Sailing and baseball?

You may well ask “Do sailing and baseball go together?” Fair enough question.  Well, if you happen to be in San Francisco the answer would be ‘Yes’.

AT&T Park – Home of the Giants

Yes, it’s the world series for those of you not aware that it’s the big baseball season in the US.  As Connie said ‘what’s going on down there?  Have you turned into born again baseball fan?”  I guess the only answer to that question is yes,  The fever is catching and since tonight the Giants won the world series the town is going wild.

Last Thursday saw Sage tied up at the Marina outside the AT&T stadium which is on the Embarcadero and is the home of the San Francisco Giants baseball team.

Main gate – AT&T Park

The crowd was wild. Not only did we get soaked when Uribe hit a home run (they have large water guns at the back of the stadium that shoot several 100 feet in the air on a home run) we got jostled and nudged in a friendly way by exuberant crowds of people. The waterway outside the stadium was covered in boats (perhaps for those of you watching on TV you saw the boats outside the stadium) and low and behold we saw Victoria’s twin lift bridge.

Yes, another Johnson Street bridge.  Perhaps Victoria council could approach San Francisco and offer to buy this bridge to replace Victoria’s as the one down here looks to be in excellent shape!

Johnson street bridge #2

What else has Sage done?  We’ve been busy.  The crew disbursed the week of October 24th with David heading back on the Thursday.  Pam came down to visit on the Sunday and we left on the Monday for a tour of the bay.  First stop was Sausalito for a couple of days of exploring the north shore then on to Angel Island.  We climbed Mt. Livermore (http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/MtLivermoreAngelIsland_7362.asp) for a spectacular view of the harbour.

Mt. Livermore – Angel Island

Wendolyn – Vancouver 27

We also ran into another Canadian sailboat at Angel Island – Wendolyn, a Vancouver 27.  The Vancouver 27 was our previous boat and it was great to talk to someone just heading out for an extended offshore passage on a boat like our last one.  Could at least give them a lot of tips and share our experience.  Wendolyn has now gone south on their way to Mexico.

Our next anchorage was the marina outside of AT&T park for the Thursday game and the beginning of our love affair with the 2010 World Series.  What a series considering the Giants were considered the underdogs.  We’re caught up in the enthusiasm and positive feeling the city has.  It has to be the friendliest city I’ve ever visited.  Everywhere I’ve been people have been incredibly helpful and everyone just seems to be happy.  Pam and I spent many hours wandering back streets,

Ferry terminal market

riding public transportation, seeing incredible art galleries and museums, sticking our noses into nooks and crannies and becoming totally exhausted.   A great exhaustion though…..

Downtown San Francisco

The Ferry Terminal

North Beach district

Heading back to Alameda

Am now back in Alameda which is on the east side of the bay and finally on my own other than Richard and Lee onboard Before moored in front of me.  I think I’ll be in and out of here over the next month while I wait for Connie to join me.  So, till I have more stories to tell will let you go….