Exploring the Rivers

The first stop on this leg of our trip is Rio Vista, close to Stockton, CA, on the Sacramento River. Our goalis to launch the boat and also store the truck and trailer here for a month or so. As we prepared to launch her, it was blowing like stink but it wouldn’t really be a factor at this particular launch ramp , good or bad. Then we went down to Rio Vista, a small little old town, for lunch. The marina had a nice easy laid back feeling and we enjoyed staying there for a couple of days before we were to leave for Vallejo and the start of exploring San Francisco Bay rivers. The night before we left it blew continually so sleep was on and off because we knew we were going to leave in the morning and probably have to mess with the wind. Boris had checked the currents, tides and winds as they would all be factors in our ride down to Vallejo on the Sacramento River, through Suisun Bay and the Carquinez Straits. At 9:00 a.m. we left. The first half hour or so wasn’t bad but wasn’t good either with just white caps that we were motoring into.

The next half hour was miserable, after we passed Pittsburg and headed into Suisun Bay. The wind and water were such that we would go up a standing wave, into a hole in the water, the boat would slam down hard and then into another standing wave. We would get about three of those in a row – BAM, BAM, BAM. When the boat was going down, the water would come rushing over the bow and all we could see was water out the windshield. No water ever got into the boat, thank heavens, but you could hear the side window glass rattle. There were a several more BAM, BAM, BAMs that were particularly ugly and at that moment I was done and ready to turn the boat around, get the truck and trailer and pull her out of the water. Fortunately things settled down a bit and Boris kept working the boat over to the lee sides of the islands.Thank goodness for our shoal draft. The ride became reasonable, even though it was still windy and lumpy. After four and a half hours we pulled into Vallejo Yacht Club, tied up to the guest dock and took a deep breath.

Boris came down with a virus and then it was my turn. Since we had to stay put for several days it was one of those blessings in disguise because the wind would not settle down. The locals told us that this type of weather happens a couple of times during the summer. This pause let us listen to Karaoke Night at the club. When we were finally ready to go, because we were feeling better, the weather came around to normal again; light winds in the morning, afternoon winds picking up and the mild evening breezes.

There are many rivers that flow into San Francisco Bay and our goal was to explore two of them; the Napa and Petaluma Rivers which are in the beautiful wine country of California. The towns of Napa and Petaluma were founded during the Gold rush to supply San Francisco with produce: hay and grain for the horses, and eggs, butter and meat for the humans. Both activities have slowed down in recent years, and the cities are now tourist destinations. Usually by car but we would use the rivers, which actually flow into San Pablo Bay, the northern extension of the San Francisco Estuary. Estuary: a waterway where the tide meets a river current, where the San Joaquin and Sacramento River provide the river currents.

After spending days sitting due to weather and malaise, the prospect of going somewhere else had our adrenalin pumping. As we left the yacht club we turned right and headed up the river instead of left which would take us to San Pablo Bay. Low tide had just passed so the water was flooding into the river, which means the water would be going in the same direction we were. Vallejo is across the river from the closed Mare Island Naval Yard, closed in 1997 after 150 years of service, so we went under the Mare Island Causeway with it's 8' clearance, and went up-river through sloughs and past mud flats.

Meandering up the river, following the curves and bends of the river was enjoyable as we traveled through marshes with rushes growing thickly along the sides of the banks. Being that we traveled at low tide we often saw birds feeding in the mud flats, about 50 feet from where the boat was going down the center of the river. There were many kinds of birds: mallards, white egrets, ducks, blue herons, Canadian geese and more. After a couple of hours we reached our destination, the Napa Valley Yacht Club, which consisted of one dock in 5' of water and a small clubhouse. We were thrilled to be here because we had the entire dock to ourselves which gave us some privacy, a gorgeous view of the river and it was quiet. After we rested for an hour or so we walked into the town of Napa (1 mi.) which was sweet with an array of eclectic features: the old stone buildings, old Victorian homes, nicely laid out new mall, the wooden buildings of the 1920’s in the older part of town, a green park that is tiered down to the riverfront and a walkway that runs along the Napa river.The town has developed from a farming center for San Francisco to a bedroom communityfor Mare Island, and now a restored Victorian town. Needing a little rest we stopped at a building that at one time was the old feed mill/farm supply in town and had lunch on the outside patio next to the river. On our way back to the boat we walked along side streets and enjoyed the old historic Victorian homes that have been lovingly restored, at least most of them. Passed a beautiful restored 1880 bungalow which a guy was renting for $1600/mo. After getting back to the boat we sat in the cockpit and enjoyed the scenery, watching the herons nesting in trees, the shore birds feeding and fish jumping. We now had the best of both worlds because it felt like we are anchored out with the privacy we feel but we have the conveniences of being hooked up to water, electricity and the security of being tied off at the dock.

