April Cruise Report by Bill Lewis

The first cruise started out on a dismal-looking day with rain predicted. The date had been based on including Terry and Shari Owen before they left for France. However, an early arrival of guests pre-empted a sailing day for them and they were unable to attend.

Undaunted, I met my son, Victor, at Ballena Bay and proceeded to get Ericka ready. Our arrival time was to be between 1130 and 1200 at buoy "G". I had sent the GPS coordinates to everyone prior to the cruise. The plan was to meet at the appointed coordinates, do some formation sailing, snap some pictures and head over to the Ramp for lunch around 1300.

We headed out about 1030 and, since the distance was only 4.12 miles, we proceeded to sail. My GPS told me at out present rate, we would arrive 2 hours late! Since the winds were light, we decided to motor and make up some time. There was some drizzle as we proceeded. Once we picked up speed, our ETA changed to 1159. The drizzle ceased and the weather wasn't half bad. We arrived at the appointed coordinates, however, there was no buoy to be found, nor were there any Ericsons around. We sailed back and forth and called on the radio, but heard no response. We did see some boats sailing around, however, it turned out to be a noon race start.

We started for the Ramp, which was only a mile or so away and we did finally see Charette coming at us. We snapped a few photos and headed in to the Ramp. The docks were not crowded since the weather was questionable. There were four boats in attendance: Bonnie Breeze, Charette, Josephine II and Ericka. We all tied up and found a nice table for eight. While waiting for our food, Hugh Linn pulled out his chart and showed us where the buoy really was and what coordinates we should have used. Guess the charts were pretty dated and inaccurate.

Food was tasty and we blew a few hours chatting about cruises and the like. The weather continued to improve and a nice breeze was blowing. We all left around the same time and headed out in our respective directions. The sail home was much more rapid - no need for a motor. By the time we were in port, the sun was out and the day had turned quite pleasant.

We realize it is difficult to plan cruise dates which are compatible with everyone's schedule and we will always lose a few sailors. We are sorry some of you were unable to attend, however, those of us who did were glad to have an opportunity to get our boats back on the water.

Tides and Currents

Two new members have joined since last newsletter. Recruited by Doug Robbins, Bill & Suz Worden have an Ericson 32 Iphigenia which they keep at Alameda Marina. Their email is suzworden@juno.com.

Also new to the Fleet is Bob Brown of Vacaville. Bob berths Wendy B at Richmond Marina. Bob's email is deneb53@sbcglobal.net. Here's a note from Bob.

You are perceptive about the email name. I was formerly a flight instructor for Air Force navigators. When I retired in 2000 I was one of the last few navigators that were still practicing celestial navigation. There are now only a handful of navigators left in the Air Force and they are being quickly replaced with GPS. Currently I fly a desk for a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant here in Vacaville. Not as much fun ....but it does help feed my addiction to boats.

Wendy B is a 1979 Ericson 35-2. I bought her four years ago and have been working on her to make her safe first and then pretty. I am not sure if I am winning the fight yet. As long as the water stays on the outside I figure that is a good start, right? (just kidding) It is always a trade off between sailing and projects. Sometimes I think projects win too often.

Upcoming Cruises

Our next cruise will be on May 26-27 and will be held at Schoonmaker Point along the Sausalito bayfront. There are lots of nearby restaurants
and it's fun to walk around town. If you plan to attend, please email mxbag@comcast.net so we can reserve space.

Burgee

See the photo below. This was the burgee of the Ericson 27 Fleet One. Since we are now Ericson Fleet One, we could order Burgees without the "27" on the helmet. If you are interested in such a burgee, let me know. Price will be $15-$20. Don't send money now.

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