03/25/2002 - 03/27/2002
Welcome to the St. Francis
Three gorgeous days in San Francisco started us out on the right foot. Weeks and months and years of preparing to leave our home slip left us longing for a break from the fast pace. We decided to tour the coffee shops of the Marina/Chestnut St. district of San Francisco on Tuesday morning. First stop - The Grove. Now, we are quite embarrassed to admit to the following, so please do not judge us too harshly. After enjoying champagne and BBQ on Monday night, we half heartedly watch a TV show called "The Bachelor". Throughout the show, Robin insisted the show must be the worst television ever aired. At the end of the show, we vowed never to watch or think of "The Bachelor" again. How does the relate to coffee at The Grove, you ask. In an odd twist of fate, the "star" of "The Bachelor" chose to partake in the coffee scene at The Grove with a film crew. Based on his arrogant behavior, we guess he is still a bachelor. After patronizing a couple of coffee shops and shopping at the Marina Safeway, we lugged our caffienated selves and several pounds of groceries back to Whisper.
Jim and Catherine
Our good friends Jim and Catherine joined us for dinner at the St. Francis on Tuesday night. The restaurant's view of the Golden Gate bridge at sunset must be the best view in the city. A major topic of the dinner conversation focused on the weather and when to head to Half Moon Bay. The forecasts indicated outstanding weather and tides to head to our destination anytime between now and Sunday. Our plan to leave on Thursday sounded like the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful, sunny downwind sail as our first hop down the coast. With the forecast, perhaps Jim and Catherine could make a weekend trip down to Half Moon Bay on their Hallberg-Rassy 36, Nameste. Sounds like a plan.
On Wednesday, we focused on preparing for our departure. In January, we attended a Safety at Sea seminar where we gathered lots of great information and hints on preparing for ocean cruising and racing. One tidbit suggested to try out any seasick medications in advance of heading offshore. Neither one of us is prone to seasickness, yet with the forecasts indicated the ocean swells might be around 10 to 11 feet every 8 seconds from the NW, we decided to try out seasick medication on Wednesday. Many people swear by Stugeron as a seasick medication. We obtained a sample of Stugeron. Knowing that 1/2 a Bonine works for us, we each tried 1/2 a Stugeron at around 8am. By 9am, Robin started to fall asleep in the cockpit and Duncan followed close behind. "Quick, let's go for a walk to try to stay awake" mumbled Duncan. Walking the Crissy field coastal trail to the "Warming Hut" to down some lattes prevented us from sleeping the day away. En route, we stumbled upon a Ford Motor Company media event to donate 400 electric vehicles that look like golf carts to the National Park Service. These vehicles, called Think, will be available to consumers in the U.S. later this year.
Golden Gate Bridge at sunset
Preparations for the big day awaited us back on Whisper. With the lattes to counteract the Stugeron, Duncan managed to set up the jacklines and the preventer and Robin stowed all potential flying projectiles down below. Before hitting the sack, final preparations included setting out foul weather gear, filling the beverage/snack cockpit bag, uploading the waypoints from the charting software in to both the fixed GPS and the handheld GPS, plotting the course on paper charts and listening to the weather forecast one more time. The forecast sounds great and we are prepared. Set the alarm for 5am. Tomorrow, Half Moon Bay.
Thanks for checking in on us. See you in Half Moon Bay.