Paul Oliva, father, sailor, writer combined a winning time on the winch grinder while also enjoying a relaxing weekend in Clipper Cove. It's hard to improve upon his 'good times' - a good time on the grinder and a good time on his boat 'Time and Tide'. Here's how Paul made it work on Treasure Island:
Despite strong winds blowing through the festival spot, Summer Sailstice San Francisco was a perfect father-daughter weekend aboard the Catalina 310 Time & Tide.
Tucked into the protected south corner of Clipper Cove, where Treasure Island rises up above a fine sand beach to the wooded Yerba Buena Island, we had a relaxing time at anchor. With barely a wave of a hand we had swift water taxi service by a Treasure Island Yacht Club volunteer -- on a boat loaned by Treasure Isle Marina -- and were over at the festival in a flash in good time to hear the enormous Big Bang at solar noon. (How does such a modest-sized cannon make such a huge noise?)
My daughter and some other girls from our club tried the grinding competition but weren't able to beat the time already put on the board by an earlier girl, while my 7.67 second hoist managed to stand as the men's record all day. JD, the cool knot guy at the International Guild of Yacht Tyers booth had great colors and easy steps to hand-tye beautiful lanyards (my daughter came away with at least a half-dozen combinations to festoon her wrist and backpack). We tried the unusual fermented tea drink Kombucha, and I launched into a healthy tasting of a Sailstice cocktail with polish dog. Throughout, we enjoyed the music, polynesian dancing, and progress of the crazy boatbuilders (we were rooting for the business-suited team constructing a catamaran). I had a fantastic time catching up with other friends from around the bay -- TI Harbormaster Roger Ladwig, Dan Leininger and my BAADS friends, the Arndt and Latitude 38 family, TIYC's Russ Breed, Robin Reynolds of Leukemia Cup fame, and the lovely and hard working Sailstice team including Marianne Armand, Ariane Paul, and Michael Rossi.
A quick water taxi ride took us back to the boat for a launch of our dinghy and a row to the warm beach where the fun of splashing was augmented by the excitement of the Sailstice treasure dig and a bikini photo shoot organized by a photography enthusiast group called Photo Renegade.
Back on the boat, we listened to my daughter's iPod, grilled steaks, watched a movie, and almost finished a Nancy Drew mystery (The Hidden Staircase) before a truly delicious sleep. A warm, calm morning greeted us along with a buffet breakfast at TIYC. Some frisbee on the beach at a very low tide was interrupted by exploration of several jellyfish large and small and attempts to dig clams dotting the water's edge with their feeding holes. A gentle, warm sail carried us back home, with feet splashing in the water from a perch on the rail.
Daughter Grace finds a jellyfish and looks for clams on the beach.
The knot tying booth showed off some fancy rope tricks.
The canon boomed out local solar noon in San Francisco.