Needless to say, which such limited room onboard, we need relatively small items that are easy to secure and/or stow away. We also want the gear to be lightweight so it is easy to get on and off the boat.

Our first concern was a place for the baby to sleep. Nowadays, the “experts” advise parents that the baby should sleep in the same room as mom and dad for the first 3 – 4 months, but not in mom and dad’s bed. Conveniently enough, we found the Fisher-Price Newborn Rock N Play Sleeper, which is a folding bassinet that fits in the small space between Christi’s side of the bed and the wall. What was even more exciting about this bassinet is that it is angled, which makes it easier for babies to sleep when they are suffering from indigestion or stuffy noses. It also rocks forward and back, which babies supposedly find more soothing than side to side motion. And, it is “bouncy,” so it jiggles slightly every time the baby moves and/or takes little effort for parents to jiggle it. Babies supposedly like the jiggling motion. When Christi was doing research, she was amazed by the rave reviews — there were over 600 reviews on Amazon and most of them were 5 stars! The plan is to set the bassinet up at bed time, then fold it away in the morning.

Last time we took Kosmos out, we set it up in the pilot house to see if it was viable to use at sea. After moving it several times, we decided the best location for it was between the washing machine and settee, where it fits snugly and is, for the most part, out of the way. The only downside is it blocks the port side door. Since we need to use that door for docking, we have to put the bassinet somewhere else when we pull in and out of port, but we can keep it in that spot en route. So if we go to sea, the person on watch will be in charge of the baby. (Note: while the bassinet did great in calm seas, we know we’ll have to keep the baby in something more secure for big seas.)

Christi knew right away that a traditional bulky stroller wouldn’t work onboard. Instead, she chose a Snap n Go stroller frame. The frame is lightweight and folds up relatively small. You simply open the frame, snap a car seat onto it, and voila, instant stroller. Almost any infant car seat fits on this frame. Here is the frame closed, open and with the car seat attached. (Note: these photos were not taken aboard Kosmos)

And, finally, the car seat we chose to accompany the stroller frame was the Graco Snugride 30/30 infant car seat. The Snugride line of car seats are America’s best selling brand, despite the fact that they rate only mediocre in just about every category. She chose it over higher rated car seats because it is smaller and lighter – 7.5 lbs as compared to 11 lbs for the better rated seats — making it easier to lift the car seat with baby in it over Kosmos’s railing. (Note: only the 30/30 model is smaller and lighter; the 32 and 35 are just as big and heavy as better rated seats).

Christi worked in the banking world from 1996 to 2007. In 2002, Christi became deeply troubled by the economic policies set by the Federal Reserve, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As time went on, she became more troubled as the policies she viewed unfavorably were expanded. She wanted to join in the San Francisco protest, particularly once they moved to the Federal Reserve Building. Unfortunately, the peaceful protesters were harassed by police from the beginning. Eric made Christi promise never to go into the protest area because it wasn’t safe for a pregnant woman, particularly one who wasn’t yet showing.

After we moved Kosmos to Oakland, we saw that there was an Occupy Oakland protest set up in the park in front of City Hall, in the heart of downtown. Since it was across the street from the BART (train) station, we passed it often. Eric never went over to that side of the street to get a closer look, but Christi did several times.

In keeping her promise to Eric, she never actually went into the park, but she lingered around the sidewalk nearby and talked to some of the people that worked in the shops adjoining the park. There were a few more times she intended to stop by the park that she didn’t, though, because there was police wearing riot gear surrounding the park.

The more Christi talked to the locals, the clearer it became that this movement was different from the other Occupy Movements around the country. Instead of expressing anger about federal policies that have exacerbated income inequality, Oakland was more focused on expressing anger at the perceived sins of the local Oakland government, particularly in regards to a young man who was shot by police in a BART station in 2009. This demonstration against the local government wasn’t anything new, though. As we mentioned in another post, tensions between the police/government of Oakland and residents has been an ongoing problem since World War II.

