Pt. San Pablo Yacht Club Cruise August 12-13, 2006

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

The Point San Pablo Yacht Club in Richmond, CA, hosted the sixth Islander 36 Association cruise for 2006. Tucked away at the very end of the Richmond Inner Harbor, the PSPYC put out the welcome mat and made everyone feel welcome. It was a typical summer day on the Bay on Friday, when the boats started arriving. The winds were gusting to 25 kts. on the bay and 20 kts. at the dock. Eleven boats arrived during the weekend, with two other owners by car. The first to arrive on Friday, were Don and Bruce on Kindred Spirits. They were followed by Ron & Karen on Woodbine, and Michael, with nieces Kathleen and Colleen, on Nantucket. Michael and the girls had a brief stay as they were off to Lake Tahoe for a family reunion. Other Friday arrivals were Harry, on Pacific High (single handing from nearby Marina Bay), Pat & Gary on Ophira, Smokey and Laurie on Evanesence, and Jim and Steve on Gypsy. A nasty crosswind made for some exciting docking, but lots of helping hands saved the day. Arriving by car were Carol and Veronica (Pacific High), and Barbara (Kindred Spirits).

As everyone settled in to the comfort of the Yacht Club, the plans for going out to dinner changed. With the Forty Niner preseason football game on TV, it was decided to get take out and stay put with the club bar providing refreshments. Orders were taken for Mexican food and Laurie & Karen did the run to El Molcajete. The dinner was good, plentiful, and cheap at $7.50 per person. The icing on the cake was a win for the 49ers ( a rare thing these days).

On Saturday morning, the cruisers were greeted with a fabulous breakfast provided by hosts Harry & Carol and Ron & Karen. The menu consisted of 2 savory breakfast stratas (ham, spinach, cheddar and potato, mushroom, asiago), a huge bowl of fresh fruit, Woodbine Bakery muffins, coffee, OJ, & cereal. WOW, no one left hungry!

The Saturday schedule included a tour of the Red Oak Victory. This victory ship, launched November 9, 1944, was built at the nearby Henry Kaiser shipyard in Richmond. She was named after Red Oak, Iowa, the town that experienced the greatest loss per capita of servicemen during WW2. The Red Oak Victory, built in 87 days, is one of 747 ships produced in the four Kaiser shipyards. Richmond is home to the Rosie the Riveter National Park. The Red Oak Victory saw duty as an ammunition supply ship to the Philippines, was leased as a commercial vessel after the war, then on to Korea, and finally Vietnam. She was taken out of the Suisun Bay mothball fleet in 1998 and since then has been undergoing restoration. The goal of the volunteers is to get her back in seagoing condition. There is a lot of work to do, but seems to be a labor of love for those involved.

Those arriving on Saturday were, Dennis, Judy and Matt on Natural High, Dan & Bonnie on Lunasea, Bill & Jim on Blockbuster, John (singlehanding) on Freedom Won. Arriving by landcruiser were, Michelle & Veronica (Pacific High), Art & Betsy (Zenith), and Fred and Barbara Cucksey. After all the docklines were secured, Carol and Veronica began plying the docks with their portable jug of margaritas. Perfectly mixed, they were able to fill all the empty glasses extended in their direction.

After the cocktail hour, everyone headed up to the Yacht Club for another great deal. The club menu for dinner was steak $10, chicken $8, hamburgers or hotdogs $6. They were served with baked beans, oven roasted potatoes, and salad. It was a cook your own deal, so no one could complain about not having it just right. Cookies and ice cream for dessert rounded out the meal.

As soon as the tables were cleared, bingo cards were passed out and the fun continued. Each boat contributed a prize as well as Harry & Carol providing a huge grand prize basket. Michelle barked out the numbers with authority and Veronica did a perfect Vanna White imitation previewing the prizes by holding them aloft and working the room. Betsy from Zenith, the grand prize winner, couldn't believe all the goodies packed in the basket.

After a good nights sleep, cruisers migrated back up to the Club for the getaway breakfast. At 8:00 am, the tables were setup with bagels & lox with all the trimmings, fruit salad, OJ, & coffee. With cruisers from all over the Bay, it's important to be able to leave the dock early. Everyone had their goodbye hugs and were able to leave early.

This was only the second Islander 36 cruise to the Point San Pablo Yacht Club. Just as we experienced the first time, the members really opened up their Club to us and could not have been more accommodating. Many thanks to all the members who made us feel so at home.

Pictures by Barb Henderson, Ron Damsen, Dennis & Judy Bush and Bill Higdon. Click on images to enlarge, click "Back" to return.

Happy dock crowd	Kindred Spirits looks good	Bow jewlery
Great smiles	Fireside chat	Smokey & Michael Jefferies
Ready mates	Quiet dockside	Corner table
Goodies galore	Relaxed evening	Harry & Carol
Fleet's in!	New docks	Great dinner!
" It was like this..."	Welcome	Big John
Play time	Dennis & Fred	Round table discussion
Betsy & Carol	Jim Callahan	Walking the plank
Breakfast of champions	Saturday breakfast ...	was great
Pat & Karen wait for the fun	Tucker on watch	Looking tired
Nicely restored	Looking down from Victory	Need a prop?
Inspection time	Protection	Sweat shop
How many days?!	Chow line ...	with big gear ...
cooking for many.	Ugh!	Loosing cookies?
At the ready	Radio room	Captain's bunk
Laurie on the line	Carol's ready	Matt want to go
Alarm bells	Got a screwdriver?	On tour
Lots to learn ...	pick a valve ...	You get the idea.
If the big hand is ......	Call the Bridge	Judy's had enough
Test in half an hour	Got it sorted out?	What should it read?
Catwalk gang	Rub-a-dub-dub	Historic moments ...
Launch day	Full of hope	Good to be aboard
Pt. San Pablo Cruise005	Pt. San Pablo Cruise006	Pt. San Pablo Cruise007
Pt. San Pablo Cruise008	Pt. San Pablo Cruise009	Boarding party
Pt. San Pablo Cruise011	Pt. San Pablo Cruise013	Pt. San Pablo Cruise014
Pt. San Pablo Cruise015	Engine room	When it's Bomb time ...
What's a workshop without ...	wrenches?	Can you stir with it?
Big persuaders	All tied up	Back at Pt SPYC
Relaxing time	Dock crew	Harry & Art
Grill gang	Judy & matt	Pt. San Pablo Cruise029
Pt. San Pablo Cruise030	Pt. San Pablo Cruise031	Pt. San Pablo Cruise032
Pt. San Pablo Cruise033	Pt. San Pablo Cruise034	Pt. San Pablo Cruise035
Pt. San Pablo Cruise036	Pt. San Pablo Cruise038	Pt. San Pablo Cruise040
Pt. San Pablo Cruise041	Pt. San Pablo Cruise042	Pt. San Pablo Cruise043
Pt. San Pablo Cruise044	Pt. San Pablo Cruise045	Tucker wants to ...
run the foredeck.

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