We Were Promised Jet Packs

Heading out for an overnight on Saturday to one of the nicest spots on the bay: Angel Island.  They have mooring balls in Ayala Cove that we will tie up to for the night.  They say sleeping on a boat is like returning to the womb.  The gentle rocking brings you right back to the start.  But this is a womb with a view!

In August of 1775, Lt. Juan Manuel de Ayala, a Spanish Naval officer, sailed the ship the San Carlos into San Francisco Bay and anchored into what is now know as Ayala Cove. The first Europeans to sail into the San Francisco Bay, Ayala and his crew spent forty days making a chart of the area. Following a practice then common among Catholic explorers naming sites for the religious feast days nearest to the time of discovery, Father Vicente, the chaplain of the San Carlos, christened the little island Isla de Los Angeles.
The next recorded European visitors to the cove were in 1814 when a British 26-gun sloop-of-war, HMS Racoon, anchored in the cove to make repairs. HMS Racoon gave her name to Raccoon Strait (the reason Raccoon Strait was originally spelled with only one “c”) and the cove, then known as “Racoon Cove”.  The ships officers explored the island and named the major points after their sur names.  Hence, Blunt Point was named after one of these officers.  Now you know!  And spread the word!