Encinal & Svendsen's Cruise April 21, 2012

Home	Encinal & Svendsen's Cruise April 21, 2012

(If you like, you can skip down through the prose and go straight to the pictures below!)

Mother Nature blossomed into the first glorious days of summer for this spring event. Though thermometers climbed into the low 90s around the south end of San Francisco Bay, and those arriving at Encinal Yacht club early were sweating, by the time your Friday Islander fleet was gathered, the sea breeze had worked it's magic and a perfect 75 degrees fluttered the flags of the Islander fleet.

Skipper & Nancy Wall's Snowflower should get some kind of prize. They are very often the first to a rendezvous, and again lived up to their reputation. Maybe it's because they come from Carson City, NV, to get aboard Snowflower at Pier 39 on the San Francisco waterfront on Wednesday or Thursday that gives them a natural head start. At the other end of the arrival spectrum are Cruise Coordinators Charles Hodgkins / Kathryn Munn parking Mischief, and Commodore John Melton parking Freedom Won on the north (Encinal YC Members) side of the dock who came about .5 miles to get here. Then add in Dan Knox with Luna Sea and Corky & Anna Stewart with Brigid, Dennis & Judy Bush with Natural High and Rich & Takae Watters aboard Tacoma Blue. Count (if you must) land yacht arrival Rick & Sandy Van Mell, whose Vanishing Animal (hopefully) had this very day finally emerged from 3.5 months of tribulations and would shortly be back on the water, and we had 8 boats represented on Friday night.

Saturday saw the arrival of three more boats: Dayna Marie under the able command of Glenn & Julianna Zimmermann; Maggio by Mike & Mauri Anderson with crew Paul & Lori Cardon and Second Mate Chester (canine); and finally (speaking of veterinarians) Rick Vulliet leashed Paradesia to the dock. Add 7 more boats represented by land yacht arrivals and our total was 18 boats and 35 people. Here's the list:

Boat	Owner	By
4 Choices	Robert Scholl	Car
Blaze	Chris Rossiter	Car
Brigid	Corky & Anna Stewart	Boat
Califia	(Tim Bussiek) Helmut Kaiser	Car
Dayna Marie	Glenn & Julianna Zimmerman	Boat
Finally	Dave & Janine Chiodo	Car
Freedom won	John & Nanci Melton	Boat
Luna Sea	Dan Knox & Myphi Alloy	Boat
Maggio	Mike & Mauri Anderson, Paul & Lori Cardon	Boat
Mischief	Charles Hodgkins & Kathryn Munn	Boat
Natural High	Dennis & Judy Bush	Boat
Ophira	Gary & Pat Salvo	Car
Sassy Girl	Jim & Ginny Stearley	Car
Serenity	Eric Mueller	Car
Snowflower	Skipper & Nancy Wall	Boat
Tacoma Blue	Rich & Takae Watters	Boat
Vanishing Animal	Rick & Sandy Van Mell	Car
Woodbine	Ron & Karen Damsen	Boat
Zenith	Art & Betsy Fowler	Car

(If we've missed someone above, please let us know: Rick Van Mell)

Of course, arriving is just the beginning. As the hot afternoon moderated with the sea breeze, the fleet gathered on Encinal's upper deck to relax. A beverage or two led to discussions of Corky & Anna Stewart's imminent departure from the (technical) confines of the I-36 fleet to a new 40 boot boat and cruising adventures. You'll have to wait to see if Newsletter Editor Bill Ray can pry more gems from Corky, but Corky demonstrated just one of his treasures for their east coast cruising plan when he brought forth his delicious, pressure-cooked, venison stew.

That led to the dockside potluck Charles called for - and what a delight it was. Don't get it wrong -- it's only partly about the food. The ignition for all this is the safe arrival of boats, the re-connecting of old friends, and the meeting of new Islander folks. That's what make each day special.

Back down on the dock about 1830 and thanks to tables provided by EYC, lots of serious dishes were spread as cooking was completed in various galleys. Start it all off with some wine, guacamole and chips. Add in Commodore Melton's (Freedom Won BBQ cooked) shrimp and scallop delights, both broccoli and asparagus salads, and Tacoma Blue's boat-cooked pizza. Charles brought perfectly cooked spicy pulled pork sandwiches, which went as fast as they appeared. Add in a jello salad and fresh green salad, and you've got an Islander feast fit for anyone.