The protestors camping on the grass were peaceful, respectful of the law, organized and orderly. But there was a small dark element that hung around on the paved areas surrounding the grass, particularly on the benches and retaining wall. Armed gang bangers loitered around, as did homeless people. The homeless people often went to the bathroom on the ground instead of the port-a-potties. Some more rebellious types openly drank alcohol and smoked marijuana, both in blatant violation of the law. Sometimes bands would play, and many didn’t appreciate the style of music.

The campers on the grass clashed on what to do about the fringe element. Some believed they should police themselves and kick them out; others thought everyone should be welcome in the movement no matter what. Nothing was done by the campers, so the police stepped in. Because the problem causers on the fringe were clearly divided from the rest of the campers on the grass, the police could have easily dealt with the small group of problem causers without disrupting the encampment. But the police decided it was time for the encampment to go. Both sides were ready for an ugly fight.

In the early morning of October 25, 2011, the police evicted everyone from the park. The protesters re-grouped at another location and started marching in the streets. That evening, Christi was aboard Kosmos writing away when several helicopters started doing circles overhead. She knew something bad happened to attract so many helicopters. When Eric got off the BART on his way home from work, he found himself looking at a police barricade. They were dressed in riot gear and had closed off the streets near park; main roads that normally saw a lot of traffic. It was clear they expected the protesters to return to the park and would meet them with serious violence. Eric pushed past the blockade area and rushed home, not wanting to be anywhere near the looming violence. That night, we were glued to the Internet, watching the riots play out and hoping the violence didn’t make it the .6 miles down to Jack London Square.

After the riots started, there was an enormous public backlash against the city. People got hold of the officials personal phone numbers and called them all night, demanding the police back off. The next morning, the officials directed the police to retreat. The protesters re-took the park and were emboldened. Thanks to so much publicity, the Oakland Occupation Movement grew rapidly over the next few days and became more active, now loudly marching in the streets instead of simply camping quietly in the park. Unfortunately, a few unruly people in the group became violent and began vandalizing buildings. The Occupy group also tried to disrupt business at the Port of Oakland, bringing the action closer to Jack London Square than we would have preferred. While it was exciting to be in the middle of history being made, we didn’t feel it was the right place to be with a baby on the way. Tear gas, flash bomb smoke and rubber bullets from the police aren’t exactly good for an expectant mother. Neither are spray paint can fumes, breaking glass, and random objects hurled with intent for destruction from the protesters.

We had always planned to return to San Diego around the end of October. Eric had been keeping an eye on the weather for the previous couple weeks, looking for an ideal weather window. That window came on October 28th. There was a huge storm approaching from Alaska, but if we made a non-stop run we could make it to San Diego in mild weather. If we waited, we could be stuck in Oakland for several more weeks before another window opened. So at 0700 on October 28, we left Oakland, returning to San Diego on October 31.

This is part 10 of an 11 part series on our time in the San Francisco Bay area. Read part 9 here and part 11 here. 

The booths were so close to Kosmos that we could have stood on the bow and stolen produce from the stands! Here is a shot from the other direction:

Having the Farmer’s Market come to us made shopping easy! It was an especially good market, too. We knew we’d miss it when we were gone.

We did a little exploring of downtown Oakland in the month we had Kosmos there. Oakland was officially made a town in 1852, the same time the shipping industry began on Oakland’s shores.  Oakland was prosperous from the beginning. In addition to the shipping wharves, Oakland became the main staging post for passengers and cargo journeying between the Bay Area and the Sierra foothills during the California Gold Rush. In the 1860s a railroad hub was put into Oakland and the town boomed even more, with shipbuilders, automobile manufacturing, canneries and many more industries developing there. Oakland’s history is rich with fascinating information, but we’re not going to get into the details in this post.

As we walked around downtown Oakland, we noticed that most of the buildings looked to be from the late 1800s to early 1900s. It was clear from the architecture, the quality of construction and the appointments that this was once a very wealthy city, and that it was beautiful in its heyday. Here are a couple of examples:

Oakland continued to flourish until World War II. During the war, an influx of poor laborers were brought in to work at the ship yards, and they were recruited mostly from the Deep South. Long standing Oakland residents complained that the new Southern arrivals “tended towards public disorder” and didn’t care for the  racist attitude that the Southerners — both the blacks and whites — carried. Racial tensions and segregation followed. Many affluent locals moved out of Oakland.

