So far in Sausalito...

When not at sea, VALIS lives in Sausalito Yacht Harbor, surrounded by the boutiques and tony cafe's of that lovely village. I've been here since Wednesday, but rather than walk my well-coiffed dog up and down the boardwalk, as seems to be the local pasttime, I've been busy getting ready to be at sea for awhile. We stowed gear and crates of food, fixed electrical and propane systems, fiddled with the electronics, sewed up zippers that we don't want to unzip, etc. for two days. Today (Friday) we were rewarded with our first day on the water. A big lap around San Francisco Bay in a 25 knot blow went perfectly. Neither the boat nor the crew appeared to be hopelessly unprepared, we managed to rescue our mock "man overboard" and perform the required maneuvers under the control of our emergency rudder. With all that done, tomorrow is just some final prep, maybe a little sightseeing, then a bon voyage party at the Berkely Yacht Club. So, stay tuned for the action that starts Monday at about 1:00 pm PST (that's 4:00 for most of y'all). That's when we take the gun, head out under the Golden Gate Bridge, make a left turn in the fog and gloom, and aim for paradise. Aloha!