Sunday Sail

It's been a rainy winter here in Northern California. So when I put out some invites to go sailing last Sunday, I wasn't sure I would have any takers as the weather looked questionable. Come Sunday however, it was bright and beautiful. I headed to the boat with a skip in my step. Everyone showed up on time at 11am and we were off with a full boat of 7 plus Kona (my Golden). Motoring out, there was no wind. Looking past the 2 mile long Berkeley Pier, I could see wind ahead. We finally pulled up the sails and we were off for a beautiful sail towards the Gate. The wind was 12-15 and the sun was bright in the cockpit. Lots of great conversation and the stories were fun. We got around Angel and decided to head for Sam's for a lunch break. No need to belly up to the bar as we has plenty of food and drink on board. Kona got a walk and as per usual, we were stopped several times so folks could get a better look at this beautiful dog. A family wandered out to the boat and a little boy wanted to see the boat. I took him aboard and he looked around down below and was impressed by what he saw as he had never been on a boat before. We took off and the wind was up even more. A couple short tacks and we were off towards the bridge. The wind was in the low 20's by now and there were some big gusts. We shortened the jib up and had a beautiful view of the Golden Gate and the ocean beyond. What a sight. It doesn't get much better than this! I let Dan take the wheel and enjoyed this wonderful view of our home waters. Heading home we had a nice run back to the barn for a quick cleanup and back on the road. What a great way to kick off the season with friends aboard our humble little sloop! I received an email from a fellow sailor out that day and he saw a whale near Angel Island frolicking about. We don't get many in the bay and usually they don't stay very long.