After the war ended, things got worse. With the disappearance of Oakland’s shipbuilding industry and the decline of its automobile industry, jobs became scarce. The extensive public transit lines were mostly dismantled, replaced with freeways that partitioned off neighborhoods. The police force was now full of white Southerners who persecuted the blacks, and racial tensions became out of control. 100,000 of Oakland’s more affluent community members fled to surrounding towns.

During the 1960s, the Hell’s Angels took over the neighborhood. During the 1970s, drug kingpin Felix Mitchell created the nation’s first large-scale gang-controlled  heroin and cocaine dealing operation. Needless to say, crime and murder were a big problem — with rates twice of most major cities.

In the 1990s, the redevelopment projects began. Oakland has been slowly but surely been getting nicer since then. These days, in the downtown area, most of the old buildings have been renovated, though there are still a few dilapidated buildings dotting the neighborhoods. This block of Victorian houses is a perfect example. The middle two are in great shape, the one on the left is in fairly good condition, and the one on the right has been seriously neglected.

The less well kept commercial buildings also tend to house seedy venues like Adult Bookstores. In and amongst the old buildings there are quite a few new, modern buildings, as well, and most are higher end.

There was no denying downtown Oakland has a lot of character. As you walk down any given street, you’ll pass an odd variety of things — for example in a one block stretch near Jack London Square there is an old, kind of scary looking shipping warehouse next door to  brand new luxury condo complex, then a dilapidated porn shop, a charming coffee shop that has been around for 50 years, a chic high end restaurant in a gorgeously renovated historic building, a blocky government building with several homeless people sleeping on the steps, and a medical marijuana facility. All on the same block.

For the most part we felt safe, but there were a few small areas, like near the freeways, that were a little scary. We walked around freely during the day, but after dark we tended to use public transit even if we were only going a few blocks.

Another benefit to being here is that we’ve been treated to amazing sunsets most nights, as well:

We are pleased to report that Part 2 of The Unexpected Circumnavigation is selling well (for a self-published book, at least). We haven’t gotten much feedback as of yet, but so far all of it has been good. If you want to read some excerpts, there is one in The Mariner Magazine taken from Chapter 1 (starts on page 18) and one on Lulu with the first few pages of the prologue (click on preview link under image of book). If you have already read the book, we’d appreciate if you would rate it on Lulu, as well.

Part 1 is also selling well. Sales had been steady for most of 2011, but since Part 2 came out, sales of Part 1 have leaped up.

We are nearly finished with our next book project, a workbook called Recipe for Success: What My Cruising Will Cost Me. The text is more or less complete, but we are finding it harder to format a workbook than a reading book. We didn’t have much time to work on it over the holidays, but now that things have slowed down, we hope to have it done by the end of the month. Once Recipe for Success is finished, Christi will focus on Part 3 of The Unexpected Circumnavigation. 

In personal news, Christi is now 32 weeks pregnant. Less than two months to go! She continues to have a mild pregnancy overall. Her first trimester she was tired and bloated, but she never got nauseous or sick. According to What To Expect When You Are Expecting, the more prone you are to motion sickness, the more prone you are to morning sickness. Thanks to all those rough days at sea, it now takes a crazy amount of motion for Christi to get sick. All those miserable days at sea have paid off!

The second trimester she felt good overall. While she did have several typical second trimester symptoms, such as stuffy ears, heartburn and leg cramps, all were infrequent and minor.

Now well into her third trimester, she is becoming increasingly uncomfortable as she gets bigger and increasingly tired now that she has to exert more energy to do every day activities. She also has bloating and heartburn when she eats too much in one sitting, and gets light headed when she is dehydrated, so she is now eating many small meals per day and getting plenty of fluids. This eating pattern is familiar, though. When we are at sea, we also eat small amounts all day long instead of big meals, which helps prevent sea sickness.

