Crescent City was established in the 1850s during the California gold
rush and must have been a wonderfully decadent and debauched place
back then. In 1964 it was devastated by a tsunami, and it seems to have
been in decline ever since. Visiting the Battery Point lighthouse was a trip
back in time, and from the top we had a stunning view of the rocky shore-
line northwards up the coast. Just a short bus ride inland lie the northern-
most forests of California Redwoods. h ese magnii cent trees grow over
200t tall and more than 20t in diameter. Wandering among them with
the sunlight piercing through the canopy was quite a spiritual experience.
At er waiting a week for a break in the strong to gale-force northerlies,
we i nally opted to motorsail around Cape Mendocino in light southerly
headwinds but with the favourable south-setting California Current. We
enjoyed the company of pods of dolphins and watched humpback whales
breaching as we passed under the Golden Gate bridge. Unfortunately it
was foggy, so we were unable to appreciate the spectacular entrance into
San Francisco Bay itself. Still, we were glad to drop the anchor in Richard-
son Bay of the Sausalito waterfront and spend a few days unwinding.
BAY TRIPPING
h e weather in the center of the bay—an area known locally as the
Slot—is determined by the inland low-pressure systems crated by the
very high temperatures in the Central Valley. In the morning as the
land heats up fog is sucked through the Slot, billowing in under the
Gate and rolling over the Sausalito hills. In the at ernoons as tempera-
tures inland soar the prevailing of shore winds are drawn into the Bay
giving a strong, chilly westerly breeze.
Although Richardson Bay is huge, its average depth is only about 5t
making it inaccessible to most cruising sailboats. Visiting cruisers usu-
ally drop the pick close to the entrance where they are exposed to swell
from across the Bay, boat trai c from Belvedere and the at ernoon sea
PHOTO COURTESY OF
SHUTTERSTOCK