Angel Island, Paradise Cove

July 14

Had to leave Emery Cove later in the morning because of an early morning negative tide.  So around 11:00 a.m. we motored over to the fuel dock and pumped in 25 gallons, not bad for the 400 miles traveled from Charleston.  Once out in the bay the wind had already come up to the mid 20 knots.  We still tried to sail up wind but after an hour of beating into the wind with lots of spray and healing over 20-30 degrees, we brought in the sails and motored over to Angel Island, Ayala Cove.  There is a mooring field here, and you are supposed to moor with a bow and stern mooring.  We picked up a bow mooring ball and then had to get the dinghy off the bow deck, put the engine on it and bring a line to a stern mooring ball.  After a lot of winching and pulling the stern line was secure. Lunch time.

Ayala Cove, Angel Island

 After lunch we took the dinghy over to the dock, and walked around part of the Island.  Is is a big island, actually the largest island in the San Francisco Bay.  It has been used for Civil War troops, quarantine area for plague and small pox, vegetable farm for Alcatraz prisoners, as a base for troops in WWII to place nets under the Golden Gate Bridge to stop submarines, a spanish cattle ranch, and now a state park.

After returning to the boat I noticed that the depth was only 9 feet and with the next morning negative tide the depth would only be 5 feet.  Now this would not do as the boat has a draft of 6.5 feet.  So after all the work we had done before picking up both mooring balls, up went the dinghy, and off went the lines from the balls.  We motored about 5 miles over to an anchorage that was supposed to be very nice.  Well, it might be if the wind is not blowing 25 knots.  The anchor set very well in a clay bottom, and we did not move all night, except for the swinging back and forth on the anchor chain and the bobbing up and down and to and fro because of all the waves and wakes of the boats and ships passing all night.  Not a very restful night, time to move again.

Paradise Cove

Paradise Cove