Throughout the whole pregnancy she has needed more sleep than normal. Much to her frustration, she’s also suffered from “baby brain” all along, and it seems to get worse daily. She’s also one of the lucky 1/3 of women whose allergy issues worsen during pregnancy.

Here is a photo of her in early July, right after we found out she was pregnant and another one taken yesterday.

When the baby was 28 weeks old, we had a 4D sonogram done. The 4D technology is amazing! Look at how clearly the baby can be seen in the womb! He definitely has Eric’s nose and eye shape. As far as the doctors can tell, he seems to be healthy, which we are grateful for.

However, we didn’t love the marina. We were on an end tie, and it was a long walk to the boat from the gate — we estimate a full quarter mile. One of our friends commented that at night the dock was eerie — that it looked like the hallway from “The Shining.”

Our slip was exposed to the bay and very rocky — so much so that Christi had to leave the boat every afternoon when the wind picked up because she couldn’t take the rocking! There was no wireless Internet (well, technically there was but it was broken and the marina staff had no interest in fixing it), which made it tougher for Christi to write when she was onboard. The parking options were limited and ungodly expensive, making it challenging to have friends and family come over to visit. Laundry was also a problem. Because we were at the end, the electricity voltage was too low to run our washing machine. The marina’s washing machine had the hot and cold water set backwards, and of course, all cycles had a cold water final rinse, so all our delicate clothes took horrible beatings in the very hot rinse water. The marina staff seemed uninterested in fixing that problem, too, despite the fact it could have been resolved in literally five minutes.

After a month of spending every afternoon in Internet cafes unsuccessfully trying to work on the book (Christi is easily distracted by things going on around her; she really needs to write in isolation), Christi put her foot down and demanded that we move to another marina. Eric didn’t want to move, but realizing that it was useless to argue with a pregnant woman, he relented. With help and advice from our friends in the Bay area, we re-visited our options and decided Jack London Square Marina in Oakland was the best bet for Eric since it was close to both the ferry and the BART (train). Miraculously, they had space available.

On the morning of September 28, we untied the lines and headed east across the bay to the relatively narrow channel that separates Alameda Island from Oakland on the main land. The channel was a natural estuary that was widened and deepened in 1852 so that wharves could be built on the Oakland waterfront. In 1874, the channel was further dredged to make Oakland a deep water port. Over the years, they continued to deepen and widen the channel. In In 1962, Oakland became the first major port on the US Pacific Coast to have container ship terminals. Today the Port of Oakland is the fifth busiest container port in the United States.

We passed the container port. Though much smaller than many of the other container ports we’ve seen around the world (ie Singapore and Oman), it was still imposing. Jack London Square was not far beyond. We pulled into the small basin and were shocked to see the marina was virtually empty, with only a handful of boats. When we checked into the office we were told that a boat show had just ended two days prior. All the tenants had been kicked out for the show and most had not yet returned.

Right away, we were happy with the marina. Our slip was steps away from shore. The marina was protected from the main bay, and while the marina did get some occasional big rolls from the ferries and ships, it was relatively calm overall. Oakland is generally sunnier, warmer, and less windy than San Francisco, and we reveled in the warm afternoon sun as we tied up the lines.

Oakland is an area undergoing gentrification, and Jack London Square is one of the recently renovated areas. It is adorable! Once upon a time it was part of the industrial shipping area, but now it is a lively pedestrian area sporting a a variety of shops, restaurants, hotel and ferry terminal, along with the marina. Unfortunately, we didn’t take many photos of the square, but here are a couple shots.

The square is named after the famous American author Jack London, who grew up in Oakland near the waterfront and spent much of his youth working as a sailor and oyster pirate based out of what is now Jack London Square. London made notes for his books while sitting at Heinold’s First and Last Chance Saloon, built in 1883 from the timbers of a whaling ship. Heingold’s is still there, now a National Literary Landmark, that preserves the rustic character from the earlier era. It is an odd tiny wooden building with a few tables outside that stands out from the rest of the modern buildings surrounding it.

