from the webpage
This event will once again provide individuals confined to wheelchairs with the rare opportunity to experience a power boat cruise on the Oakland Estuary and San Francisco Bay along the San Francisco City front. On their return, our guests will be treated to a picnic luncheon and entertainment on the grounds of Encinal Yacht Club.
Most of our honored guests are U.S. Veterans residing in Northern California Veterans’ Homes and Hospitals.
So Vets, boats and lots of volunteers came together Saturday afternoon at the Encinal Yacht Club for the big day. For the Vets their day started much earlier, probably most saw the sunrise. Busses brought them from all over, including about 80 (and my 2 guests) from the VA home in Yountville in the Napa Valley.
On Friday night there was a big dinner and information meeting for the skippers of the boats and their crew, with probably over 50 boats involved it takes quite a crew just to get them called to the loading docks and then out for the day. Many boaters spent the night at Encinal tied to their docks, it is a really nice place to spend the night with a good clubhouse, bar, and even a pool!
Saturday around 9 am things were really busy with volunteers all over the place making lunches for later in one room, handing out gift bags and hats to the guests as they arrived. The busses just kept coming with all these Veterans of all different ages.
Among the volunteers were sharp looking kids from the Arkansas Navy Sea Cadet Corps program based on Yerba Buena Island. (more)
Add to that members of the Oakland Firefighters Random Acts of Kindness program, members of other firefighter stations, Coast Guard, and other yacht clubs, and well just good people and man there were a LOT of people helping! Hey there was even a bagpipe player to welcome everyone!
But unlike most events, the point here is to welcome people , then get them to leave as soon as possible. That's where the dock crews come into play. So how do you get these Wheelchair Vetreans into the boats? Add a few 2 way radios, and strong backs, and lots of willpower, and you'd be amazed at what people can do. Really it is pretty simple, a crew comes on the boat, a crew is on the dock, then it is a lot of lift, lots of trust, and they have placed a Veteran on board the boat.
Of course some boats take more than one, but nobody takes more than the 1916 Tugboat "Sea Dive." I think it is for sale.
I had room for 2 Veterans and 2 helpers.
I listened to the radio, and got called in about 10:20 am. There was a little wind but it wasn't bad and I backed into the dock pretty easily, letting the wind blow me right up to where the dock crew took my lines. Secured to the A dock I shut down the motors and was soon busy with a group of people and my guests.
My 2 Veterans were able to stand, so they stood up and their chairs were lifted aboard, then they were lifted up and over the side of my boat.
I should note it is a pretty good lift to get over my railing and onboard. But they both made it in as did their nurses.
All right now the boat ride!
You have 2 choices, either head south down the Oakland Estuary, or north to the bay. I had thought maybe we would go down the estuary, have a look at the Coast Guard cutters at Government Island. I proposed my idea to my 2 honored guests and one asked "is that where the ballpark is?" "no that's the other way" "well I'd like to see that." Now since they both had gift bags that said "My Boat My Rules" and I didn't, well I made a big turn to port and out to the bay we went.
We had pretty flat water all the way to McCovey cove next to At&T. Something was happening inside, not a Giants game, and at the back of the cove were 3 multi person rowboats called whaleboats, they look like what you think of as a lifeboat. Here's a webpage. It was part of their race series, this one was the "ERC Sprints".
There were spectators on the shoreline next to the Willie McCovey Statue, and a race official trying to keep all these powerboats out of the way. Hey he did a good job because we did just that. Anyway the race was about to start. I turned around so my stern faced the cove and ball park and the race started.
I think the race was about 1/2 a mile. They were going pretty good, and I could see logos for the Embarcadero Rowing Club Anchor Steam team, the Mare Island team, and I think APL.
From there we checked out the San Francisco waterfront.
The west side of the Bay Bridge near Yerba Buena.
The house on the south side of Yerba Buena.
The Coast Guard station at Yerba Buena.
The New Bay Bridge.
And of course the other boats, like the Alice J.
My 4 guests had a good time, we made it back safe and sound. I even was able to say "permission to board" to the Coast Guard. Ha! Even he laughed!
There was a big bbq with live music at Encinal for everyone before they loaded up and went home.
Hey it was my 3rd time, and as with the other 2 it was fun. Big thanks to the Encinal Yacht club who let this all happen at their place, all the volunteers, my fellow boaters, and the PICYA that put it all together.
My apologies to Sea Dive for the pass in the Estuary going out. I put got up to speed a little too close and my wake made them change course, I felt bad about that. Lesson learned.
My pictures are a little crappy because I didn't charge my digital camera and had to grab a disposable. Lesson learned.
As I was getting ready to leave a really big beautiful boat, with lots of crew and guests came backing down in the wind between me on one side and docked boats in slips on the other, the wind was blowing pretty good, but the skipper at the helm used the throttles to gently move past me and perfectly into the Encinal dock. Wow, that was a slick move!
And finally you might be thinking "Yacht Club"? Between Gilligan's Island, and Caddyshack people probably have a burned in image of some mega bucks elite and their friends. Truth is that boating isn't a cheap hobby, and yes some pretty wealthy people are involved, but the majority of the members of Yacht Clubs have decided to devote their "fun budget" to the hobby. They aren't mega wealthy, they are just regular people that have a boat. And they are some really nice people. Everyone has different reasons why they do it, for me it is because I love to be out on the water, and we live in a spectacular place for it.
It's that simple.
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