Boris had an eye exam this morning so now all we have to do is find a place to have the glasses made. His prescription sunglasses have served him well, thank heavens. On our walk into town we took different routes to see the ambience on these streets. Today we toured the town and ran across a Fire House museum which had a lot of history itself of the town, old photos and newspaper clippings.The docent on duty had spent his whole life there, watching the town re-inventing itself each time. As we walked back to the boat we enjoyed the sight of the elegant rolling hills across the river with patches of green, which were clumps of small trees, surrounded by yellow grass that they cut and bale into hay and rows and rows of dark green vineyards. The afternoon entertainment was observing the locals enjoy their river. There was a small launch ramp next to the yacht club and we saw people launch their boats and kayaks, fished from the river banks, families come down and their children playing on the river front. Little boys fishing with just a twig with a string and hook with the youngest wailing because he thinks he should have the “fishing pole” all the time. Other serious fishermen, trying to catch the bass which have returned with the reclamation of the marshlands. Sets of ducks with their ducklings swimming around and learning the ropes of adulthood. We also saw white pelicans which seemed so strange to us since we only see brown pelicans in Southern California. We are just enjoying the lazy days of summer.

The following morning we left for Vallejo Yacht Club and the plan was to stay there that evening, leave early the next morning to cross San Pablo Bay when the winds were light and enter Petaluma River. The winds were light but we still had white caps and wind waves because it was so shallow all the way across, about seven or eight feet. Going from 6 knts to 14 knts smoothed out the ride. The approach to the river was through ~2 miles of channel dredged through the mud flats of the bay. Before long we were in the Petaluma River, again meandering the curves and bends through marshlands. It is low tide and the mud flats are laying exposed with many different types of birds prodding and poking for delicacies in the mud. As we get closer to town more buildings come into view and more abandoned boats lay on their sides from a busier time. We made contact with the bridge tender who stopped traffic and raised the small bridge to let us into the inner harbor of Petaluma. It is truly lovely, this small 150 year old town that is tucked up around the river. You can see they have worked hard to keep the flavor of the town with the eclectic styles of the old buildings. We are the only ones on the dock, which feels a little odd because this is a public dock not a private marina. It is the middle of summer, a beautiful weekend and you would expect to see the dock full.The turning basin is surrounded by railroad tracks, dating back to the days when Petaluma shipped produce to Frisco, which is how Boris' dad ended up here working on the railroad when he got to America in the early 20s.

After tying up we took a stroll through town and enjoy the ambience of the old banks built in the early 1900s that are now antique stores and the huge granary across the river that is still in use. An old Irish Pub looked inviting for lunch, so we stopped and picked up on some local gossip. After getting back to the boat and being Friday night, we soon had the enjoyment of hearing live music coming from a couple of bands on the riverfront that serenaded us for a couple of hours. It was lovely. Petaluma used to be the egg and butter capital of California, and it still has a VERY big feed mill. They were also celebrating the anniversary of the filming of American Graffiti. George Lucas moved production to Petaluma after a bartender in San Rafael complained that the night shooting was cutting into his business.

The following morning Boris walked over to get the paper and was bummed because he saw a donut shop but only had enough money for the newspaper. The next morning he got the newspaper and donuts. After breakfast we walked over to the grocery store to pick up a few items. It was a grocery store outlet, so they had a limited variety to chose from and often only sold in bulk. Bummer. We only picked up a few items on my list. I just didn’t think I could find storage for eight rolls of paper towels on the boat. It was time to do some touring so we walked up to the old stone Carnegie Library built at the turn of the century and is now a museum exhibiting the town’s 150 years of history. Then we did a walking tour of the old Victorian homes listed in the brochure from the library and fortunately ran into a regular grocery store. Now I can get the other items on my list and only two rolls of paper towels. Yeah!