London eventually moved to Alaska. Interestingly enough, an adoring fan went to Alaska and found London’s log cabin. He had the cabin dismantled and brought back to California. The tiny cabin (the one here may only be a replica; the information about it is conflicting) sits in the middle of the square, next to Heingold’s bar.

This is part 7 of an 11 part series on our time in the San Francisco area. Read part 6 here and part 8 here. 

One of the fun tourist activities we did was to take Kosmos overnight to Angel Island State Park, located about a mile south of Tiburon, near the Golden Gate Bridge. We chose an unusually clear and warm day to go over there. Here is a shot of our nephew and his girlfriend on the bow of Kosmos with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

Here is Kosmos moored in Ayala Cove, on the north side of the island. The moorings were different than any others we’ve seen before and were difficult to tie onto. Fortunately, the kind gentleman next to us hopped into his dinghy and helped us get tied up. The park requires boats to tie both front and back to the moorings, so it would have been double tough without his help! The fee to stay on the moorings was about $30 per night.

We took a bus tour of the island, where there was a fascinating narration on the history. Over the years, it has been used for an assortment of purposes. When the bay was originally “discovered” by the Spaniards in 1769, the island was inhabited by Native Americans, who had probably resided there for 3,000 years. As San Francisco grew and more whalers and trade ships pulled in, the timber on the island was stripped. After Mexico became an independent nation, in 1839 the Mexican governor granted the island to a private citizen who used it as a livestock ranch.

After the US government took control of the area, in 1850 the US courts gave the land to the American military. Angel Island was part of the “Bay Area Defense System” for one hundred years. Camp Reynolds was opened on the west side of the island and became a recruiting and processing depot, but it wasn’t well maintained. Here are a couple shots of the few remaining buildings from Camp Reynolds:

Fort McDowell was built on the southeast side of the island in 1900 to replace the crumbling Camp Reynolds.

From 1892 – 1946, Ayala Cove (north side) was used as a hospital cove. Incoming ships stopped here before entering the Port of San Francisco, where they underwent fumigation. Passengers suspected of being ill were quarantined on the island until it was clear they were healthy. Thanks to better sanitation and medical care in the early twentieth century, the need for a quarantine port waned and it was closed. Here are a couple shots of restored buildings from the quarantine camp:

In 1910, the government also opened an immigration station on the northeast side of the island. It kind of sounds like it was something of an internment camp, where immigrants of Asian original were essentially imprisoned for weeks, months, or even years before being allowed into the US. Here is a photo, though sadly, the buildings are obscured by the heavy fence that surrounds the camp.

The immigration station closed during World War II because Fort McDowell was expanded to cover the entire island (except the quarantine area, apparently). We can’t remember if this photo was of Fort McDowell or the Immigration Station, but since it is a cool old building, we’re posting it anyway.

After the last of the troops came home from the war in 1946, Fort McDowell closed. In 1954, another base was opened on the south side, this one housing missiles for the cold war. The base closed in 1962 and the island became a state park. It looks like there are also currently a couple small coast guard stations on the island, as well.

As you can see from the photos above, there are some incredible views of the Bay Area from the island. Here is a shot looking north of what we think is Belvedere Cove, with Belvedere on the left and Tiburon (one of the highest dollar neighborhoods in the country) on the right.

Here are Eric and Christi looking west with the Golden Gate Bridge behind them

Looking south at downtown San Francisco and the Bay Bridge

Looking east towards Oakland

This is part 5 of an 11 part series on our time in San Francisco. Read part 4 here and part 6 here. 

World Footprints Media, who did a radio interview with us a few months ago, is currently running a “I LOVE To Travel” Photo Contest. Prizes include a copy of our books. For more information on how to submit photos, check out their contest page.

Also, if you are interested in buying our books, Lulu is currently offering a buy one book, get a second one for 50% off coupon. At the check out screen, simply enter the coupon code SECONDHALF305. Coupon expires January 15, 2012.

At 1000, the event started. A speaker explained the history of the event. The 1851 World Exposition was hosted by Queen Victoria in England. As part of the festivities, there was a sailing race around the Isle of Wight (a 53-nautical-mile course). 14 British ships and one American ship, named America, competed. America won. The prize was a silver trophy, now named after that ship, the America’s Cup. A few years later, the America crew donated the trophy into a trust to be used as a perpetual challenge trophy to promote friendly competition among nations.

