SFers, where do you go?

This should allow Mark to throw a bunch of pictures at us.
Lots of chatter about the loop, ICW, west coast, AK etc.

How far east and north from Benicia do you Bay Delta folks go?
Can you reach Sacramento and go up the Feather River?
Stockton?
Discovery Bay?

Show us you stuff.

We used to go up as far as Sacramento several times in a chartered Mainship 430 out of Alameda. The river gets sketchy above Sacramento for deeper draft craft. But within the Delta complex of sloughs and rivers, we traveled and explored hundreds of miles worth. Great gunkholing in a variety of nooks and crannies. My family goes back several generations in the area, one branch still has a farm on Ryer Island where I went pheasant and goose hunting as a kid. My dad spent a lot of time in the summers back in the 20's and 30's on another family farm on Sherman island. A great grand daddy had a hand in developing the Delta 100 years ago.

Our cruising club makes a 7-8 cruises a year with destinations all over the Delta, and then in the Fall makes an annual Down Bay cruise (we are based in the Bethel Island -- Discovery Bay area.) These trips take us to a number of different Bay destinations--marinas as well as yacht clubs. Once we went as far as Half Moon Bay 25 miles or so south of SF for a little blue water cruising. Another time we went as far upstream as Old Sacramento. I'd like to lead the group north up the coast to Drake's Bay but too many of our folks just draw the line at the Golden Gate bridge. Longer trips are taken on rallies like the BaHaHa (sponsored by Latitude 38 magazine) annual trip to Cabo San Lucas. I've been three times but each trip on a sailboat. IMHO having a trawler on a huge protected/coastal waterway and staying close to home is a major waste of opportunity.

I'd like to lead the group north up the coast to Drake's Bay but too many of our folks just draw the line at the Golden Gate bridge

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That's too bad; Drakes Bay is a beautiful anchorage. If the bar isn't acting up Tomales is even more fun and beautiful. Of course, it they are dock-huggers, there's always Bodega.

caltexflanc said:

That's too bad; Drakes Bay is a beautiful anchorage. If the bar isn't acting up Tomales is even more fun and beautiful. Of course, it they are dock-huggers, there's always Bodega.

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You guys are missing the second part of my post.

We go all over the delta. We've been to Stockton and Sacramento and lots of places in between. Nothing beyond sac though. We were just on Bethel island yesterday at San Joaquin YC. Our club has over a dozen cruises planned this year. There are tons of places to go. I'll try and get up some pics tonight when I'm on my laptop.

Hawgwash said:

You guys are missing the second part of my post.

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Too bad then. Our Delta pix are on paper or in the deep recesses of another hard drive. And we are not compulsive about taking a photo every 15 minutes. You're welcome to come here to NC and look for and through them if they mean that much to you.

With my boat in the SF Bay I tend to go to the Delta once a year. My other trips include weekends in the SF Bay - such as Clipper Cove, Angel Island, Paradise Cove, China Camp (technically in San Pablo Bay) and some marinas in places like Sausalito, etc. I also try to get out of the Golden Gate as often as I can based on time and sea state. Favorite destinations include Drakes Bay, Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz and Stillwater Cove (Pebble Beach).

Richard

sunset on potato slough
different sunset on potato slough, bedroom 2
delorean at Moore's River boat
Devil's Isle dock last Thanksgiving
google barge in Stockton
GPS on ski boat, showing us on land.
Mokelumne bridge
Sea scout shop Morris moored on the Sacramento across from Rio Vista
Under the RR bridge on the way to disco bay
white slough

also wanted to share this delta version of a mobile home. Not sure it counts as a house boat as it has no means of propulsion. Here there are two boats pushing and one pulling. It has been around the delta for many years, moving from place to place when they are forced to. In this shot it is almost to Antioch.

At the Gate:



East of Treasure Island heading for Clipper Bay:



Anchored on flooded Mildred Island:



Docked at the Petaluma turning basin:



Up the San Joaquin River on way to Stockton:



Passing my Mare Island (lower Napa River):

As we left SF Bay, headed to Puget Sound

Thread hijack...

Yea! Thats my lovely Satori in the background when captained by pervious owner Delta Jim!



Anchored on flooded Mildred Island:




[/QUOTE]

Sacramento River near Pittsburg, Ca. 11-23

Golden GateYC with Fort Mason in the background

Dont forget going south to Stillwater cove in Carmel with stops in Half moon bay and Capitola

I have not been on a boat up there for over 30 years, but have some great memories of seeing the above noted areas. A fun place to cruise.


Question - what is the water quality like above the Carquinez Bridge where the water is fresh/brackish? Clean enough to swim in these spots where people are anchored?

You need to go further up the Sacramento or San Joaquin rivers where current overcomes tide for really clean swimming, we are on 7 mile slough which is fairly clean if you don't mind the weeds...(caution, waxing political here) Of course that will all change if the Southern Californians get their way and the delta tunnels are built, we will have salt water intrusion all the way up the Sacramento to Walnut Grove.

Fletcher500 said:

Question - what is the water quality like above the Carquinez Bridge where the water is fresh/brackish? Clean enough to swim in these spots where people are anchored?

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I swim regularly in the Delta's fresh waters during the summertime. I usually anchor and swim in the Mokelumne and San Joaquin Rivers and tributaries...occasionally the Sacramento near Rio Vista. This year was especially clean as the strong flows flushed out a lot of the debris and pollutants. Sometimes we have experienced a cornflake-like algae the SJ River and Mildred Island. I noticed no algae problems this summer.

