Delta Weeder

  So I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep, thinking of all the stupid stuff that you ONLY think of while lying in bed trying to fall asleep, anywhoo, the hyacenth has super taken over the delta, they need to come up with something like a wheat thrasher thing, you know, the thing that is kinda like a paddle wheel, but with scooper, chopperupper thing, and turn it into somethin somethin to spread for mulch, for the fields, this is the Delta, they have alot of different foods growing.

  Then today, in the rain, because of the high tides and full moon, the hyacenth is moving around alot, it just floats on the water, so it is the perfect time to navigate it out of the slough. They started early just kinda breaking it up with the running motors of the marina boats, just using the motor to move the water all over, working it out from between the dock and levee.

they brought out 'THE THING' it was just like I thought it would look like. Ok so not exacly what I thought, but, , , ,
  It is kinda cool. It is more of a scooper thing. The weeds convey up the conveyer, and is put into one of the boats, then conveyed onto the tule island, to dry up and die. They have been doing it for years, every winter.
bunkmate

Our Cap'n Carey, On The Cover Of Cruising Outpost

  I seem to have opened a can of not being able to take something back.  I accidentally sent one of my favorite pix of my husband, our Cap'n, my best friend, our crew leader, you know "THE MAN", from when we were out sailing SVCerridwen, in SanPabloBay, just inside SFBay. I snapped the image that changed the world.

  Coming to news stands ALL OVER THE WORLD, on December 1st, 2015

Motorsailing the Delta

  We made it safe and sound to Owl Harbor. The sail was pretty much not considered sailing, It was mostly motorsailing. Thats when we have the iron genoa, Rattler, fired up the entire time. If we wanted to just sail, there was no wind to speak of. It was one of those days when the wind is calm, the warm sun in your face, and spiders with their parachutes flying across the water hoping to find a cool new place to live. We had the Genoa pulled all the way out on the whisker pole.

  We got SVCerridwen loaded, just like when we head out of the Golden Gate, everything on board. The hard dinghy on the fordeck, our new *thank you Lisa for a steal of a deal* 9ft inflatable RIB fit perfect on the davits, and the inflatable kayak on top of the dodger. Everything fit good in their spots, and nothing got shook loose. Although we didn't get to sail much, it was a good field trial. It turned out to be a good day to be on the water, the tides were in our favor.
  We got here just before dark, the sunset was breathtaking.

  One thing I did notice though, is that almost all the buoys had seals on them. The kids had fun barking back at them as we went by. The brackish water has moved way inland, because of the lack of freshwater runoff upstream. The lack of rain and snow is letting the seawater move inland. The further the saltwater moves in, so does the critters, crabs, seals, barnacles etc. The hyacinth has taken over alot of the delta. When we moved to Oregon 16 years ago, there was just a little, and now, they can't get ahead of these weeds. They are kinda pretty, but wiping out alot of the natural foliage. Tules, and pussy willows are getting choked out of their spots they have been in since forever.

  The world is forever changing. We need to be more careful with our spreading of invasive plants and animals. Our plastic footprint that we are going to leave behind is getting fatter and fatter. I hope we can catch up with it.
bunkmate

The Time Has Come

  Well my friends, the time has come, to raise the roof and have some fun, throw away any work to be done, let the music play on.
  We have come to realize that we have started to grow roots. Putting some things on hold, to keep our comforts, and our friends. When in actuality there is work to be done. So we are pickin up and going to Owl Harbor. We have debated, and decided that we are almost ready to yank the stick* and get her bottom done in a couple of months, so there are a couple of things that need to get done prior to it, so , , , , ,    *pull the mast off*
  We almost went straight to Napa, 15 minute commute verses 45+, but we decided to enjoy the relaxing life for a few months first, while we prep.
  At the same time we were planning, the Benicia Marina has decided that our composting toilet is not allowed, because they can't pump it, and that is a required service, so, , , , , ,
  Our plans were bumped up about 4 months, it happened for some unknown reason, and that is what our cruising life is all about.
   So here we go, at the end of this month, I am sooo glad I don't have to pack, just untie the lines.
bunkmate 