Over the years, the rules changed and the racing event slowly evolved (there were even several court cases to help determine what were fair rules). In the last few years, the sport has changed dramatically. It used to be that, while all the boats had to fit certain parameters, each boat was different. Now all the boats are the same model of catamaran, so the competition is now truly about the skill of the crew versus the capacity of the various boat. Thanks to new technology, the cats can go three times faster than wind speed, topping out at over thirty knots!

The leadership have also made a concerted effort to make the race more of a spectator sport. Thanks to the ability to sail in light winds, now races are scheduled in light wind venues, like protected bays, where spectators can watch from shore. Actually, these new cats can’t really do ocean racing anymore anyway because they flip so easily. They can’t handle anything bigger than 6 foot seas. In the past, when the races were in the ocean, the only way to see the races was to jump on a spectator boat, which limited the exposure the races could get. Now the courses are a loop close to shore so many fans can watch live. Now that any average person can easily see the races, they are expected to become more popular with the general public and attract more big sponsors. The races last approximately 40 minutes, ideal for a one hour TV slot.

It was explained that the real America’s Cup competition would be held in 2013, but that there are still a series of preliminary races scheduled all over the world for this year and next year so that the various teams can get used to racing in the new standardized boats.

After the history lesson, we went into a simulator where they showed video footage of one of the cats sailing. It looked like a cold, windy day and the water was choppy, however, they were in a bay and had no swells. The cat made several dramatic flips, sending some crew overboard while others barely clung on. While they were adept and righting the boat and getting back on course, it looked like it took some serious physical strength. The audience was splashed with water to help make the simulator effect all the more real. We suppose they were trying to make the spectators understand how much strength, power and skill it took to crew the temperamental vessels, but we kept thinking that Kosmos would have barely rocked in those same sea conditions (with the stabilizers on, of course). Man, were we thankful for our solid boat and stabilizers after that demo!

Then we went to another simulator, but this one was like a video game. Selected people got to pretend they were racing a real America’s Cup boat. Eric was one of the lucky contestants. He took second place, missing the video game championship by a mere 8 seconds. Here he is being coached by one of the official Oracle team crew:

Then it was time for the “On the Water Experience.” We were loaded into a replica of the original America ship and taken out into San Diego Bay.

It was unusually cold and windy for San Diego, which made the racing more exciting (but cold for us spectators!). Winds were 14 – 19 knots, averaging 16 – 17. First we watched time trials, which wasn’t all that interesting. When the race finally started, we were ready for some action! The race certainly was eventful. When the boats were near us, we could clearly see the action, and a few times it looked like a few of the cats were on the verge of flipping, but they were righted in time. There was also a minor collision. Of course, when the boats weren’t on the other side of the bay, we could see little more than who was in the lead.

After the race was over, we were taken back to the tents. One of the two teams representing America (which, incidentally, was made up mostly of foreigners) came to speak to our group. It was exciting to have them in the room answering questions.

We also got to see a couple of the boats being taken out of the water and put on the hard near the tent. Here is a shot of one of the American boats about to be set down:

All in all, it was a fun day and an interesting experience.

The book is quite different from the blog in many ways, making it a more enjoyable story.

Jeff Merrill did an extensive book review on the Nordhavn site.

In March, April and May of 2010, it was Number 1 on Lulu in the Travel category! It was also the third top seller of all categories in March 2010.

So what are people saying about the book?

