Oh, and you thought it would be easy?
Reality bites…
So last weekend ended on a very high note thinking that I had a place to park and launch a 33ft. sailboat. Well, this week had another idea for me. After calling Richmond Broadwalk Marina and talking with the manager there everything was going great until the end of the conversation when they casually asked what kind of boat it was. Did I say something 33, as in 33ft.? Yes, I did. Well, the new management there has decided that any boat longer than 30ft. is not welcome there. The manager did say that he would talk to the owners and remind them that there are already a couple 33ft. boats in there. They promised to get back to me by the end of the week. I haven’t hear anything yet. I am sort of hopeful but not really. Immediately, the elation of the weekend disappeared and I was panicking a bit.
That evening I spent a couple hours on Google Maps in satellite mode looking at every inch of the bay and zooming in on anywhere that looked like it had sailboats and a crane. Street view was my friend although some of the options were too far back from the street to be able to read the lift capacity of whatever piece of industrial equipment that looked like it may be a crane capable of lifting a boat. I came up with a list of possibilities and during my lunch hour started calling them. By the time I was able to get in touch with everyone on my list, a couple days had passed. Unfortunately, I was not finding a lot of options.
So, using the screenshot of Google maps above here is what I went through that had even a glimmer of hope. There were several others that were a stretch to begin with.
Richmond Boardwalk Marina. My first choice. Still waiting to hear back from them. Their crane is getting old and the weight capacity keeps getting downgraded. The new management there don’t want boats longer than 30ft. I even looked up how much a lift cost and while I understand that there is more to operating a lift than just the initial cost the prices I was seeing on the internet in the $5-10k range were something I would, for reasons you will understand better in a minute, actually contemplate donating to the marina in order to be able to access it.
San Francisco Yacht Club. They have a lift and it has plenty of capacity. They also have dry storage and storing my boat would not be a problem at all there. Well except for several problems:
San Francisco Yacht Club is the fanciest yacht club on the bay and you join by invite only.
Their membership fees are some sort of secret but I have heard that the initiation fees alone are in the $30-40K range.
There is a waiting list for dry storage - like a 8-9 years waiting list. At least I am not looking for an in the water slip as they are a 12 years wait.
There is no where nearby to store a boat assuming I could get myself invited to join the yacht club I could use the lift but would have to wait to store it there.
So for some obvious reasons this option is not going to work.
Corinthian Yacht Club. A slightly less snooty place and the sponsoring yacht club for the Pacific Cup and they have a lift. Turns out it is not big enough and the dry storage there is even more dire. The manager there was very friendly though and chatted with me sympathetically.
Treasure Island Sailing Center. A chat with a colleague at work and a suggestion to look at Treasure Island. This was an option that I hadn’t explored when I looked at the perimeter of the bay since it is, well, not on the perimeter. A quick look and I spotted a fleet of J24s and they clearly need a lift to launch so I was hopeful. A J24 is significantly lighter than a Hobie 33 but it was worth a try. When I looked at their website it doesn’t look like the sort of place that a private person could keep a boat as it is more of a community learn to sail kind of place. Hopeful though, I give them a call. I didn’t hear back. On my way back from the East Bay on Saturday afternoon (more on this to come later), I stop by there and with the place locked up and fenced off,I got lucky to see someone back in the lot. I hollered at them and got their attention. After a short chat, I confirmed my suspicions - not a large enough crane and they aren’t interested in private boats. Furthermore, the whole island is undergoing gentrification and they said it is a matter of a short amount of time before they will get kicked out in favor of a fancy condominium development to match the others that are already going up all around the island.
Westpoint Harbor. Close to where I work and near the port of Redwood City (yes, Redwood City has a commercial port) this would be very convenient for getting to after work. Problem is that it would be a long sail up to the sailing part of the Bay. A long boring sail that would mostly involve motoring. Anyway, feeling a bit desperate I headed over there after work to check it out. They do not have a crane although there is talk of adding one at some point. The dry storage is just a dirt parking lot at one end of the marina next to the ramp. No security at all except for the isolation of this place. And, it would involve ramp launching which as I explained in my previous post is a rodeo I am not keen on. Furthermore, when I check in at the office there is a wait list for the dry storage and it isn’t cheap either. I put my name on the list as it would be at least an option for somewhere to park the boat close by.