Dawdling The Delta ... Doo Dah, Doo Dah

Owl Harbor

This year our July 4th plans included fun friends, a trip up the delta, sailing, fireworks, adventure, wildlife, trying new things. We decided to spend Friday the 3rd traveling up to Owl Harbor.  We picked the early tide, haha, 10:30am. We headed up the Carquinez Straight, past Pittsburg and Antioch, all the way up the San Juaquin River to Sevenmile Slough, where Owl Harbor is protected by the levee.
  Owl Harbor is a cool little Marina, they have wonderful new facilities. The showers are all granite. The people are awesome, and so friendly. They have a garden and give everyone tomatoes, squash, eggs, and they have bikes available if you want to go for a ride. They have campsites available too.
  There was an array of wildlife. There was a bunch of big bass out there teasing the fisherman as the fished the Seven Mile Slough. There were a couple of birds that would hover, and then swoop down and CRASH into the water, it never missed while I was watching.
  Dave and Kelly have 2 Badfish Stand Up Paddleboards, inflatable ones to boot, just like what ones we have been looking at but different brand. We took advantage of the opportunity to try them out. They are low profile, RED, not hard as a rock. Roxi and DrifterDude jumped on board before we did. Every time we would get close together they would trade boards. The boards felt very stable yet soft whenever I dropped to my knees. They were alot of fun.
  We decided to go for a bike ride over to Pirates Lair, Moores Riverboat area. Cap'n Carey and I rode the bikes all the way there, and met up with Kelly, Dave, and Leslie, in her truck. We decided to go back to Spindrift for lunch. After lunch we threw the bikes in Leslie's truck, and she gave us all a ride back to the marina. - to be honest the wind was ripping so hard Dave rode my bike to Spindrift, Thanx a million Dave. And a huge thanx to Leslie, for giving us all a ride back to the boats.
 Sunday morning rolled around and it was time to go stick our nose in another direction.  We left Owl Harbor at 11:30am. The tide was getting ready to start coming in.
When we got to big water, the San Jauquin River had some pretty big white capping going on, so we tucked behind the tulle islands that run by Spindrift Marina, on Brannon Island.
  We raced, haha, across the San Joaquin River by light #47, and ducked into Potato Slough. We had discussed staying in 1 of the 3 'bedrooms'. There were a bunch of boats still in bedroom 1, so we tootled over to bedroom 2, there was plenty of room there. A couple of boats still left over from the 4th of July, and they didn't look like they would be hanging around much longer.
 Using the chart above, we went from my index finger to near my thumb. Bedroom 2 is just under the word 'slough' above my thumb.  We nosed in and dropped our main CQR anchor, then reversed our way out and dropped our stern anchor. The Cap'n rowed to shore to secure a bowline to shore, and  once we were adjusted we sat really well all week. The adventure continues.

bunkmate

4th of July Vacation Pt 1

This year the 4th of July fell on a Saturday. Cap'n Carey worked only a half day on Thursday, so we could head out early on Friday.
  This year we have some friends that have a sailboat too, Kelly and Dave, they live on the end of our dock, on Shear Water, she is a an Ericson 36 , and she is a beauty.


  We all decided to head inland, and spend the week on the hook in Potato Slough. We are hoping to get a good spot that each of us can get nosed up to the island for protection from the wind. Potato Slough has 3 'bedrooms', which is kind of like a little bay on an island, where boats can anchor and/or tie to the island. There aren't very many islands that you can do this to, so they fill up fast, especially on a holiday weekend. We are on vacation for a week, so we decided to spend a night at Owl Harbor  and wait for the weekend warriors to leave, and then sneak in behind them.

  We all decided to leave early Friday morning. So we all got together Thursday evening, to check charts, weather, and such. We picked the early morning 10:30am tide. The tide will be coming in, which means we will be riding the incoming tide, instead of going against it. There is a cooling trend, which means the wind will be up, so we will sail with only the Genoa, and the NEW FURLER, whoop whoop.  And only pull it out
half way(reef). We also used the whisker pole to hold the sail out the side, to catch air and prevent it from going back and forth.
  We had the wind at our backs, and rode the tide all the way up.
  We planned to stay at  Owl Harbor Friday night, and head to Potato Slough Saturday, early afternoon. The cool front stayed an extra day, , , , so we did too.

  When we woke up Saturday morning, the wind was rippin, and the coast guard was having a pretty rough day of pulling boats off the rock levees, and we decided that we didn't want to be them.
  It turned into a fun time, once we knew we weren't going anywhere, we just goofed off. Dave and Kelly had inflatable paddle boards, and we took a turn on them, Roxi and Drifter had fun on them too. A friend of theirs, Leslie, came and spent the 4th with us. We watched the fireworks from the levee.  We saw a bunch of little fireworks all around us, and spent the evening hours chatting about all the adventures in our lives, our dreams, our obstacles, and the fun we are having making them all.
   bunkmate

Furled at Last

  We now have a furled Genoa. The Cap'n did an outstanding job. To me, the hardest part of all of it was the measuring and researching he did. He had measured the Forestay, which is the wire that is connected to the bow, and reaches to the top of the mast. The whole purpose for the furler is to have the sail up and ready to use. We had a hanked on Genoa, which meant that the sail had to be hooked on to the forestay every time we wanted to go sail, and the whole time we were at anchor the sail was laying on the foredeck, in the sun. We had a furler on SVSimplicity, and we loved the convenience, and ease, of pulling the sail out when needed. Also, you don't have to pull the whole sail out if the wind is ripping. The sail doesn't have to be taken down after sailing, and then store it somewhere.

