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« Last post by Bob Morrow on June 22, 2016, 12:09:42 am »
I had a similar exciting return to my home marina from the
Dun Cove race & raft up on Sunday June 12,2016. I also went through
the Knapp's Narrows channel despite my misgivings due to the horror
stories I had read about severe shoaling. I felt better about it though,
since Jordan Snyder on "Base Camp" had gone through in the opposite
direction the day before and said he had no problems. Just make sure,
if you try it, going west from the bridge, that you hug the greens (but don't go
on the starboard side of them, even though at least one chart shows the channel
gong on the starboard side of the G-3) and don't go ANYWHERE NEAR the reds.
They have helpfully deployed several white spar bouys to show where the deepest
water is, so if you go between them and the greens, you should be ok, at least with
a draft of 4' 8" or less.
Coming out of the channel, the winds weren't in an ideal direction, but my boat points
pretty well, so I put up full main and jib and sailed as close to the rhumb line to the
Bay Bridge as I could. The winds kept building, so I dedcided to partially furl
the jib and put a reef in the main. We got a little beat up by the strong winds on Sunday. I was enjoying the excitement of sailing with one reef, something I rarely do with my stiff sailing boat, and then two reefs, almost never on my boat, but my crew had never sailed in conditions like that, and it wasn't long before he lost his breakfast over the side. Then somehow the sliding car pounded the stopper off the end of the track for my self-tending jib, and the car followed, scattering ball bearings all over the deck. Not being able to use the jib, I motor sailed with two reefs in the main. My crew was ready to soldier through his discomfort so we could get home, but then as we were motoring towards the Bay Bridge, we were stopped by the USCG Aux. telling us that we would have to wait for at least an hour for the Bay Swim (which I somehow hadn't realized was being held that day) to be over. I knew my crew wouldn't be comfortable circling for an hour in those conditions, so I detoured to Cantler's Riverside Inn, where we got ice tea to help with dehydration (not a good time for any type of alcohol) and snacks. By then my crew was feeling better, but not looking forward to going back to bash against the waves, and he had to be at work early Monday morning, so he called and got an Uber car ride to my marina, to pick up his car. I asked Cantler's for permission to hang on their dock overnight and started home the next morning, still with strong winds, but not a gale."
Bob
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