Category: Cruising Grace
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Drakes Bay – June 2024
Besides daysailing and racing, I took only two extended cruises in 2024. From June 22 to 25, I sailed to Drakes Bay and back to prepare for the August San Francisco Bay Singlehanded Sailing Society regatta. The first day was a quick 2-hour afternoon sail from the Berkeley marina to the anchorage in Richardson Bay…
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Berkeley – October 2023
I sublet my slip in Santa Cruz to do winter sailing in the San Francisco Bay. This needed to be a two-day trip over the weekend as I did not take time off from work. Starting out around 10 am from Santa Cruz, I immediately encountered favorable northwesterly winds for several hours. A small craft…
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Monterey – June 2023
Originally, I planned to do a trip to Santa Barbara and back, but life rarely goes as planned. First, there were some issues with Grace that made me less than confident about such a long trip. Secondly, my wife, Saday, decided to join me for this sail. Since she is still learning, I decided it…
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Santa Cruz – April 2023
Between storms and strong winds, my father and I found a window of mild weather to sail from Berkeley to Santa Cruz. We motored from Berkeley to just past Alcatraz, at which point the winds quickly picked up. I had chosen the genoa due to the light wind conditions, but we were quickly overpowered. As…
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Berkeley – September 2022
This first day of sailing ended up being a trial run. Conditions from shore seemed mild. I had packed lightly having just returned from a three-week work trip. A friend, William, accompanied me. After some delays in organizing our belongings, we got a late start around 1:30pm. The sun was shining and the winds were…
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San Francisco Bay – June 2022
With mild but sufficient winds until Davenport, I sailed with the genoa. At this point, the northwesterly winds picked up and I switched to the class jib. Fog was also pretty thick such that I relied on my instruments for orientation. Arriving wet from the fog and upwind sailing, I anchored in darkness close to…
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Año Nuevo – March 2022
Originally, my plan was to sail to Half Moon Bay and then onward to the San Francisco Bay. I got an early start at 7:12am given predictions of some coastal wind. However, it was largely non-existent. After a little while bobbing about near the Santa Cruz Wharf, I decided to motor at about 3 knots…
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Monterey – March 2022
Consistent southwesterly winds prevailed throughout. I sailed with my genoa and full mainsail close reach to close hauled on a starboard tack for the entire trip. About halfway to Monterey, I spotted perhaps five boats flying spinnakers in my path. They seemed odd bunched up in the middle of the Monterey Bay until I realized…
