The nav table has a warm glow at night.
The fog line was moving out only slightly slower than we were approaching.
Passing the city, we bagan to catch up with the fog.
Then the bridge appeared in the fog.
This is what I came here for.
Mike was happy to take the helm.
There's a thousand words worth, right there.
Carol could barely sit still long enough for this picture.
Looking over the furled main up to the top of the south tower.
Straight up the mast as we passed under.
Mike alone with his thoughts.
Tom had a rare moment of relaxation.
With winds so high, a hanky was plenty of sail!
The ship's log, the iPod connected to the stereo, the radar unit in the back, and all the other instrumentation are displayed under a red light. At night, any brighter light would blind the crew making it difficult to navigate once they went back on deck. Even with the newest technology available today displayed to blatently, there's a romantic feel to the nav table knowing that centuries of sailors have experienced many of the same feelings we did as we prepared to get underway in the pre-dawn hours.
As we left the estuary in Alameda and motored toward the Bay Bridge, the sun behind our backs lent the city a glow that was highlighted by the gray background of the fog line behind it. I wish I knew enough about the workings of our camera to have done it justice.
The palace of fine arts still looks good, with only a few wisps of fog beginning to appear around the buildings.
It was impossible to catch our breath as we caught our first glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge rising through the fog. As we approached, a single beam of light broke through the overcast and sent the sun crawling down the south tower from the top.
Freezing my fingers off on the 4th of July. Who would have figured that when I was growing up in Michigan. No surprise that I'd freeze off a limb or two in my day, just never expected it in July.
None of us could wipe the grins off our faces as we approached the bridge.
Hmmm...which side should we go through on? Is it too late to change our mind?
Now you've gotta admit, that's not a shot you're going to get on just any old day.
This is the most novel way to avoid the traffic on the bridge....
As Mike plotted a course through the potato patch, we all had a few moments of silence. This is a genuine "golden moment" that we will all cherish for the rest of our lives.
There was no more photography that day, but after a day of rest in Half Moon Bay and a change of crew, Carol resumes ther usual position at the helm with a giant grin on her face. You can tell she really hates her life right now, can't ya?
The main was down and just a teeny portion of the jib was showing, but that was enough to maintain nearly 7 knots in heavy winds. The trip from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz took our experienced crew a mere 8 hours, instead of the 11 to 12 we calculated!