  We had to cut the 'hanks' off first, then we sewed a sacrificial sail on the edge, with a strip of luff tape, to feed up through the tubes
  We had a chance to take it out and test it, and it is so awesome to be able to control how much sail you want out. If the wind picks up, we just furl the sail in a little, and never miss a beat.
  It always sounds so simple to do, but it takes Cap'n Carey days of research, hours and hours, of calculating how many of this bolt size, and that size nut, how and where every washer goes, how many feet of sail we lost verses how much sacrificial sail we needed. How many feet of sheet (the rope connected to the sail) do we need to run down both sides, and also how much do we need, and how big does the sheet need to be for the furler itself, and where should it be mounted, which side of the boat do we need it to run down, and where to mount all the hardware to keep them out of the way while not under sail.
  Our Cap'n is always looking to make things easier for me, because he knows that it is important to me, to be able to do everything, especially if something was to happen to him, I could be confident enough to know I could handle her without his help.
  We are still, totally confident about our decision to follow our dream. And loving every day leading to our official departure.
  bunkmate
 

Cruisers Life For Me

Just a few pics of our friends around the marina, the baby ducks have been appearing around the docks, this year we do not have a family of geese, but we have about6 or 7 baby ducks.

One of our little duck family

 Lisa and her furkiddz, Lexi and Lewis

Joe and Deb out and about in their canoe.
  I know more of my neighbors in the marina, than I ever knew in any neighborhood I have ever lived in, on land.
 It is so nice to be surrounded by people that share our lifestyle. And understand the need to be near the coastline, on the water.
  bunkmate

Converting a Hank On Sail to a Furling

  The Cap'n has decided that instead of hanking on the Genoa, we are going to go with a Furler. With the 'hanked' on Genoa, we have to put it on every time we want to use it. And it lays on the deck while at anchor, so when we pull the anchor up, it gets muddy, and it takes up most of the fore deck. 
  It is a pretty good project for the Cap'n. We started by having the Cap'n go up the mast. We just so happened to have some sailing friends come to spend a few days here at the Benicia Marina, in their boat 'Fast Dash', so we got them to assist in the adventure. It was a pretty fun afternoon. We ordered the furler, and after a month of back order phone calls, it showed up. The Cap'n went to work measuring, and making sure we had the right hardware to do the job.
    The Cap'n patiently waited for a calm day to get started. After more measuring  and cutting, he fed the tube up the forestay. there are fittings that go inside the tube to connect the tubes, and this is not something you can do ahead of time, it has to be done while the tube is going up. The bale is a little bit oversized, but so is everything else, so it fits right together. It went up pretty easy, the Cap'n wants it to sit where it is in the pic, but we have to wait on a back ordered turnbuckle cover that will allow the furler to sit lower on the stay, so he has to fix up the brackets to do for now. 
  The next thing we need to do is fix the Genoa to be a furled sail, instead of Hanked on. A 'hanked' on sail, means it has rings on it, to attach it to the sail to the forestay with spring loaded clips called Hanks. A furler rolls the Genoa up on the forestay, and keeps the deck open for maneuvering. So in order to convert the Genoa to the furler, we have already cut off the forward edge (Leech)that has the rings on it, and now we need to sew the sail and sacrificial Sunbrella. We will be using the Sunbrella fabric to protect the sail on the edge when it is furled. To attach the sail to the furler foils, we are using Continuous Support Tape to feed into the tube track of the furler. That will extend almost the full length of the sail, and when it is completely furled, the sail will turn inside the Sunbrella fabric. That is called , sacrificial fabric.

  The furler housing was coming down short of where the Cap'n wanted it to be. The brackets that attached to the bowsprit were almost 2" shy, so he bolted extensions on.
  We now have some more grunt work that needs to be done to get it into place, Genoa and all the trimmings. Good thing we have the sewing machine, this just saved us a couple of grands. The bottom picture shows the forward sail hanked on.
bunkmate

