Kenichi Uyeda, Skipper John Paul Watts & Christian GundersonWell, well, well – there we were, prepared for the worst (small craft advisory) that the Pacific could throw at us. Yes, after out-the-gate attempted voyages to Stinson Beach and the Farallones (3 failures with one successful boat returning at 0100 the next day), we looked forward to sailing under full canvas south to Half Moon Bay. ‘We’ were Windseeker with Mike Brownell, Bill Crowley, Libby Booth and Dustin Dovala and Summer Solstice with John Paul Watts, Christian Gunderson and Kenichi Uyeda.

Rendezvous-ing under the Golden Gate Bridge at 0900 we motor-sailed with mains up looking for the breeze. A bank of fog in the Gate, visibility to 18 inches! We thought of the fleet lining up to enter the Gate for its procession down Crissy Fields at 1100: would we bump into any of them? What if we stay Baker Beach side of the Gate? What of Lands End and Three Mile Rock? Yikes! ‘Shall we turn back and breakfast at Sam’s?’ was on everyone’s mind. Nooo! Reach for the GPS and the chart and plot a danger bearing for just south of SF shipping channel buoy #8 and the south tower of the GG Bridge. That did it! With Windseeker plotting similar on the north side of the Gate, we motored past Point Bonita and Three Mile, into sunshine. The South Shoal off Ocean Beach was calm: our course now lay south from buoy #8 to Montara lighthouse, still with ne’er a flicker of breeze. The gray fleet was lining up to move slowly down the channel in-bound for SF Bay and the Blue Angels.

Date: May
Time: 8am - 7pm (varies)
Cost: Free Members
Register: Sails Below

Join us for a true adventure to a rounding of the primoridal rocks that mark a classic offshore destination for Bay sailors.

On sail day, crew meet their respective skippers early to prepare the boats, including fastening jacklines to which all hands would be tethered via safety harnesses while out the gate.

Boats traditionally going are: Wind Seeker (Mike Brownell), Summer Solstice (John Paul Watts), Tackful (Frank Lawler), Bodega Sunset (Bob Amiral), Daisy (Bill Gardner).

• Date: April 29
• Time: 08:00-16:00
• Location: SEA Docks
• Cost: Free to Members
• Requirements: ASA 101 or equivalent
• Category: Adventure

The Adventure Sails team organized an Out the Gate sail bound for Stinson Beach on April 29. Members first took responsibility for recruiting boats and skippers and later for assigning crew. In conjunction with another planned trip to the Farallon Islands (scheduled for May 12), the group held a Navigation Planner meeting to present the float plan and above all, to go over preparations and precautions.

As sail day approached, weather forecasts called for a Small Craft Advisory that would likely remain in effect through the morning of departure. Skippers had discussed this possibility at the planning meeting and indicated that they would take a possible advisory into consideration but would determine whether or not to sail based on broader considerations, including sea state and crew experience. Several days before sail day, planners made the strategic decision to consolidate crew onto two boats instead of three.

Date: November
Time: 10am - 4pm
Cost: Free

Summer Solstice sailed on a sunny Saturday, November 12 to Richmond Inner Harbor with skipper John Paul Watts and a crew of five. Light winds prevailed, but the big genoa captured all the air had to offer, and by early afternoon we had navigated the hook-shaped approach and entered the Turning Basin.

As we had learned at our navigation planner session earlier in the week, the approach has several legs, each with its own name on the chart. Unlike the cargo ships whose draft would prevent such a shortcut, we took advantage of the relatively high tide and sailed directly across the Southampton Shoal Channel over to Point Potrero Reach, without going "up and around" where the deepest water lies.

One can plan, chart and prepare, but the winds have their own ideas, and, in the end, a good sailor just has to ride with it.

The SEA flotilla of Summer Solstice and Fayaway accompanied by The Hard Way and Rigel did just that on their coastal voyage to Half Moon Bay last weekend. All had anticipated a nice leisurely downwind sail. Instead they beat south for nine hours, ending the leg with a night time approach to the Pillar Point Harbor. This rquired gingerly threading along buoys while avoiding Colorado Reef -- an excellent navigation challenge for all the crews.

When: October
Time: 9am-8pm  2 Days
Cost: Free Members
Register: Sails Below

Join your fellow SEA members for a great overnight trip negotiating the shipping channel, avoiding the south channel then steering clear of the reefs north of Half Moon Bay.

This is a great trip to test your sea legs. Please make sure you sign up for our navigation planner session so you can review charts and safety procedures with our skippers. The trip will take you out past the main shipping channel, usually a left at buoy number two. It is not advised to cut corners but there have been more then a few boats lost in the "South Channel".

Dates: Quarterly
Time: 10am - 5pm
Location: Skipper Assignment
Cost: Free Members
Register: Sails Below

Attention SEA Sailors! Get ready and prepare for upcoming Adventure Sail by getting your sea legs and practice your skills. Do you need seasickness meds? Find out now before you go farther afield.

Join us for quarterly sails out the gate to whet your appetite for more adventures.

Date: August
Time: 9am - 8pm  2 Days
Location: China Camp
Register: Sails Below

Enjoy an incredible, once a year opportunity to anchor out at China Camp in the company of wooden boats from all over the Bay. Master Mariner sailors will be out in force to join up with heritage celebrations by the State Park with the local Chinese fishing community.

I returned Sunday August 7, 2011 from Unalaska (Oonalashka is the indigenous spelling) in the Aleutians islands, Alaska, having left on a 58' catamaran ('Twin Image') from Saipan, an US territory, in Mariana Islands on June 18. Distance unknown since the GPS didn’t record it - but a lot!

I had arrived in Saipan June 7. Unexpectedly the crew had to spend 4 weeks in tropical heat repairing, preparing and provisioning the boat which had lost its mast 15 months before and now was rigged with its new one, a furling mainsail and boom, all from New Zealand. Working in the tropical heat was improbable: the roasting white fibre glass deck burnt through the soles of your deck shoes. The amount to do was outside the normal contract of a delivery crew but the delivery skipper (not the boat's owner) was very capable of fixing electrics and engines aboard which he had to do his more than fair share of; the other 3 of us were to lesser degrees helpful and able. The boat was new to all of us: apart from a day trip and a couple of very short sails in really blue clear water, this beast was fresh territory to us all. Our destination was Vancouver, BC.