Sailing on the San Francisco Bay

We are back from a perfect vacation.
Every day was jam-packed with fun activities.
There is so much to see and do in the Bay Area, that I think I need a vacation to recover from my vacation.
One of the highlights of our trip was sailing on the San Francisco Bay.

A family friend has a sailboat slip at Pier 39 on Fisherman's Wharf, and my brother and sister treated us to an amazing day on the water.
You can see the well known icon Coit Tower in the background

We had the most beautiful views of the San Francisco skyline.

And passed by Alcatraz Island.
The Bay is known for being windy and cold, but couldn't have asked for better weather.

My brother has quite a bit of sailing experience, so the captain let him steer for most of the trip.

My sister suggested sailing for our mini family reunion.
My brother in law spent years mapping the Bay when he worked for NOAA so he is very familiar with tides and the underlying geology.

We normally think of the Golden Gate Bridge looking somewhat like this:
Clear, sunny skies with beautiful white sailboats entering the bay under sweeping red cables.

In reality, the bridge almost has it's own weather pattern.
As we approached the wind and fog blew in and the waves rocked our sailboat to an almost tipping position.
Back and forth and up and down we went on the choppy waters.

I don't get sea sick, so I loved every minute of it.

Some were not so lucky.

Everyone brought extra jackets knowing the weather can change from moment to moment.

I was surprised to see a kite surfer out braving the white caps.

Once we headed back towards the city, and the waters calmed down, Mr. Cactus walked up to the bow.
"I'm sailing! I'm a sailor!"

Of course I had to join him.

Torrie helped my brother sail for a while.

And Mr. Cactus even took his turn at the wheel.

With a little help, I gave it a try too.

In the calmer waters we sailed under the Oakland Bay Bridge.

You may remember that in 1989, during the San Francisco Earthquake, a section of this bridge collapsed.

Most of the time we only see the bridge from above, and I thought you might like seeing a rare view of the underside.

We sailed towards the South Beach area, past AT&T Park, where the San Francisco Giants play baseball.

During a game, many people will sail right up to the harbor in hopes of catching a fly ball.
I was a little more interested in going past Ghirardelli Square and catching a hot fudge sundae.
At the end of the day, with the wind picking up and the cold temps setting in, the family opted to go back to Fisherman's Wharf and eat clam chowder from a sourdough bread bowl at Boudin's.
Perfect Day :)