First official sail !

Can't believe it! We did it! We officially had our first sail today - engine off, 7-8 knot winds, hoisted the mainsail and everything! But first...

Today I successfully pulled out of our slip and docked at both the fuel dock AND the pumpout station! I'm learning that in the marina, go SLOW. You can always speed up if you need, but it's VERY difficult to slow down. When approaching the dock, I also realized I need to be much more assertive in my action on the tiller ... today I confirmed what I need to do in order to successfully navigate under power.

Anyhow, enough ramblings how about some pictures/video:

Mainsail hoisted and perfectly trimmed! Battens are curved nicely, no luffing (dead flapping) anywhere, good tension, and nice pocket of air filling the sail. C30 logo (Catalina 30) is my favorite haha ... the sail originally made for our boat.

We had the entire bay to ourselves this afternoon ... this was the only other sailboat out there, coming in from the Golden Gate Bridge.

Treasure Island and the Bay Bridge to our port (left) side and the San Francisco skyline coming through the morning fog

Couldn't have asked for better conditions for our first sail ... gentle, steady 7-8 knot winds, sunny, slack current, and high tide.

Ian poured us some refreshing lemonade and we relaxed as we listened to the waves and the wind

Ian at the bow with Oakland in the background

My lunch @ Emery Public Market after our sail this afternoon. Biked to the market for some Quormeh Sabzi (Persian braised lamb shank) ... delicious and only $9!

After reading some sailing magazines and books at Borders, we biked home along the Marina Park waterfront to a setting sun as the fog rolls back through the Golden Gate to put San Francisco to bed.

Today I was really happy that I felt much more comfortable with navigating in and around the marina. It's not the sailing that's the hard part. Like our friend Kyle told me "there's only so many mistakes you can make out in the open when you're sailing". In the  marina, however, lots of traffic, expensive boats, currents, and winds keep you on your toes. I think I had a breakthrough today in my realization of boat handling. Just go slow .. just fast enough to maintain steering, and be very assertive with tiller movement. Also, I reminded myself to not be afraid to just get the boat generally in the slip, and hop onto the dock to literally walk the boat into the slip if necessary. I'm glad I got the practice in today when it wasn't busy out at all so when it starts warming up and the marina starts getting busier, I'll be prepared.

For now, I'll just say it was such a cool feeling to be out there with lemonade in one hand and the tiller in the other, feeling the slight resistance of the water against the rudder as we tacked, gybed, ran, and reached in all points of sail of the wind.

Tomorrow, I'm heading into San Francisco to do some homework at the public library in Civic Center. They have a reference book I need to use, and rather than buy it, I'll give myself an excuse to enjoy the City by the Bay. Maybe I should eat that tea leaf salad I've been meaning to try at Burma Superstar ... or clam chowder in the famous San Francisco sourdough bread bowl can't be beat either. Too many good choices. Ian is helping his dad move into the Inner Sunset neighborhood right by UCSF tomorrow so we might stay the night there.

I guess time to start some homework ... adieu!

My impressions a week in so far

It's been over a week since we've been living aboard this little 30 foot boat and I thought I'd take time to jot down my impressions just for fun. Maybe down the road some of these will change, or maybe they wont. Only time will tell, I guess.

First things first. The small space doesn't bother me at all really. I've always found tiny living spaces really interesting - whether it's little capsule hotels in downtown Tokyo, or a tiny little maid's studio in an old building in Paris ... there's something to be said for finding creative ways to use space and to minimize what we think we "need". In all reality, there are around four different "sections" to the boat so it doesn't feel too small at all. In the back deck there's the cockpit where I've enjoyed the past couple days of sunshine, then there's the U-shaped galley area where meals are prepared. Next is the dinette/"living room" area where we (today) set up the TV just for fun (we don't watch much TV), and finally in the front ... my favorite place of all ... is the cozy, pillow and blanket filled V-berth where we sleep.