This Friday would not be complete without the very warm and special addition of our canine crew. Those of us (like your author) who have a deep love of Golden Retrievers might gloat that 3 of the 4 super crew were Goldens. But over the years we've had lots of dogs that show their sea legs and affection for the fleet. So, at least for Friday, hats off to Commodore Melton's (Golden Retriever) Riley, Dennis and Judy Bush's ( Golden Retriever) Tucker, Rick & Sandy's (Golden Retriver) Teak, and Corky & Anna Stewart's (Black Lab) Scotch.

Saturday was hot. Time to do a few chores, stay out of the sun, help arriving boats tie up, and wait for the afternoon BBQ delight and the sea breeze to work it's magic.

Before you knew it, it was time to head for Svendsen's great Discount Night. The Islander fleet really appreciates this opportunity to browse, get great service, enjoy some wine & cheese, and on top of all that, get good discounts too! This is the tenth year Svendsen's has done this for us - a very special treat. Fourteen (14) boats showed up to go shopping; you can see the smiles in the pictures below.

And speaking of smiles, Charles & Kathryn provided miles of smiles to wrap up the day with their treat of Tuckers Ice Cream. Four great flavors - Chocolate, Heath Bar Crunch, Double Strawberry & Old Fashion Vanilla - were quickly devoured, with brownies and even nuts to top them off.

The last spoonfulls were long gone as the soft rays of sunset washed the Estuary. Your Islander fleet relaxed as friends old and new retired to their boats, or cast adrift their land yachts on the asphalt seas.

Remember the Vallejo Race coming up May 5 & 6, and the Coyote Point Cruise on Memorial Day Weekend.

Pictures by Charles Hodgkins & Rick Van Mell. Click on images to enlarge, click "Back" to return.

Brigid, Luna Sea, Natural High	Tacoma Blue, Snowflower (Black mast)	Tucker guards fleet ...	crews relax ...	Commodore Melton smiles ...
The Shades!	Delights begin ...	Corky's venison ...	Dennis has .. hose?	On stern watch ...
is Tucker.	Snowflower looks great ...	Nancy's got it all.	*Aboard Tacoma Blue* ...**	Rich plays with fire ...
Takae supervises.	Opti Fleet sleeps.	Sign of our host club	Myphi arrives	John's ready ...
for Nanci's smile!	Hi Riley!	Mischief ...	flies our flag	Ditto Brigid & Luna Sea
More shades!	Bows aligned.	*Tacoma Blue*	Table getting full.	Rick pours a glass.
Charles, Kathryn Rick & Takae	Friday beer can ...	generates some ...	action ...	Farr 40 leads ...
up & down ...	Bahama Islander 30!	John & Nanci	Rick shoots	*Mischief*
Squawk box!	The crowd.	A great fleet ...	a fun start ...	what's for me?
I'm on watch ...	is Friday over yet?	Jim & Ginny Sassy Girl	Keeping cool	Ron & Skipper
Back in the shade	David & Janine	*Maggio*	Paradesia is an ...	I-40
Glenn & Julianna	Cool talk	Svendsen's ...	has these ...	does this ...
Rig Shop ...	Warehouse ...	working yard ...	strange one ...	fishing type ...
waterfront ...	lobster type.	Eat or shop?	SHOP!	just thinking ...
do you have ...	caught me ...	it's here somewhere ...	plenty of food ...	and drink ...
but going fast ...	not Dan's "Luna Sea" ...	just talking?	Just ask ...	all kinds ...
standing by ...	checking out ...	I got mine!	Back at Encinal ...	nice evening ...
Dayna Marie ...	nice Freeport 36 ...	looks great.	Festive and ...	welcoming.
Paradesia ...	big & beautiful.	Maggio's trim ...	fore and aft ...	great team!
Bench warmers ...	cabin toppers ...	dock pooper ...	here comes ...	ICE CREAM ...
4 flavors & brownies ...	with nuts!	open up and ...	dig in!	Feeding frenzy ...
Thanks Kathryn & Charles!	What's for me? ...	and me (Scotch) ...	and even (Chester) ...	ME!

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