Point Weber Long Cruise 2007
July 21st thru July 28th
This year's cruise proved that Sea Scouts have the ability to adapt to the ever changing circumstances that can and do arise while cruising.
Look in the GALLERY for all the pics of the cruise
After working well into the wee hours of Saturday morning getting the crane ready, and then getting our new tender loaded on Saturday morning we got under way for the Point Weber's first summer cruise in two years.
During the cruise to Sausalito we encountered a sail boat with its keel stuck on some rocks. We had a chance to exercise one of the scout laws and tried to help them off the rocks. Unfortunately we were not successful and after giving it a number tries, we had to leave him at the mercy of the river, the tides, and vessel assist. The original plan was to get to the fuel dock at Fisherman's Wharf, take on fuel and pump the black water tanks. Due to our late start and our attempt to help the stranded sail boat, we didn't make it in time. We headed strait for Sausalit and got tied up at the Army Corps of Engineer dock to spend the night. So much for sticking with the planned itinerary! That's OK, we're Sea Scouts and we can adapt.
Sunday - Bay Model tour. The guys got a very informative tour of the Bay Model. Out tour guide, Linda, gave us a great tour and the guys all learned about the S. F. Bay watershed, how it works, and have a better understanding of how and why tides and currents effect our cruising in the delta and the bay area.
Monday morning we got under way for YBI to pick up Coast Guard personnel and headed for the Bay Bridge construction project tour. The Siren Song joined us at the construction office and after a presentation about the design and engineering process of the new bridge, we all boarded the Point Weber for an up close tour of the construction from our boat. Very interesting and informative tour. When the bridge is complete in 2014, it will be the world's largest Self Anchored Suspension bridge. Things are going pretty well up to this point. While getting off the dock in Oakland we sustained moderate damage to the port side safety rail on the vessel. This is where the months and years of training for the scouts really paid off, they knew exactly what to do and no one was injured and the damage was kept to a minimum. After an emergency officer's meeting, it was decided there was no damage to effect the operation of the vessel and the decision was made to carry on with the rest of the days activities. We cruised to South Bay Yacht Harbor to get ready for the Giants game. The Tuolumne joined us for the game and while the Giants lost, it was a good game and everybody had a good time.
Tuesday morning - the itinerary is completely overboard! The safety of the crew is number one and the decision was made to head for the Napa Sea Base to make repairs to the port side hand rail to insure that safety for the rest of the cruise. A huge thank you goes out to Skipper Shellhorn for providing us with facilities, materials, and personnel to get the repairs done. Also to the Tuolumne, and Skipper Champion for giving up one day of their cruise to help out. In about 6 hours, and with the whole crew and others working very hard, we had the rail repaired and were back to full operation. We spent the night in Napa, and after some phone calls, had rescheduled some of the plans we missed by taking the cruise to Napa. We're Sea Scouts, we can adapt!
Wednesday - We cruised back to the bay and headed for the SFFD fire boat station for a tour of the fire boats and station. They all learned how important the boats are during natural disasters like earthquakes. They can pump water thru miles of hose set up with portable hydrants to nearly any point in the city. I hope they all took notice of how clean and organized those boats are. they are both older than our vessel and very well care for. Then it was on to Aquatic park for some more well deserved liberty.
Thursday - It was time to fuel up and head for Angel Island. We impressed the new park manager by getting our service project done far beyond his expectations in just two hours. We actually ran our of materials for dock repairs and completely washed down all the public dock facilities. WELL DONE!!!!!
Then it was swimming and hiking on the island. Some hiked all the way to the top, TWICE!!! (inside story on that one)
Friday - More hiking on the island and after lunch we were underway for Rio Vista. The trip to Rio vista included some man-overboard drills and more work on the boat. After arriving in Rio Vista, it was off to the pizza parlor for a great pizza party.
Saturday - We headed for Stockton stopping along the way for swim call and some small boat "training".
Reflecting back on the cruise, I, the skipper, am very proud of the crew and their performance on this cruise. For many of the scouts, this was their first long cruise of more than a couple days. I watched a bunch of young scouts grow up a little, some allot, and saw a group really begin to work together as a crew. I also saw some of the older, more experienced scouts begin to show some real leadership skills. I'm very proud of all of them.
I also have to mention the officer group who helped in ways that cannot be expressed in a few short words here, except to say Thank You all very much for your dedication to the program and the growth of our youth members. Your help on this cruise was invaluable to me and please know, I could not have pulled it off without each and every one of you.