This morning, we drove up to the ranch from where the boat was berthed in the Petaluma River Turning Basin to drop off the car and say goodbye to our pets. We had a nice breakfast with Renee's mom, Brigitte, and aunt, Jean, and then it was time to go. A flotilla of power boats left the Turning Basin at about 11:45 and we figured it would be polite to motorists to join them for their bridge opening. Brigitte waved from the dock as we set off down the river. Passing under the D Street Bridge marked the official beginning of our voyage.
We motored down the Petaluma River and then entered San Pablo Bay with 20+ knots of wind on our nose. It wasn't until we had passed under the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge that the wind angle allowed us to hoist sails. We sailed the rest of the way to Angel Island where we took a mooring in Ayala Cove. We had green beans and pasta with a pesto sauce for dinner, accompanied by a "$1,000" bottle of KKMI white wine. (The KKMI boat yard gives customers a bottle of wine when they spend a bunch of money.)
It was a good day for Renee and I to start getting back into the swing of sailing and working with each other again. We had a couple of minor challenges to overcome along the way and things worked out pretty well.
Tomorrow we go out the Golden Gate and turn left with Half Moon Bay as our destination. We'll anchor in the outer harbor for a couple of days to properly stow all our stuff, clean up the boat and start up the watermaker. Brigitte and Jean will visit us on Wednesday and to say our "final" goodbyes.
The tracking feature of our Iridium Go! satellite device now lets you see where we are and where we've been on a map. Click on the link under the "Intermezzo's Current Location" link on the sidebar to check it out. This link is updated hourly when our Iridium Go! is turned on, which it normally is.