Hawgwash said:

How far east and north from Benicia do you Bay Delta folks go?
Can you reach Sacramento and go up the Feather River?
Stockton?
Discovery Bay?

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I've gone as far east as Stockton and the lower Calaveras River.

We also have been as far north as Sacramento, the mouth of the Feather and a couple miles north of the Feather on the Sacramento. There's a shoal on the Feather just north of the mouth that's too shallow for me and a riffle above that which in the past has been impassable by anything bigger than a drift boat. The Moke can support boats as far north as Lost Slough and The Meadows but, these days, I prefer to explore those areas by dingy. On the Napa River, we've been as far north as downtown Napa and to Petaluma on the Petaluma River.

The farthest south I've been is Discovery Bay. Have yet to explore the South SF Bay.

Here's a SF Bay/CA Delta Cruising Guide we have compiled over the past several years.

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s28/ca-bay-delta-cruising-guide-6139.html

Nice photos. I hope to make a run up there when I retire.

Fletch, lemme know if you want to explore the delta together in your leisure years. I'm always looking for another excuse to return to the delta.

Al, one day we should take our boats further than 500 yards beyond the Golden Gate Bridge. Perhaps you could catch a Great White at the Farallon Islands some 24 miles further. You need to experience the rollers of the shallow Potato Patch too.

Rio Vista's restaurant full of trophy heads and a nearby trolley museum, Gordy Rule's steak restaurant in Isleston, trying to dock at the 3 Mile Slough gas dock with current running about 7 Kts, Captain John's Riverboat restaurant - John sitting at the bar daring ladies to "donate" their panties which he hung around the bar. Locke a little bit of old China with a restaurant in the middle called "Al The Wop's" that served Peanut Butter with their steaks. Loved it! Haven't visited in 40 years.

This weekend I made a small tour of the area. I'm based in Redwood City. On Thursday I went to Pillar Point Harbor (Half Moon Bay). I got a later start than I had planned, and ended up arriving after dark. I don't recommend this, as the approach is "interesting". But with the help of my chartplotter I managed to find it and get anchored. It was also foggy, going and coming back, and leaving the next morning was not much easier. The fog finally lifted as I got back to the Golden Gate area. It is crab season and I had to dodge many crab pot floats. I'd like to go back some time and actually see Half Moon Bay.
Upon re-entering the bay, I headed for Angel Island and moored at Ayala Cove. Apparently the Friday after Thanksgiving is a busy time there. I managed to get one of the last available moorings.
On Saturday, after a short early morning hike on the island, I made a quick trip over to Treasure Isle Marina. This being the last weekend of the month, the Treasure Island Flea Market was going on, and I did some shopping there before spending the night on the boat.
Weather for Sunday was threatening, so I left before dawn and headed for home again in the dark. I had to dodge one big container ship, which for some reason didn't show up on my radar, but otherwise traffic was light. The wind had already picked up, but luckily it was a south wind and didn't cause me any problems with steering as a west wind would have done. I got some nice sunrise photos and made it back home to Westpoint Marina just before the rain started.

FlyWright said:

Fletch, lemme know if you want to explore the delta together in your leisure years. I'm always looking for another excuse to return to the delta.

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Sounds great Al.

You guys are making me homesick- grew up in Redwood City and first boating experience was learning how to sail Vallejo to Alameda first - at night. My job was to look out for the mooring balls for the tankers.... then mooring off of Angel Island, Tiburon, or docks all over the place - blissfully over a couple years then the boat owner transferred....to Maui. Then guess where I moved ?

Spending Thanksgiving at Angel Island was suggested by Latitude 38.

Latitude 38 - 'Lectronic Latitude

Gmarr said:

You guys are making me homesick- grew up in Redwood City and first boating experience was learning how to sail Vallejo to Alameda first - at night. My job was to look out for the mooring balls for the tankers.... then mooring off of Angel Island, Tiburon, or docks all over the place - blissfully over a couple years then the boat owner transferred....to Maui. Then guess where I moved ?

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Chicago?

markpierce said:

Al, one day we should take our boats further than 500 yards beyond the Golden Gate Bridge. Perhaps you could catch a Great White at the Farallon Islands some 24 miles further. You need to experience the rollers of the shallow Potato Patch too.

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No thanks, Mark. I'm most comfortable in the Bay and Delta. It's my comfort zone...no need to depart from that when pleasure boating. Besides, I still get to catch fish longer than my fishing rod and heavier than me.

There's no better comfort fishing to me than sturgeon fishing on a lazy slough with no other boats around in mild weather. No schedules, no pressure and no sea threats. I may not catch many fish, but I remember each one. You couldn't drag me out of the delta for long.

bayview said:

Dont forget going south to Stillwater cove in Carmel with stops in Half moon bay and Capitola

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I saw Stillwater from the beach, looked like a pleasant anchorage. Any specific tips for anchoring there?

As for Capitola, been there by car but not yet by boat. What's the situation like there? Is there a harbor? Anchorage?

Thanks!
Mike

markpierce said:

Spending Thanksgiving at Angel Island was suggested by Latitude 38.

Latitude 38 - 'Lectronic Latitude

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I think I see my boat in that first photo.