to get her nose in. Once we did we heard shouts of “Mast! Mast!” and then we realized that Pied à Mer might not fit under the covered berth we were assigned. A quick call with the harbor master got us an uncovered slip and we made our way there. Not easily, as we began to realize that this marina had a river running through it. So, parking the boat, was quite tricky. 

We walked about a mile to Pirate’s Lair and had a well-deserved lunch and many beers!

We saw, high in the eucalyptus trees, hundreds of white cranes nesting and feeding this year’s fledglings.

People were very friendly and everyone stopped and petted the dogs.

We returned to Pirate’s Lair for dinner.

July 3rd 

We launched the dingy and brought the dogs onboard for their first inflatable ride. They kept close to Julie and Bobby put his head out soaking up the scenery. Teddy kept low. We realized the dingy was taking on water so returned to work out why. Back at the dock the culprit turned out to be the drain plug. We resealed it and wandered around while it set. 

As ever we looked at the boats for sale and spotted a couple that we’d like to take a look at. Contacted the broker and arranged a showing. We looked at them later in the day and immediately fell in love with a 57′ Tollycraft Widebody Pilothouse yacht. The broker we met was a very nice man and we spent 2 hours on the boat talking to him about cruising in the ocean.  

Dinner plan was to dingy over to Spindrift restaurant, about 3 miles away. We set off in the repaired dingy but as soon as we were in the open water the wind picked up and the ride got rough and wet. We turned around and went back to our harbor. We then walked to the restaurant. One of the locals gave us a ride part of the way in his golf cart. We walked atop the levee with the Delta on one side and, far below, houses, farms and fields. The houses were three and four stories high so that the top floor had a view of the water. And nearly everyone was for sale.

Spindrift had an old world vibe and was utterly charming. The food was amazing.

On our walk home the sun was setting and made for a romantic walk in the warm sun contemplating what it would be like if we had a bigger boat to deal with the wind and waves. We were Giants in the setting sun.

July 4th

Next day we breakfasted late and got a call inviting us to look, once more at the Tollycraft. We met the broker onboard, with his wife, and spent another hour on the end of a very charming soft-sell. We had already agreed at dinner the night before that we were going to make an offer on this boat. We needed to get our ducks in a row, a slip at Westpoint, financing, insurance etc. 

We told Peter, our broker, we’d make an offer by the end of the week. 

Peter advised us to move our boat at slack tide to an easier berth because we were leaving the following morning. We moved to a side-tie but docking was a nightmare – Julie had to work really hard to get Pied à Mer secured.

July 5th depart Willow Berm at 05:30

Plan is to head home all in one sail. We estimate 10 hours on the water. Plain sailing until Suisun Bay. Again. Big swells with a short period. Dogs head for the smallest space they can get into. 

Pied à Mer is magnificent. There’s regular green water over the decks. She pitches 15° down by bow and slides down the waves only to rise up the next one and crash into the void left behind as the wave passes. We hear a “Small Craft Advisory” called for Suisun, San Pablo and San Franciso Bays and decide to head for safe harbor. The nearest one is, once again, Benicia. 

Just in time for lunch at Sailor Jack’s and dinner there too.

July 6th depart Benicia Harbor at 05:30

It is back to work day for me. Julie starts with clients in the afternoon. We need to make good progress in order to get home with enough time to get ready for her appointments.

Teddy and Bobby relieved to get back to normal cruising.

San Pablo is very flat, eerily so, and, as we make the turn for San Francisco Bay all is calm. By 7:00 am we are passing Angel Island and I take my first conference call of the day from the helm. Forgetting to turn of the marine radio gave my colleagues some amusement trying to work out what “Pom-Pom Pom-Pom Pom-Pom” meant.

In the “slot” the sea was calm decided to go west of Treasure Island to even more shelter. We didn’t need it. The wind and the tides gave us an extra 2 knots almost all the way home. 

We arrived back at Westpoint Harbor about 11:00.