Six of us headed out at 7 a.m. on Friday, after meticulously checking Sailflow and NWS forecasts. A warm system was developing, pushing the Pacific high back from the coast, but the pressure gradients were still ramping up as we came back into the bay in the afternoon. It was unclear if we would see any wind at all, or if it would be too much. Everyone on the boat understood that we might not make it all the way out to the islands, and that we would possibly motor some, or come back because of too much wind. NWS issued a small craft advisory just as we headed out the gate, but having the more detailed information available from Sailflow made me discount it somewhat. If the wind built too much, it would be a downwind run home.
We ended up motoring out the gate, up the Bonita Channel, and probably halfway out to the Farallons before I could shut down the diesel. I kept to a six knot minimum because of the distance to be covered. The wind ramped up slowly, and by the time we had Southeast Farallon off the bow by less than miles, we were seeing a fairly consistent 25 knots. Needless to say, it turned the island into a nasty lee shore, and we elected to do a "drive by" rather than a swing around the islands. Still, being downwind, we got treated to the full fragrance of the birds, and had humpbacks less than two boat lengths away. An intense few minutes, and well worth the long day trip.
Coming back we had large breaking swells off our port stern quarter, they pushed the stern down by 30 degrees with each wave, and it was fairly difficult to steer until we got near the shipping channel and the big SF Buoy. I'd never been that close to the buoy before, it was almost disappointing to see it that close up. The pilot boat was out there, and busy with at least three ships while we passed the area. Very interesting to listen to them on the VHF, and to watch the huge ships pass us out at sea. (I know, we shouldn't have been near that buoy anyway! That water is reserved for much bigger boats!)
Once we got back near the Golden Gate, the ebb tide (2.5 - 3 knots) slowed us to a crawl, and the wind died at the same time. With the motor running, and a committed surfer at the helm we pushed through steep, nearly standing waves just outside the gate. As soon as we could change our angle to the waves, we headed to the north side of the gate for some needed current relief. There were times yesterday when we sailed at nearly 8 knots consistently (not counitng surfing) and then we hit a low in the 2's trying to get through the ebb and resultant wave system. The day was a real lesson in currents, waves, and varying wind systems.
It was a long day for the Coast Guard, we heard about a capsized boat 500 yards to the west of mile rock, a boat aground in Bodega Bay, a demasted sail boat near Alcatraz, a kite surfer down and in trouble near the Golden Gate Bridge......
The entire trip was 12 or 13 hours, and although no one was actively sick, five of us (including me) pretty much gave up eating once we were out of the bay. I don't think anyone was really in distress, as there were smiles on all faces. There was one point, just before the islands, I felt conditions were ramping up too far, we were reefed and pointed into growing and ever steeper swells with whitecaps. We were probably about 2 miles from the island when I started to get uncomfortable about the sea state, but we just couldn't get that close and turn back. We did fine, but there were a few tense moments for me. Also, Pearl seemed to spring a small leak onto the cabin sole on our return, which just didn't stop. Water was coming from below the stove, and I'm pretty sure it was overflow from the teapot during a moment of extreme angle, but I can't prove it. Could have been water syphoning up from the sink too, I had just filled my starboard tank to the top that morning, trying to balance the weight of a full tank of diesel on port.
Overall, I can't think of a better way to spend a day. What a beautiful place we live in, it's great to get out and see the more westerly pieces of it! 25 miles outside the Golden Gate, and there were stupendous views and interesting things to see the entire way, not the least of which was the ever changing landscape of the water and building waves around us. Can't wait to do it again.