“The author did such a good job describing the scenery, food, atmosphere and people, that I felt like I got to experience it too…The amazing and inspirational is in the book as well as the difficult and scary. It was a gripping tale and I can’t wait to read about the next leg of their journey.” Michael Floyd

“In a frank and friendly writing “voice”… Christi Grab does a terrific job of describing the joys and miseries of traveling the obscure South Pacific in a boat less than 50 feet long. This first leg of the Grabs’ bold round-the-world-in-two-years adventure is every bit as exciting and exotic as it sounds…I couldn’t put this one down!” Daniel P. Sniderman “Froggy”

“It’s part adventure, part reality and humor-logue all rolled into one stellar read. Christi Grab does an excellent job of bringing the readers right along with her and her husband, Eric as they embark on a cruise around the world…this epic adventure that is both candid, gritty and hilarious.”  Julie Ann Weinstein

“I loved how the author, Christi Grab, wrote this like a journal and told us so many details about her trip!..I can’t wait to read the rest of the stories-especially since she gives us some hints that some terrible things are coming ahead!” Amy

“Great Book!!! Once I started reading your book I just could not put it down.” Jerry Mitchell

“The book is fantastic! It causes some serious daydreaming!” Christy Lyle 

“A very interesting story about a couple who discover the world beyond their suburban US experiences, when they circumnavigate in their small Nordhavn power yacht…
In addition to being introduced to the many South Pacific islands at which the couple stopped, we are…also reminded of the wonderful surprises and personal growth that come with the discovery that the rest of the world is not “just like us”…I would recommend this book to people interested in circumnavigating under power, and also those who wonder “what it would be like” to kick off from dry land without decades of ocean-going experience to draw upon.” Dan

“This book is for all of us who have wondered what it would be like to throw off the shackles of everyday life…and experience what this beautiful awe inspiring world has to offer. The book is illuminating and so descriptive you feel like you can taste the food, smell the ocean and meet the people…” Kimberly Parsley Floyd

“I loved your book Mrs. Grab, it took me two days to read as I could not put it down.” Joseph A Zebzda

“…After reading The Unexpected Circumnavigation… I am anxious to travel! I have been bitten by the travel bug-and for several reasons. Of course, I want to see the tropical waters and the islands that Christi and her husband sailed around (I am a beach girl at heart). But I also want to show my kids other cultures, other ways of life…” Amy Brown

“I loved the book… Great Job!!!” David Hershman

“Great stories! Loved the detailed recaps of the food adventures. Looking forward to the next book!” Dave Finley

“Debbie and I really enjoyed your book! The book makes us feel like we were on the boat with you.” Scott Tippin

“…Love the book. What an adventure!” Kurt S.

“I read about a couple, with almost no boating experience, dedicating two years of their lives to circumnavigating the globe in a powerboat. They learned what they needed to begin, and they learned the rest as they went. They persevered. And along the way they experienced so much, saw so much… that my heart just sort of cracked open. I thought, if they can do it… if they can realize their dream… then why can’t I?” Robin Elton 

“I very much enjoyed Christi’s “The Unexpected Circumnavigation”, which was a great read.” Dan 

As much as we loved being in the city, we didn’t enjoy the slip we were in at the marina. There was no Internet, it was a long walk to shore and it was so rolly we felt like we were at sea, particularly in the afternoons when the wind picked up. Christi would find any and every excuse to get off the boat, so she didn’t get much work done on the books.

After a month, we moved across the bay to Jack London Square in Oakland.

We enjoyed our time in Oakland. Not only was the marina good, we were in a great location. We had easy access to the ferry and the subway, making it quick and easy to get to San Francisco. We could walk to all kinds of amenities. And it was a gentrification area with a lot of character and charm. We also were in Oakland when the first round of riots occurred, and it was interesting to be in the middle of the action. Once Eric had to walk past a police barricade on his way home from work.

We left Oakland on October 28th at 0700. The sun didn’t rise until 0730, so we got ready in the dark and untied just as light was starting to break on the horizon. It was an exceptionally clear and calm day in the bay, with smooth seas and no fog. The windows of the buildings in the city reflected the fiery red sunrise. We had a current pushing us through the bay at easily did 7 knots.

When we neared the Golden Gate Bridge, we were surprised to see it wasn’t enshrouded in fog in the morning, which is rare. The fog is so thick and persistent that most of the time it is impossible to see the mouth from the ocean — it took European explorers nearly 200 years of exploring the coast of California before they discovered the bay! The mouth of the bay was named the Golden Gate. The bridge passes over the top of the mouth.

