The sun did shine for Sabbatical's cruise to SF

San Francisco's Pier 39, March 11, 2006
Originally uploaded by Brite light photos.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Sabbatical dodged a stormy-bullet on Saturday, sailing (actually motoring) from Richmond Harbor, past Angel Island and across the cityfront of San Francisco on its way to Oakland for an overnight stop.

The forecast was for severe thunderstorms and the entire bay was under a full winter storm watch.

Just a fine day to leave the dock, eh?

The weather was, as they say, crisp, but sunny and with very little wind. Cousin Ruth Bills from Hector, New York and Chief Engineer Scott Noble were aboard with Admiral Fox and the Captain, coasting into the Oakland Yacht Club 3.5 hours after departing Richmond.

Then the wind came up about 4 p.m. and Saturday night the boat was buffeted by repeated rainstorms, leading to Sunday's departure when the weather was so bad that the marina harbormaster in Sausalito called Sabbatical to wave us off.

She said the weather was too foul there to visit. When a harbormaster says, "don't come here," it's bad indeed.

Here's a link to what we could see as we traveled across the bay on Sunday:

View from the Bridge

So instead of a second night traveling about the Bay, we headed back to our snug berth in Richmond (and now Sacramento) to rest up for a Friday cruise back to San Francisco proper itself. We will be staying at South Beach Harbor, right next to Pac Bell Park at the foot of the Bay Bridge.

It's St. Patrick's Day Friday and the captain and crew are all primed and ready for a St. Pat's in a city full of bars with names like O'Douls, O'Shaunessy's, O'Leary's, and any other O's you can name.

On Saturday, it will be probably be O' My God my head hurts, so we are staying a second day in the city harbor to recover.

But we are all sailors, after all, and hope to make up a dozen new verses for the famous sea chantey "What Do You Do with a Drunken Sailor," one of the few tunes I'm able to play with any grace on the guitar lent to me by amigo Sanders Lamont.

Here's some of the song, with one verse of my own.

What do you do with a drunken sailor?
What do you do with a drunken sailor?
What do you do with a drunken sailor?
Early in the morning...

Shave his belly with a rusty razor...
Shave his belly with a rusty razor...
Shave his belly with a rusty razor...
Early in the morning...

Put him bed with the captain's daughter...
Put him bed with the captain's daughter...
Put him bed with the captain's daughter...
Early in the morning...

Send him out hunting with Dick Cheney...
Send him out hunting with Dick Cheney...
Send him out hunting with Dick Cheney...
Early in the morning...

What do you do with a drunken sailor?
What do you do with a drunken sailor?
What do you do with a drunken sailor?
Early in the morning...