Alcatraz & Golden Gate Bridge = Best sailing day ever!

So I apologize about the lack of updates recently. We actually moved off of the boat into one of the two bedrooms of a friend's apartment here in the very fabulously gay Castro neighborhood of beautiful San Francisco. It's tough paying for a 2 bedroom apartment by yourself (the friend's roommate can't move in until the lease is up June at his old apartment), so with Ian working more right here in the Castro, why not settle in close to work in the gayborhood and enjoy life in one of the most magnificent cities in the world. We get to live in the city, and our friend gets somebody to help pay the rent until the other roommate can end the lease at his old place. This is a temporary setup which will also give us time to look for our next little studio of our own. Hopefully my pharmacy technician license will be processed soon so I can start working around here (and pay my own rent so the parents don't have to!). Soon enough, I guess.

I filed for graduation, bought my cap, gown, and tassle, and I'm ready to rock out just 5 more weeks of class until I'm done! woo hoo! Mom will be meeting up with me in San Francisco before we fly together to Phoenix for graduation. Then she'll be laying over in San Francisco to see everybody :) I'll get to hang out at the Phoenix house which I haven't been to in 3 years. I'm excited to see everybody together :)

Anyhow, today we decided to take our friends Todd and Bob out sailing in beautiful San Francisco Bay. I might even dare to say that it was almost TOO beautiful of a day where winds were on the light side so we weren't going anywhere very fast. But, that being said, it was my longest sail experience yet, and since I had never been before where we were planning to go today (around Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate bridge), the very light winds and currents were probably for the best. Everything went so incredibly smoothly today, from pulling out of the slip at the marina, to hauling up the sails, to preparations for docking. I'm feeling very comfortable with my sailing skills now. Hell, we sailed the entire East-West width of San Francisco Bay from Berkeley/Emeryville to the Pacific Ocean!

Prepping the sails and halyards before casting off from the dock

First stop after passing Treasure Island ... Alcatraz Island!

Checking the trim of our sails and adjusting our course

Getting closer to Alcatraz - what an incredible rock!

My yachtsman stud of a boyfriend in linen pants, a button down collar shirt, and Top Siders. Mmm ;-)

And we're here! South side of Alcatraz Island

Taking a break from the tiller while Ian takes over

;-)

Now past Alcatraz and sailing along the San Francisco waterfront. The Marina District and Presidio are to the left (out of the frame of the photo) as we head out towards the Golden Gate bridge

Friendly fellow yachtspeople saying hello as they return from their Golden Gate trip while we head out to do the same

Forget the tourist ferries ... we can stay as long as we want!

Almost there...

Directly under the bridge!! If you shout upwards, your voice echoes back down to you ... how cool! But only in a quiet, peaceful sailboat. Motors on the motorboats/ferries will drown out your echo so obviously this is only for the cool kids :-p

And now officially on the west side of the Golden Gate and we are in Pacific Ocean waters! The beautiful cliffs of the Marin headlands were all around

Cargo ships were in a holding pattern out by the Farallone Islands, but now that it was high tide and slack current at the time of this photo, the Coast Guard's Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) on Channel 14 of the VHF radio began to direct inbound cargo traffic to enter the bay. We stay WELL out of their way - these cargo ships go SO fast

On the way back, I saw a spout of water shoot up into the air about 100 feet in front of the boat and asked everybody to check what it was ... turns out, there were TWO GREY WHALES SWIMMING RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!!! We saw their blowhole spout water as they came up for air, then their fluke slipping up out the water and back down as they dove deeper. How incredible to come across these stunning creatures by chance! Of course there were also plenty of sea lions bobbing up and down in the water as well.

7 hours later we are headed back to home port in Emeryville, and then coming back into San Francisco to our new home for a hot, homemade meal and some well-deserved sleep.

Like I always say, not a bad day at all...