As we started to pass under the bridge, the water got rough and our speed instantly dropped a knot. The water looked like it did in Manihi’s pass, like boiling water dotted with several whirlpools and overfalls. The auto pilot went a little nutty in the inconsistent waters. The roughness was caused in part by two currents colliding. By the time we had cleared the bridge, we were solidly in the waters of the outer bay. It was a rougher ride than we’d hoped for and we both turned a little green.

Out in the open ocean, we experienced 4 foot swells coming from the starboard aft corner. Really, not bad conditions at all, so we were both surprised that we were still green—probably a result of the corkscrew motion the boat makes in these kinds of waves. Eric took some drugs and felt a bit better. Christi, couldn’t take anything since she was pregnant, which was unfortunate. The corkscrew motion is the hardest for her to take.

As the day progressed, the conditions slowly worsened. By late afternoon, the wind was over 20 knots with the swells growing to six feet from the northwest. The wind more or less died during the night, but the conditions didn’t get any better. We had a small crescent moon that set early and we were in an area without many lights from shore, so the stars were vibrant.

As soon as the sun rose and the wind picked up, the conditions again slowly but steadily worsened. The seas becoming confused, with lots of breaking whitecaps. Christi was green all day.

We each think we may have spotted whales on our watches, but weren’t sure. Christi saw something large pop up on the radar alarm nearby, then disappear. She looked at the spot and thought she saw several whale spouts, but admits they could have just been white caps. She watched for a long time and didn’t see any whales. While Eric was on watch, he thought he saw a whale jump up out of the corner of his eye, but when he looked, there was nothing there. He also watched for a while and didn’t see anything else.

By late afternoon, the seas were seriously confused, with 8 foot swells coming from multiple directions. We experienced some some fifteen degree rolls here and there. The active fin stabilizers were working hard, but even so, it was uncomfortable to walk around and Eric became green again, despite the drugs. We were concerned about how much worse it would get when we got to Point Conception.

Shortly after the sunset at 1815. The wind died shortly thereafter, but just like the night before, the conditions did not improve. The moonset at 2045, and we were mesmerized by the fact that it was red. We’ve only seen red moonsets a handful of times.

We made it to Point Conception shortly before 2200, and surprisingly, the seas were no worse than they had been. In fact, they may have been a touch better. We had a favorable current with us and cleared the point in about two hours.

After clearing the point, the sea conditions improved steadily, eventually becoming calm with swells at only three feet and wind waves at about a foot. Winds stayed light and the conditions remained the same for most of the afternoon. Even though the seas were nice, Christi never felt better.

Shortly after sunset, though, the wind picked up on the nose and we started to get some head seas. That didn’t last long, though. The wind died at 2300 and a thick fog rolled in, calming the seas.

At the still pitch black of 0600 am, as we were nearing San Diego Bay, we had a near collision. A boat doing about 10 knots popped up on radar that was approaching us from our port forward side. Per the regulations it was supposed to change course, but it did not. We know he could not see us, since the running lights were useless in this fog. We had to assume the didn’t have radar or was not paying attention to it. We had our fog horn blaring, but they probably couldn’t hear it over the roar of their engines. To our port side was lots of kelp. We tried to make some smaller adjustments to avoid a collision, but the other vessel seemed somewhat erratic. It started to get really close. Eric decided to avoid the kelp and just pull a u-turn to open up some distance between us and their vessel. This did the trick, but the other boat till got awfully close. We don’t think they ever even knew we were there. We just barely saw his running lights in the dense fog at our closest point of approach, probably less then 300 feet away.

Oddly enough, after rounded the corner of Point Loma into the entrance of San Diego Bay, the fog vanished. The sky was just beginning to lighten in the pre-dawn, so within five minutes we went from black and zero visibility to clear and good visibility.

Christi had hoped to finish writing the Recipe for Success: What My Cruising Will Cost Me workbook on the passage, as well as writing some blog posts about our time in the Bay Area. However, since she wasn’t feeling good, she didn’t get any writing done.

This is part 11 of an 11 part series on our time in the San Francisco Bay area. Read part 10 here.