Ngozi and I have had a great time in San Francisco. We have done a few of the tourist things and as usual ate too much, drank too much and spent too much.
We had 4 nights in the Marina Village in Alameda. This a good spot for access to local attractions and has easy access to Oakland and San Francisco, either by ferry or Uber. West marine is just up the road from the marina and I picked up a few essential items for the boat.
On the last day we found the bus to Oakland went from outside the Marina, we could have saved a bit of money if we had known earlier. Oakland turned out to be a pleasant surprise. A well laid out city with some beautiful buildings. Also, some great bars and restaurants around Jack London square on the waterfront.
We visited San Francisco around Pier 39, very touristy, lots of souvenir shops selling cheap stuff from China. Not my thing. A couple of days later we went to the carnival and had a great time.
After Alameda we motor sailed across, past Alcatraz, to Sausalito and tied up in the Clipper Yacht Harbour.
Sausilito has population of around eight thousand and an easy pace of life. It reminded us of Waiheke Island in Auckland, a mixture of Rich and Hippy with an arty side.
From Sausalito we did the Golden Gate trip on an open top bus, sunny with a cold wind. We really enjoyed our stay in Sausalito – not the cheapest place but worth a visit.
Ngozi returned to New Zealand last night and I stayed a final night at the marina. It felt quite lonely after having company around. This morning I topped off the fresh water tanks and then motored around to the fuel dock to top off the diesel tanks. Now I am stored, watered and fuelled ready to depart.
After taking on fuel I dropped anchor off Sausalito, just outside the channel on the bank. From here I can see Alcatraz, San Francisco, the Bay Bridge and the top of the Golden Gate. The weather was warm, almost hot, today and I pottered about doing odd jobs. This evening its flat calm, the stars are out and the city and bridges are all lit up. I reckon I have the best seat in the house.
The weather in the Pacific is not favourable for a departure yet. The Pacific high hasn’t fully established and there is a large area of light winds on my path to Hawaii. It looks like I may have to wait for a week or ten days for a favourable weather window before departing. In the morning, if the weather is nice, I will re-inflate the rubber duck for a trip ashore to find a Wi-Fi hotspot and download a weather update.
The Adventures of Captain Ray Penson 
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