Got Crew?

Now that the little boat is gone, sailing requires a bit more planning and coordination. Yeah, I could singlehand the 25 footer but it's a lot safer and easier with company. So, when it came time to deliver Lapras to her new berth in Richmond, a 22 nautical mile trek across San Pablo Bay, I put the call out for crew. Holiday week, everybody's just sitting around the house with nothing to do, right? Surely I'd have more crew than I could affordably feed. As responses started to come in, however, it wasn't looking too good: the guy with the new job had to work; more than one was out of town for the holidays; one was consumed with dad responsibilities; another was closing the books for the year; and the family as crew was not a good option for a cold day on the water with the little one just recovering from a Winter cold. What to do?

So, what about Iain? He's old enough now, 10, to cover the basic crew requirements, right? Right. Iain would have cabin boy duty--managing all the food and communications responsibilities (hourly check-in with Mom), spell the captain at the helm occasionally, and keep a general lookout for ships and high speed ferries. I would stay clipped in with the harness all day and had Iain practice shutting down the motor several times. Off we went . . .

And what a great trip it was. Brought back memories of helping my Dad transport Scotch Mist to Ventura for the start of the Sledgehammer race. We swapped watches as we motored on through the night. Only hit one unlit tanker mooring buoy . . .