Moisture Measures

  With all the moisture from our breathing, and the wet fog that hangs all morning, the mold has been running throughout the whole boat. One day it is here, and the next its there. Just when it finally quit smelling like bleach, I find more. I find that if I run the Espar Heater, and keeping everything open, it stays dryer. The canned goods are sweating their labels off, so I am starting to write everything on the cans, and should remove the labels, so the paper doesn't get in the bilge. But we really don't have the paper coming off, , yet.
  The weather is getting better, and the Cap'n is pretty happy about working up top, and it not raining, or the wind isn't blowing everything away. One of the projects was servicing the winches. *so much to be said there* I didn't realize how many pieces  were inside one of them.
  Another task our Cap'n has taken on is converting our hank on Genoa into a furling system. This means he gets to climb the mast. and that in itself is a whole new story.
  While we had some good weather we decided to flip the boat around, and stern in. This is good practice for all different wind directions, and it also dried out the starboard side, to help with the moisture issue.
  I sanded the entire cap rail,and all the teak on the forward deck, and got a fresh coat of Cetol to get us thru the summer. Got that out of the way so there will be more playing this summer, less work, hahahaha like that ever happens. Being a cruiser means you get to work on your boat in exotic places.

 bunkmate

Shaking the Sheets

  Wow that was a fast year. It is almost SF Boat Show time.
  The Yacht club is having a class on boating. General safety, knots, bad weather, you know, boat stuff. I am really excited to be going to the classes. I feel pretty confident that I will be walking away with alot of knowledge in the next month or so. It seems that most all the people I know around the docks are going. There is also another class we were chatting about, that is like 2 weeks, every night, and the yacht club classes are Monday nights, for a couple of months. We opted out for this class. When Cap'n gets off work, he doesn't have enough time to get back to Benicia in time for class.
  We had a chance to get away from the docks last weekend, we headed toward Angle Island. We stayed at Dillon Point friday night, and headed out around 7:30am'ish.  Getting to Richardson Bay was a piece of cake. The wind at our back, going wing~on~wing most the way. And you know what that means, Wind on the nose the whole way back.

  We were playing with the Genoa, it is the big sail on the bow. We had a blast, a couple of our tacks were quite comical, trying to move the main traveler while we tacked was an adventure. There were seals on the buoys, they threw quite a fit when we passed real close, boy them buggers are loud. It was pretty nice both days out. We got to Richardson Bay before sunset. Our Cap'n took the dinghy aka 'potty boat' off the transom, and we went to shore for some much needed R&R for the crew. There are alot of vagabond boats there, It was pretty busy, so we had to anchor way past the main channel, and rowed all the way there. The vagabonds all hang at the park you have to beach the boat on. Then go back out to their boats.
   While on our way we passed a wicked neat boat, kinda Batman/James Bond type, but it was huge. You can kinda get a feel of the size of this boat with a sailboat just off it's bow. The back deck was like a back patio, with one of those biggo BBQs on it.
  It is kinda funny how I stow everything before we head out sailing, and for the most part it all stays put, then you get the sheets tight and she dips a rail, and everything goes everywhere. The picture is straight, but if you look at the clock on the navigation station, you can tell we are not flat. And I thought the towel is a great way to show you it the other way. Towel straight, head walk through heeled over.
bunkmate

Ta Do's Ta Done

Little projects have to be done too. 
  The little things like getting the v~berth board cut, so the bunk will be one bunk instead of two, or you can still use it as two. The next step will be getting the foam pillow cut to fit, and get it wrapped in the same material as the rest of the cushions throughout Cerridwen's interior. The sewing machine is an awesome addition to the tools we need to continue our restoration of the inside and topside. Cerridwen came with material to keep improving the interior.
  The rub strake needed a little epoxy to fill a seam that needed to be repaired. The Cap'n taped some plastic so as to  not let any run down the side or drip into the water. We waited a couple of days before I sanded, and put another coat of paint on the whole rub strake. 
  We have been working every weekend, and I have been doing stuff all week during the day while Cap'n is at work. He also does work in the morning before he goes to work. We should be able to start taking her out every weekend, and figure out the sail inventory. She came with 8 sails, so we need to go through and try them all out
  The Cap'n also sanded the grates for the cockpit floor. Took it back down to wood, we are going to keep it bare wood. This pic was taken through the forward porthole on the starboard side.
  This is truly the never ending list. Every time you get a project done, mark it off the list, and BAMM, 2 or more projects appear on the list
  I know I have said it before, but, , , 
Cruising means, Working on your boat in exotic places.
  bunkmate

Dredging

  Well the dredging was a fiasco. They were to be in the marina and dredging by the first of August. Then by September, there was a problem with the permit, on the Marinas side, then it was the companies problem with scheduling, then it was finally here. Well kinda here, it was in the entrance. It moved some mud out of the entrance, and it moved towards the marina pretty fast. And then it just stopped working, sitting in the entrance canal. It sat for a couple of days, then moved some mud for a couple of hours, and a biggo tug came and pushed it out of the marinas entrance, all the way out, and up river it went.

oh well, no biggie, this is only temporary
bunkmate