After we got back from our tour, Boris was in the cockpit and I was inside making some pasta for a salad. While I was talking to Laura, I heard a loud sudden noise. I walked into the cockpit, thinking it was coming from outside and to my dismay discovered the noise was coming from inside the boat. I had Laura on the line and was frantically looking around to see where the noise was coming from. By now I have called Boris inside to help and told Laura I would have to call her back. Within seconds we could see water slowly soaking the rug, hot steaming water. This was actually good because now we at least know that it is fresh water coming from inside the boat and not seawater coming from outside. Boris yells to turn off the water pressure, I do and the noise stops. We finally get the rug into the cockpit and then we sop up the water that is sloshing around on the cabin floor of the boat, a couple of buckets full. Boris looked under the stove, which also happens to be where we store our food items, and discovered a fitting had worked itself loose from the hot water hose and sprayed most everything under the counter with water. Lovely. Then the job started of emptying everything out and cleaning up any residual water lurking behind. Boris fixed it by replacing the fittings. The rug stayed outside, during the day, to dry for a couple of days. We were grateful that this leak did not occur while we were out touring. After a few hours of waiting to see if it would spring a leak again, which it didn’t, we walked through town again to see where we would like to go to dinner the following night. Passing one restaurant, we were reading the menu and the chef came out and told us this was the best place in town. Judy was thrilled and said we would be back tomorrow.

After dinner we sat in the cockpit and watched a group of people across the water gather as the evening wore on. It was some kind of special gathering, we thought maybe a family get together. They had a pontoon boat tied to the dock where people could sit, eat, and visit, there was music and small lights strung up on the walkway down to the dock. They had several canoes tied to the dock, maybe five or six and couples kept getting into the canoes, talking, paddling around the water for a while and then going back to the dock where others would take their place. I finally asked a couple who came close enough to the boat what the gathering was and they said it was a dating organization. I thought that was a great way to get to know or at least talk to someone. As dark came there was a canoe that came by and they were talking to some others in another canoe and their boat tipped over and in the water they went. Several canoes gathered around them but no one was in charge and weren’t sure what they should do. We yelled for them to come over to our boat because we had a boarding ladder which they could climb out of the water with and get onto the dock. Another boat motored over, who was in charge and finally brought them over to our boat, they climbed out, soaking wet, apologizing for getting our boat wet, got onto the dock and back into the motorboat to take them back to the other dock. Made for an interesting evening.

The next morning, Boris got the paper and this time brought enough money for donuts too. After a breakfast of sugar I went to Sunday morning service in one of the old (1900) historic church building in town. As I walked back to the boat I decided to stop in the bank built in 1925 and is now an antique store. The building is what I wanted to see, not the thousands of antiques they had neatly arranged in this cavernous building, and in the back were the metal bars, beautifully decorated, that lead into the vault. The ceiling was at least two stories high with marble everywhere, floors and walls. After a light lunch on the boat we went back to the Carnegie Free Library to finish off their history exhibit. For dinner that night we went back to the restaurant on the first street up from the riverfront. Very fun. Again, another older building with high ceilings, everything was open and the kitchen was behind the counter which was in the back center of the building. Watching the chefs prepare the meals gave it a little flare and the owner looked like a tenor opera singer, a little round, in black shorts with a black apron, a head full of hair and friendly. The entertainment was watching the owner greet people, but then it was his restaurant. It was a nice walk back to the boat, the sun was going down, it was cooling off and we are enjoyed the quiet time of the day. Since it is Sunday evening, there is not as much activity as there was last night.

Today we leave Petaluma. The bridge tender is called, he raises the bridge and gives us a friendly wave good-bye. As we slowly move down this still river you can see evidence of times that have long since pasted. There were buildings and docks crumbling back into the water, rows of pilings that barges use to tie up to in the past but now just lean every which way. There are deteriorating pieces of wood lying off to the side of the marshes that at one time were boats going up and down the river. At least the wood deteriorates but the old metal and fibeerglass boats lay there year after year hauntingly looking for their owners that will never return. Soon we are in the open marshes of the low lands that rest against the beautiful rolling hills of this farm and wine country. The scenery continually changes as we round bends and curves in the river. They are doing a great job of bring back the marshes. We took our time leaving and enjoyed this exquisite river off the San Francisco Bay.

Before we entered San Pablo Bay we stopped for the night just so that we could have an early, windless trip to San Rafael in the morning. We called the Port of Sonoma Marina to make sure there was a slip for us for one night. He said no problem. He wasn’t kidding. It was an old rickety marina, sort of abandoned because it had silted up. It did have a lock at the gate, which is a good thing, and I have to say he came down to the dock and was extremely friendly. The buildings around this marina looked like they were closed up years ago and haven’t been used for sometime. However it had power and water and was cheap, as well as being the only place to moor at the mouth of the Petaluma River. It may be silted up, but they store barges here and build a 34' aluminum cat for security use. 2 ea 350 hp diesels. The marina was bordered by marshes and rolling farmland, a restful sight. We left the next morning at low tide, 3' of depth; another plus for a C-Dory.

The next part of our trip will be exploring San Francisco Bay.