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