05/13 - 05/17 - 7th Annual Delta/Bay Extravaganza

[Dora~Jean]

GREAT Pictures Jay and Mary, thanks so much for posting them! Wow, had no idea your camera was clicking away while the rest of us are just lovin every minute of the whole trip, and I mean the WHOLE trip. What great weather we had this year, didn't need a heater OR an air conditioner . Best ever that I can remember. Even got to go out the gate this year, wow, I loved it.

And to Jim and Kath, another great venue, well organized, didn't miss a beat. But only one thing, I woke up Saturday morning and discovered two large tattoos, one on each arm, man that must have been one heck of a PARTY Friday night in Sausalito -- hmmm, is that one of those things that 'stays' in Sausalito???

Great weather, great company, new friends, it just doesn't get any better. Thanks Jim and Kath and to all the other C-Brats that made this such a nice time. I'll post some pictures [hopefully] tonight.

[Dora~Jean]

More pictures posted here.

[kmcclish]

Thank you Jim and Kathy

Marcia and I absolutely loved every minute of the Delta Cruise! The trip was well organized, went like clockwork AND we still relaxed and got away from it all. Wow, we've never seen so many great things, met so many wonderful people and had such fun in such a short time.

Thanks also to all who participated! Great boats! (what fun to see what others have done) Great weather and new friends - What could be better?

A very special thanks to John and Robin for your hospitality and generosity.

We can't wait for our next cruise!

Kent and Marcia
MARCIA JANE

Pictures to follow -

[Jim Gibson]

Dear All C-Dogs of the 7th Annual Delta and Bay Extravaganza:

As always, thanks to all who attended. This was a new group but it was very congenial and together. It was also the nicest set of boats I have every seen in one place. Many of the relatively new vessels were very high end and unique.

Over the years, Kath and I have learned that it is not necessarily the boats, and not the destination, that makes these C-Dory events fun, but rather the people and the companionship.

As always, we look forward to next year again, the same time and place. Start getting ready!

Jim and Kath

[boaterbob]

Another heartfelt Thankyou to Jim and Kathy for the great cruise and breakfast and to John and Robin for hosting us at wheeler island. What a nice bunch of new friends and great boats. Hope to see you all on another cruise soon. bob

[Dora~Jean]

Nice pictures Kent and Marcia, great narrations too .

I forgot to thank John and Robin for another wonderful time at their island paradise and such a terrific dinner and breakfast -- that'll keep us coming back every year!

[Socrateur]

The best dinner of the cruise no doubt was at the Duck Club hosted by John and Robbin. They cooked some prime beef in a vertical semi-circular duodenum rolled steel plate smoker that produced an incredible entre. Thank you!

In addition to Pounder Jim and Kath who did a great job at making everything run smoothly and making sure that everyone was on the same page when it came time to move the boats out, I want to acknowledge Dora~Jean Steve. Steve and Jim were the two most experienced boaters of the group and Steve did a great job as co-captain of the expedition. He and Jim provided a measure of experience which helped the rest of us a great deal along the way. I know that I learned a great deal from both of them, and I will feel more confident to go out on the bay solo this summer as a result.

If you re-read Jim's "disclaimer" earlier in this thread, he really does not exaggerate the potential issues that can arise during this event. Although we had good weather overall, we did have 20+ knot head winds (as measured by Sea Skipper's anemometer) during our exit through Carquinez Strait and across San Pablo Bay making for some demanding conditions. My wife Mary tried to take some photos during the crossing but they did not come out due to the motion and heavy water on the windows. Although most of the group was relatively new to boating on the Bay and new to C-Dory ownership, I must say that this group deserves some credit for handling well the various conditions that were encountered. One of the conditions I'm referring to occurred during our arrival at the Petaluma Turning Basin. It resulted in what I call "The C-Dory Pirouette".

The Turning Basin represents the end of the line for going upstream on the Petaluma River. It consists of a round area of water for turning around and heading back downstream. It also has a couple of docks on the perimeter for overnight stays. It is not a large area of water, and it seems even more confining when eight C-Dorys are there at the same time during strong cross winds of 20 knots, as we had upon arrival. Even though Jim had made reservations and paid for space at a certain dock, when we arrived thirteen Nordic Tugs were tied up there. How rude!



Side note: Notice that the tugs are all docked stern in. How this was accomplished was the subject of some discussion among the C-Brats.

There we eight were in the turning basin, our dock was occupied and we didn't know where to go. So we had to wing it for a good half hour in the strong cross winds while we figured out where we should dock. It was during this time is that the C-Dory Dance occurred. The best way to describe this is with a photo I took after we were docked and another group of boats came in which had to do a similar dance:



There were only four boats here, though admittedly larger, and the wind had slacked somewhat. Imagine eight C-Dorys in that same space (one cape cruiser 26) maneuvering around, doing spins, do-si-do-ing, backing up and going forward, etc. To me, it was a beautiful sight and it was performed flawlessly. The bottom line is that I would go boating again with any of this group should the opportunity arise.