Herein is the itinerary for our 18th Annual, Delta/Bay Extravaganza, 2020 C-Dory event. Our schedule will be like last year, but instead of two days at the Duck club we will try to go to Sausalito this year for one of the days.
There is a request for attendees to send a $80 check for marina reservations. All this is described below.
1. Wednesday, April 29th, Delta Marina, Rio Vista
Harbormaster Bill (707) 374-2315
• Launch fee of $10.00 to be paid individually, on check-in
• Vehicle and trailer parked in the gated lot at the end of the marina
• Parking, $5 per day, Wednesday to Sunday ($25), paid on check-in
• Pay total $35 ($10+$25) in cash to this Marina on check-in.
If you want to come a day early on Tuesday, April 28th, the overnight on-the-dock charge is 85 cents per foot, per night, for a vessel.
Wednesday, April 29th, leave Rio Vista (Delta Marina) at 12:00 Noon, and arrive at Wheeler Island Duck Club, midafternoon. On Wednesday, Kath and I plan to launch our own vessel about 10:00 AM, at Rio Vista. We then will all leave Rio Vista, as a C-Dory Group, at Noon, and head down river to Wheeler Island.
2. Wednesday April 29th, Wheeler Island Private Duck Club
Jim’s cell phone (916) 799-0286
• Boats rafted double, boat-to-boat, at Club dock, 25 foot boats in first
• Bring enough boat fenders to raft up
• No shore power or water hookups
• Restrooms and showers in the clubhouse
• No marina fees!
John and Robbin are hosting a BBQ dinner for everyone on Wednesday night. Kath and I are hosting a bacon and egg breakfast for everyone on Thursday morning.
This year we are staying just one night at the Duck Club (Wednesday night). Please bring your fishing gear and fishing licenses if you want to go fishing from the banks of the Duck Club on Wednesday. Fishing is generally good for strippers.
3.Thursday, April 30th, Sausalito Schoonmaker Point Marina
Harbor Master Bill Hughes (415) 331-5550
• Cost (without power) of $1.25 per foot, per night, per vessel
• Cash only, paid individually, at check-in
• Key deposit at check-in, on credit card
• Rest rooms and showers
Thursday, April 30th leave Wheeler Island at 9:00 AM to transverse San Pablo Bay and arrive at the City of Sausalito (Schoonmaker Point Marina).
At Schoonmaker Point Marina we will be staying on “F” Dock. As a navigation aid, line up on Day Marker #6, on the way into, and out of, the Sausalito channel.
“F” Dock is not well protected from certain wind directions. Because of our start date there is some uncertainty on the weather. If there are strong Southerly winds when we are at Sausalito, we may not be able to get into Schoonmaker because they close this dock down for unsafe conditions.
Like most of the entire trip, we will just play it out real time, and improvise as needed. We can always stay at the Duck club another night if need be. We will just have to wait to see if I can get the Sausalito reservation one month in advance of our trip.
Sausalito is a good place to refill, or top-off your fuel tanks for the rest of the trip. On Thursday night we may go to the Sausalito Fish restaurant for dinner.
4. Friday, May 1st and Saturday, May 2nd, San Francisco South Beach Harbor
Harbor Master Linda Green (415) 495-4911
• Cost of $35 per night, regardless of boat size (Prepaid)
• Non-refundable deposit, paid in advance, $10 per vessel (Prepaid)
• Rest rooms and showers
• Shore power and water hookups available (power adapter with a deposit)
• Everyone on “A” dock with assigned slip numbers (given later in trip).
Friday, May 1st, leave Sausalito on your own individual schedules and head across the Bay to SF South Beach Harbor. Our reservations are all set for South Beach Harbor for two nights.
On Friday and Saturday nights, we will have dinner at one of the casual nearby San Francisco neighborhood restaurants for those that are interested in attending. John and Laurie, maybe you could please arrange to use your reciprocal yacht club privileges to allow us to have dinner on one of the nights (Friday or Saturday) at the South Beach Yacht Club?
5. Sunday, May 3rd
Leave San Francisco at dawn’s early light, and return to Rio Vista to arrive before Noon. On Sunday, we will head non-stop back to Rio Vista. We should pull into the docks at Rio Vista, approximately 11:00 AM, Sunday morning.
