14th Annual Delta Bay Extravaganza 2016
https://youtu.be/JapFGHBii6E
An Opus!
A 5 day adventure tour starts in the Sacramento River Delta with a pack of C-Dory owners known as the “C-Brats”. For the next 155 nmi we travel to Wheeler Island, up the Petaluma River to the town of Petaluma, over to Sausalito and then to the South Bay Marina in San Francisco before we return to our starting point in Rio Vista.
Day 1: Rio Vista to Wheeler Island - Shows our adventure team leaving Delta Marina in Rio Vista and arriving at our first destination, Wheeler Island where our hosts, John and Robbin on Dinner Belle II, have a wonderful dinner planned. There is limited space on the dock and our gaggle of C-Dorys must navigate a shallow entrance and tie up 3 abreast on the small dock. John gives us a guided tour of the wetlands and tells us of the conservancy they are able to provide here for the wildlife. A great time is had by all!
Day 2: Wheeler Island to Petaluma - We do some fishing in the incredible Wheeler Island morning light before we head out across San Pablo Bay. The forecast is for strong winds and so it is quite a ride to the Petaluma River Entrance. Traveling up the river to Petaluma takes us through the largest natural salt marsh in San Pablo Bay covering 5000 acres. We have to make it to the drawbridge by 2pm for our scheduled opening. We have a delay at the first bridge when the operator can not figure out how to make it go! We do make it in and tie up on the public docks in the town center. We enjoy the hopitality of Joel and Susan’s friend Christine at her wonderful Victorian House she is restoriing called Castle Balch.
Day 3: Petaluma to Sausalito - The front has past and a system is moving in with showers by the late afternoon, it is a beautiful ride down the river at low tide and we arrive at Sausalito with the Golden Gate in the distance shrouded in clouds. In the afternoon a group of us explore the south end of Sausalito and discover the “No Name Bar”. You can feel the ghosts of the glory days of Sausalito in the walls.
Day 4: Sausalito to San Francisco - After raining lightly all night there is a break in the drizzle, the seas are flat and it is a perfect time to go out under the Golden Gate Bridge! Dinner Belle and Slack Time show us where the public dock is by the Ferry Building. We hit the shops, Eiko finds Cheese! John and Laurie, Slack Time, arranges a C-Brat dinner at the Yacht Club, a perfect end to a exciting day.
Day 5: Up with the sun for our return trip to Rio Vista. The City is a bit somber with overcast skies as if sorry to see us go. These 5 days of adventure will stay in our memories forever. Many thanks to all that made this trip possible and all the people who have come together to share the experience.
Thank you Slacktime and Lady Madonna for your photo contributions, really outstanding photography! I also uploaded some video clips of Little Bit, Slacktime, Dinner Belle, C-Casa and Dora Jean to the shared album. Sorry I didn’t get an opportunity to film everyone underway.
https://goo.gl/photos/jYkxytHwjfYVLqR28