Rocking is almost non existent on the boat since we are in a protected marina. Last week there was quite a storm, and we could hear the boat tugging at her lines on the dock, the fenders squeaking a little when the boat pressed against them. But besides the sound of the rain falling on the deck above (no leaks so far ... knock on wood!) and the gusty wind, I fell asleep perfectly fine.

I've been taking showers on land in the marina's private-access shower/laundry facility. They're kept very clean (cleaned every morning) and they're totally private so you can take a shower by yourself and use the sink/toilet, etc without having other ppl around. On the boat, we have a flushing toilet, but the holding tank is very small so we only use this one of middle of the night emergencies. The other day we went to the pumpout dock and cleared our holding tank so it's empty again.

Things that take some getting used to:

1) No hot water. While I haven't been dying because of no hot water on the boat, I do like to wash my face and warm water is needed. Otherwise, I don't really "miss" it ... I haven't yet been in a situation where I've cried because our "H" tap on the sink is still cold. I guess in reality I DO actually have hot water - it's just 30 yards away in the shower facility. Luckily the water there is nice and hot.

2) Duck! Learning to move in the boat has been a funny experiences. After smacking my head on a hand rail or radio mount enough times, I learned real quick to move slowly and deliberately. The boat actually has like 6'2" of headroom inside the cabin, so we can stand normally inside - its just certain areas where you may have to bend down a little.

3) Not making a mess in the kitchen. While I think I've come a long way from being scared I'd starve since I didn't know how to cook moving into my first apartment in downtown Phoenix when college first started, I still have a ways to go when it comes to being clean in the kitchen. I can whip up a pretty good meal, but in the past that has involved multiple pots/pans, measuring things in different cups, etc. With a tiny sink and very limited space in the galley, I have to rethink what I cook. Washing a lot of dishes is not an option on board since water is limited. I took a hose from the dock and refilled our water tank today which feeds the toilet and sinks. Running large amounts of water would mean refilling the water tank really frequently and I'm too lazy for that haha. I'll just conserve water instead. "One pot cooking" is what I'll have to start thinking about. I also have a crockpot (which I'm using for tonight's dinner of my aunt's wonderful handmade wontons and vegetables in broth), as well as a rice cooker - I've seen some pretty creative "all in the rice cooker" meals, so this will be my new challenge.

Other than the above listed things, I can't really think of anything at the moment which makes me hate living in the boat. For all the things I don't have compared to an apartment, there are many more people in the world who live with a fraction of what I have. I might not have hot water, but some people don't even have water at all for miles. When I think about possibly doing something like Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), I have to put into perspective that those kinds of conditions would be way tougher than this. I still have internet, a TV, running water, electricity, a heater, and warm blankets.

I also have a pretty cool new backyard:

If it's windy enough to sail in the bay, it's definitely windy enough for me to fly my little pop-open kite :)

Now that I have a Dahon folding bike, I can get around Emeryville a little faster. Walking was totally fine distance-wise (I walked a lot in Seattle, so it's no problem at all), but it does take a little while just to get off of the marina peninsula. With a bike, I'm in town within 10 minutes ... Asqew Grill, movie theaters, Trader Joe's, H&M, Barnes & Noble, etc are all within 10 mins by bike in the Bay Street shopping center. Today was my first run down to Trader Joe's by bike:

The bike folds even smaller (handlebars and seat post are not folded down in this picture), and the Trader Joe's cart is tiny, but the bike is still pretty compact!

I bought some vegetable broth and mixed veggies to throw in the crockpot with Yee Yee's wontons (thanks auntie!) ... and since Callie is coming tomorrow after her classes, I thought I'd buy some lemonade to make virgin arnold palmers to enjoy on the deck alongside our salad wraps (baby salad greens + pomegranate seeds + pesto + sesame dressing in a lavosh pita wrap). 

Sometimes I don't know how long I'll be able to do the whole live-aboard thing, but other days I really like the peace and quiet by the water and the quasi-isolation (compared to living in the city). Who knows how long this will last (I may break down one day and say enough, or we may adopt this as our lifestyle in different places around the world for the rest of my life .... New Zealand, anybody?), but life's an adventure and I have to put myself outside of my comfort zone if I want to really live and feel.