My Favorite Bay Cruise - Napa!

If someone told me 10 years ago, that I could sail up the Napa River and bike to some of the greatest wineries on the planet, I would have said you are nuts!  And if someone said you can sail the 12 mile river all the way without tacking, I would have said that's unbelievable!  Here is the blog post from our second trip up the river from 2012.

Tex, my golden Kona and I have just returned from a glorious trip up the Napa River to downtown Napa.  We started the trip with a spinnaker run up San Pablo Bay to Vallejo.  We hit the Napa River and the wind was perfect for sailing up the river.  The wind direction and river orientation allow us to sail the river without tacking.  It's amazing to be sailing so fast on such a narrow river.  We reached our destination of the Napa Valley Yacht Club at 5:30.  We headed up to the bocce court for a spirited best out of three.  Then it was on to dinner on the boat along with some nice wine.  Monday we were up early for some wine country appointments.  William Hill, Luna, and Reynolds.  It was about a 30 minute bike ride to the wineries.  We had a great time riding in a mist like rain.  Monday night it rained so we hung out at the boat with a nice dinner and some Saturday Night Live.  Tuesday we had to fix some flats but not too worry we made it out about 11am for our next round of wineries.  My niece Julie showed up at one of the wineries and joined us for a few days.  She is on a road trip from the east coast.  That evening we had a nice time hanging on the boat with some more great food and fun.  On Wednesday we moved the boat to the Carneros region for more wine tasting.  Julie met us and we headed off to Mueller winery and had a great time chatting with Julius as he poured us some tasty tidbits.  He mentioned that we could ride our bikes thru the winery for a nice short cute to Etude.  That was cool.  We had a very nice taste at Etude and then got hit by a huge rain storm.  We retreated to the boat for lunch and then headed out by car to Artesa Winery.  One of the most beautiful wineries in the area, and the wine was good too.  The next morning we headed back to the bay with a nice motor down river.  We hit San Pablo Bay and there was a big storm off the starboard beam.  We heard thunder at one point.  It was heading south and soon it found us and hit us with a 30 minute downpour.  We had the proper clothing and no problems.  Once we got to the Richmond Bridge, the wind piped up and we sailed out to Angel Island.  The Blue Angles were practicing and we saw some nice flyovers.  We headed to Sausalito after a beautiful sunset and tied up at Schoonmaker Marina.  Spent the night there and it was a quiet one.  Up early as they were working on the dock.  We headed out for breakfast floating off the GG Bridge.  Beautiful.  The breeze came up from the east and we headed to a beach on Angel so Kona could get a run.  He loved it and so did I.  Around noon the wind came up for real and we headed out to the Pacific for some wave riding fun.  On our way back, a fishing boat passed and slowed.  We caught up with them and they asked if we would like a salmon.  We said sure.  Tex went on deck and made a great catch of a big fish!  That was classic!  Then it was back on the bay for the Blue Angels show.  We sailed and watched their intricate display of acrobatics.  Back to our slip in Emeryville after the show, we took a quick nap and then cleaned up the boat.  It was another great trip up the Napa River!