St. Francis Yacht Club. In my desperation I think of St. Francis Yacht Club. A quick call and I verify that they may have a crane but it isn’t working. Apparently the dock that it is mounted to isn’t stable any more. Furthermore, like the San Francisco Yacht Club, joining this place would be an ordeal in and of itself that would end up costing as much as the boat and a non-working crane is non-starter.
Vallejo Yacht Club. On a tip from the nice guy at the Corinthian Yacht Club, I look into this club up in Vallejo. After a couple messages I get in touch with their harbor manager on Friday afternoon and end the work week on a slightly higher note than I started it. They have a crane that is rated at 5,000lbs. and they have room in their dry storage. Their membership is suspiciously cheap and the initiation fees are three months membership in advance. The dry storage is also relatively cheap as well. The obvious catch is that it is up in Vallejo which is a long drive and then a long sail back down to the bay but they otherwise check the boxes. So, on Saturday I decide to head up there to check it out. The drive is not short but it is less than the 3-4 hours it would take me to motor sail from Westpoint Harbor.
When I get there I start to understand why it may be as cheap as it is. Dry storage is a weed infested dirt lot with a lot of what looks like mostly abandoned boats in it. I look for the lift and can’t see it. After poking around suspiciously for a while I find the manager and he takes me for a tour and introduces me around. He points to where he could move around some of the derelict boats and fit me in. Apparently there are two other regularly sailed boats in there that come out for the Wednesday night beer can races. I explain that Wednesday night beer can races are not likely in the cards for me.
I ask about the lift and he explains that it is down at the end of the harbor. He is a bit older and seems tired. He was heading out for the day when I found him. So after providing me with a membership form, he invites me to go down to the other end of the harbor to poke around by myself. He also explains that the crane needs a certified person to operate it. Apparently there are only a few of those in the club and he explains they are unlikely to be around much on weekends or in particular on Saturday mornings or Sunday afternoons which is when I would like to launch and pull the boat for a weekend of sailing. I ask about what is involved in becoming “certified” and he is non-specific in his response. I guess that looking responsible and plying a couple of the certified people with beer ought to do it. The crane is down the other side on what looks like a graveyard for mechanicals from a variety of boats but it looks serviceable. I would have to drive the boat from the dry storage to the launch area but that seems doable.
The yacht club itself looks fine and there is a good selection of boats in the slips. I also poke around the City of Vallejo marina nearby and see another crane there but can’t find anyone responsible for it and there isn’t any dry storage to be seen. A couple phone calls this week should be able to get me an answer.
And so…
I am not getting a great vibe from Vallejo Yacht Club but it is a solution that would work. Right now, it is the ONLY solution that I have that checks the boxes of dry storage and a crane. I still haven’t heard from the seller of the boat that they have received my deposit.They have been away this week so I expect to hear from them this week. My mind was thinking through the option of this sale falling through and instead I go after an Olson 30 which would be able to be kept at Richmond. It is a smaller boat and this would be even less comfortable than a Hobie 33 but they regularly do the Hawaii races. In fact, the people I talked to at Richmond last weekend were on an Olson 30 that they are thinking of selling. It is called Concussion which is a famous boat in Olson 30 circles for having done the Bermuda and Cuba races on the East Coast and has done a Pacific Cup on the West Coast. So it is a boat that has actually already been to Hawaii. I am thinking that next weekend I will head up there and leave a note on it to contact me if things don’t go well this week. Another angle I have been working on without result is to park it temporarily at work. The problem with putting it into any of these marinas is that I have to have the registration and insurance all sorted and certainly Coast Guard registration takes a couple weeks. Our facilities person at work was out this week so I didn’t get a chance to ask about parking it for a couple weeks at the office while I sort paperwork out.
I know that once I get all this sorted out it will be great. I keep telling myself this mantra.
I am going to go cheer up with a couple spoonfuls of my new favorite ice cream - Bombay Butterscotch. It is made by a local Indian inspired ice cream place called Koolfi. Their vegan chocolate flavor is amazing. Maybe I should have gone to Philadelphia for the weekend after being invited by one of my main enablers of crazy ideas (you know who you are if you reading this). Speaking of crazy ideas below is a picture of the fridge magnet my youngest daughter, the Jellobear, sent me for Father’s day. Happy Father’s Day to the father’s out there!