Per tradition, anyone willing, is invited to have breakfast at the Strippers Restaurant in Rio Vista, curtesy of Jim and Kath, after we get our boats retrieved and put on their trailers. This is usually by about 1:00 PM, Sunday.
xxxxxx
The above itinerary seems like a rigid schedule. In fact, anything can happen along the way to throw it off. Several years we were not able to meet our plan as scheduled, due to weather conditions.
In the Central/West Delta main channels and in San Pablo Bay, one wants to avoid together the incoming wind, and the outgoing tides, as they can be nasty enough, in combination, to even put a mighty C-Dory out-of- commission. Once you are West of Pittsburgh, the water channels become wider and bigger, and the wind is usually going to be coming at you from the West, and if the tide is going out, hang on for a rough passage!
For some years, we have lucked out with relatively calm weather, and we have been able to safely finish off the entire trip itinerary, as we originally planned it. However, in a few years we have had to modify our schedule substantially, and stop at interim locations, or even stay over at a given location an extra day or so, to “ride out” the passing weather.
For full disclosure, for the new attendees, this Extravaganza covers approximately 200 NM in five (5) days, and there is always unpredictability in weather and water conditions. The more experienced, competent, and relaxed Skippers have generally enjoyed this trip the most.
As always, each boat Captain is solely responsible for his/her own boat’s, and passenger’s, ultimate safety and well-being. Each Skipper is not to rely on the judgment (or lack thereof) of the Pack Commodore. It greatly helps the Group to show up with your vessel and engine(s) in good operating condition and with full tanks of fuel when you leave Rio Vista.
The C-Dory Group will communicate during this trip on VHF Channel 69. We will also monitor Channel 16.
There is no need for anyone to bring food for either Wednesday night, or Thursday morning. Please feel free though to host your own dock happy hour at any of our destinations. Everyone is on their own for breakfasts and lunches throughout the trip. Some folks bring their own food with them, and others just go out to eat, as there are plenty of good restaurants to eat breakfast and lunch nearby. Also, some have dinners on their own boats, and others go out to dinner as a group.
xxxxxx
This is our 18th time for this C-Dory cruise, and we have always enjoyed ourselves, and the other attendees, or we would not keep doing it. We again look forward to the trip this year. We never know when this will be the last year, we can do this, due to inevitable health reasons.
This year, like year’s past, we need to collect some marina reservation fees in advance. The advance marina reservation fees, per vessel, this year, like last year, are $80 for San Francisco ($35 x 2) + $10).
You will pay your own launch fees and parking costs at Rio Vista when you check-in there. You will also pay your own dock fees at Sausalito. The San Francisco marina must be paid in advance. There are no fees for our stay at Wheeler Island!
Please send a check for $80.00 to confirm your trip reservation. This fee is non-refundable, even if you do not show up, for whatever reason, as San Francisco will not refund it. Along with your check, please provide (1) the full first and last names for yourself and crew; (2) your vessel name; and (3) your vessel CF number. This information is used for marina reservations.
Please send your $80 check, payable to Jim Gibson, along with the above requested information, to Jim Gibson, at 15 Noah Court, Sacramento, California, 95831. Please send your check by March 29, 2020 (less than two months from now). If we do not receive your check by then we will assume that you are not going.
We have 10 boats signed up for this Extravaganza as follows:
1. Jim & Kath (Pounder)
2. John & Robbin (Dinner Belle II)
3. Floyd & Bernie (Vega)
4. Karl (Tessa)
5. John & Laurie (Slack Time)
6. Steve et. al. (Dora-Jean)
7. Tony & Diane (C-View II)
8. Roger & PJ (C-Hawk)
9. Joel & Susan (SEA3PO)
10. Riversun 45 (Gypsy River).
This is the maximum number of vessels that this trip allows due to limited dock space at the Duck Club and in San Francisco.
Thank you for attending this event. As always, we look forward to seeing everyone April 29th. Hopefully we will again get some good weather this year.
If there are any questions, please call me. Kath and I are looking forward to another fun C-Dory gathering.
Sincerely,
Jim & Kath
