Home	Half Moon Bay Cruise 9/1-4/17

(If you like, you can skip down through the prose and go straight to the pictures below!)

The normally breezy and chilly Pacific Ocean was pacified by a giant high pressure system that sent temperatures soaring and records tumbling. It also snuffed out almost all the breeze so the Friday ride out the Golden Gate and down to Half Moon Bay was mostly a motor-sail experience. And, for Freedom Won, the "motor" part also scummed to the heat and died. Good samaritan Linsdey Allen and Secret Weapon tossed them a line and towed them the rest of the way into HMB. Bill Nork met them at the harobr entrance with his inflatable dinghy and towed Freedom Won to a nice anchoring spot near Zenith and in view of the HMB yacht club. Secret Weapon anchored just astern. Zingara picked up a mooring just a little farther off the shore.

Rick & Sandy drove over and reported that it was 107 degrees driving up 101 and onto 92 headed west. As the elevation rose to the ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains at route 35, the temperature climbed until it peaked at 112 degrees just west of 35. It slowly declined to 94 entering Half Moon Bay, and to 82 when parked at Half Moon Bay Yacht Club (technically about 4 miles north of HMB at Princeton-by-the-Sea.) San Francisco topped out at 106 degrees the hottest day on record ever for the City. Dozens of other daily records fell on both Friday, 9/1 and Saturday, 9/2.

We had 5 Islanders on the water with two more represented for a total of 7.
Bob DaPrato (Bella Luna) crewed for John. Here's the list:

Boat	Owner & Crew	How
Freedom Won / Bella Luna	John & Nanci Melton, Bob DaPrato & Maria Santiago	Boat
Mist (I-30 MK II)	Rick Holsinger	Boat
Secret Weapon	Lindsey Allen	Boat
Vanishing Animal	Rick & Sandy Van Mell	Car
Zenith	Bill & Susan Nork	Boat
Zingara	Jocelyn & Steve Swanson	Boat

Here's your on-scene report:

Half Moon Bay REPORT : by ….. Da Cruise Chair (AKA Bob DaPrato.)

Four Days and Five Boats with crews on Labor Day! The list of persons is long and difficult so I will skip that part and highlight the Tales & Takeaways!

Friday at 1000 hours was the start off Golden Gate Yacht Club with Zenith already at the Gate. On a day when the winds were far to nothing and the seas calm, Freedom Won was motor sailing "towards" HMB when the engine gave way to water! Yes, water in the fuel does not work. After attempts to fix, we were left to "put a hand out with thumb up at the nearby other boat!" Thanks to Skipper Lindsey Allen and crew aboard Secret Weapon, we were able to set up a tow line to our destination. At 4.2 Knots seven people and two boats made land ( buoy off shore ) in 3 hours! For this act of kindness, Lindsey gets 2x2 thumbs up and honorable mention by the Association!

The next tale of that day involves an Islander 30 from EYC, Mist, and crew who lost the use of a propeller and had to be towed into the harbor by our own Bill Nork (Zenith) and dink II. They are still trying to find the parts to fix the problem.

The highlight of the evening was the Taco dinner severed by the Half Moon Bay Yacht club. Fresh tuna deep fried with batter that was worth the wait in lines. Full bar service did help kill time. If you were so inclined, there was music until 10 p.m. to enjoy.

Saturday's first highlight involves Ed Lecco, who owns the sailing vessel Pain Killer. The Jenneau 45 is named after the favorite adult beverage from the BVI's. The drinks did the job as intended and the finger food to go with it merits a Hospitality Award from the Association! Thanks ED!

That evening following our attitude adjustment, we arrived at Meza Luna for the 20 people who signed up for the three course dinner. As expected the food was worthy of praise for flavor and presentation. Some speeches were made by organizers of the event and clubs. The last man standing was Freedom Won's John Melton, who arrived late to dinner but happy that his mechanic drove down from Alameda to fix the problem!

Sunday saw a cooling trend in the weather which helped most of us on this day of rest.

Monday morning involved the preparations for a sail to our various homeports. The winds were up for the first time and sun was hiding behind a cloud cover. At 0800, we motored out of the harbor to set sail for S F Bay. As the winds and tides were not acceptable for a sail, we did the motor sail and found it to our likings! Along the way we spotted whale activity off the Golden Gate. By 1400 we were at Marina Village docks and starting the cleanup list.

All in all, I believe most participants had a great time with their own memories.

Pictures by Bob DaPrato, Bill Nork and Rick Van Mell. Click on images to enlarge, click "Back" to return.

Freedom Won being towed ...	past Pillar Point ...	into the harbor.	Tugboat Bill!	Mighty Bob.
Zenith at anchor.	Painkiller Jenneau 45	Freedom Won	Secret Weapon	Zingara
Zenith	The Yacht Club ...	celebrates the ...	summer of love.	Zenith at anchor
Ferry to dock ...	works great!	Bill Nork dinghy assists Freedom Won ...	safe on anchor.	Secret Weapon
Old canning factory.	John at Meza Luna	Heading home ...	some breeze ...	under Bay Bridge.

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