Photo by Todd Sampson
Our first trip on Todd’s sailboat out beyond the Golden Gate was very relaxing. There was pretty much no wind so we ended up motoring almost the entire 90 miles out and back to the Farallon Islands. Not that I mind – I was a bit nervous having never ventured out in open water. Seas are quite a bit rougher than the Long Island Sound that I’m used to and the fog in the morning was a bit creepy. The emergence of a warship slipping out of the fog like a silent warrior was a wake up call for everyone. On board along with Todd was my brother-in-law Dav and co-worker at MyBlogLog, Chris Goffinet.
It was the perfect dry run in preparation for another trip sometime when we have some wind. We did get a chance to see some wildlife. Seals, dolphins, pelicans, whales, and even a sunfish. We also learned a very valuable lesson that, for some odd reason (maybe practical joke?), is not written up in any of the books we read about the Farallon Islands. Never, ever, anchor off the Farallons in calm seas unless you want to be covered in flies for the entire return trip.
It was so nice to spend time on the water and even spending the night on the boat the evening before our 5am departure was a reminder of trips I used to take with my father. It was great to get away, just 24 hours on the water but I feel like we went on a long camping trip. We went somewhere and saw things you don’t normally see and have stories to tell about it.
Thanks Todd, I look forward to more trips and explorations and hopefully a tad more of a breeze next time!
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