Golden Bears – Smiling Volunteers

on clipper cove FridayFriday was a blue sky day with warm breezes and sunny sparkles on Clipper Cove. Saturday, high school sailing teams competing in the Pacific Coast Interscholastic Sailing Association Golden Bear Regatta hosted by Bay Area Youth Sailing filled the cove.

PCISA and BAYS like Clipper Cove because of its unique setting protected waters and predictable winds.  Treasure Island Sailing Center was a sponsor and pleased to co-host this year’s Golden Bear regatta sponsored by from Encinal, Richmond, San Francisco and St. Francis Yacht Clubs and the Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation.

Below are a few pictures from the two-day event, courtesy of Kevin Berry.clipper cove plus kids and parentsrace prepcompetitors meeting

SFYC "Victory" on Clipper Cove parents viewThe volunteer smiles below are from a picture captured during my visit to TISC for last Thursday’s dock install (Trailer, Docks, Smiles – CRASH).smiles on the dock

Many visitors ask: “Why take the docks out, Clipper Cove is so well protected?”  The answer is simple: The summer winds come from the north and west; winter storms with their high winds occasionally sneak in from the south and east which wreak havoc with the docks and dingy ramp.  So, the docks are normally out during the winter, and BAYS depends on local volunteers to put them in the water for the weekend Golden Bears Regatta.

And while we’re on the topic of volunteers, we often stress being flexible and available.  Treasure Island sea gulls can be tenacious in their pursuit of food.  Saturday night they raided our garbage and generally made a mess of the spectator area.  Many thanks to the parents of Point Loma High School and Alameda High School for the clean up Sunday morning.

Regards from On the Cove, Dave G

In the Wake: Additional informaton about Golden Bear Regatta is here:  List of Registrants from PCISA,   Results from San Francisco Yacht Club.

Trailer, Docks and Richmond SMILES – then crash !

Blue sky and diamond sparkles highlighted Clipper Cove as I drove over the Bay Bridge to TISC Thursday morning.  What a great day for the Richmond Parks and Recreation sail plus dock installation for the BAYS Golden Bear Regatta.

Early start with a 7:30 appointment in Alameda to pick up a donated Moore 24 trailer.  Stay tuned for the international background behind this gracious donation in a later blog. Ditto for the excellent dock work supplied by volunteers from Encinal, Richmond, San Francisco and St. Francis Yacht Clubs and Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation.

Philip and Ivan, two of our TISC  instructors, treated ten kids + two advisers from Richmond Parks and Recreation to a breezy sail on the bay.  They were all smiles when their J/24’s returned to the docks around 1pm:

Richmond Sail at TISC-1 Richmond Sail at TISC-2

Answers to my question “What was your favorite part of the day?” included “I sailed the boat”, “being on the water”, and “what makes the sky blue? ( elementary students often answer a question with a question, you know)”.  All answers delivered with big smiles and inquisitive minds.

Side Bar: Thursday was quite windy; the kids had an exciting ride.  A few upset stomachs enused.  After the sail, however, they were ALL SMILES, and everyone wanted to come back for another sail at Treasure Island Sailing Center.  Troopers every one !

About  “The Crash”.

If you look closely at this group shot taken before the sail at 10:50am, you will see two cranes removing portions of the under-works used to assemble the eastern section of the new Bay Bridge.

Before the Crash

In this picture of their return to the docks just after 1pm, notice the large pile of broken steel and the broken crane on the construction barge:

Titanic Moment

Here is another picture I shot seconds after hearing the rumbling and crashing from tons of steel dropping on the barge below at 12:07 pm.  You can see the yellow lifting frame used to lower the sections as it it dropped to the barge on top of the under-works, taking the remaining crane down with it:last section dropping

 

Regards from (not your normal day) On The Cove, Dave G

In the wake: As I finish this blog, 250 kids from 50 schools in 35 towns are finishing up the first day of the BAYS Golden Bears Regatta on Clipper Cove.  Stay tuned for a behind-the-scenes look at Thursday’s preparation for this PCISA event.