The Slip is Waiting!

Saturday we had a few tasks to do on the boat.  Matt fixed the depth and the speedo (loose wires), ran the wire to hook the auto pilot to the GPS (though we still need to connect it), futzed with the starboard alternator wiring (trying to figure out why the tach usually doesn't register) and installed the fins on the dinghy motor.  Together we swapped out the 300' chain anchor rode for 100' of chain plus ~200' of rope (after whipping our splice) swapping out our "permanent" dock lines for our travelling set.

Sunday we intended to fill up with diesel but it was very windy so we decided to head on up to the Delta to get our slip ready.  We wanted to take a lock for the dock box and the only one we have was locking the dinghy motor to the transom of PG.  I tried to get it off but I needed to get under it to dial in the combo.  I put my purse down on the sundeck and laid down on the swim platform.  As I was getting into position I heard a loud "plop" as something slid out of the pocket on my sweatshirt.  I did a quick mental inventory of what was in there--car key fob? no that was in my purse.  iPhone?  CRAP.  Yes, and in its nifty new Lilly Pulitzer case with room for two cards--my driver license and ATM card.  Sigh.  Matt got the lock off while I berated myself and the inventor of hoody sweatshirts with hand warmer pockets.

Then we set off for Delta Bay Marina.  We stopped for a quick breakfast then hit the highway.  Traffic wasn't bad and we only missed a few minor turns on the way.  Nothing that wasn't quickly remedied.  We got there a little after noon and first went in to settle the paperwork and pay our slip fee with Judy before loading up a dock cart with all the stuff out of the trunk and back seat.  We met a couple of our new dock neighbors and were informed that all the "big party people" had moved their boats out of the marina.  Hopefully there are still some small and medium party people left.  The folks we met were very helpful and friendly, as was everyone we met last year.

We started setting up the lines and the big round fenders we had bought.  Matt was happy that he was able to attach the lines right to the cleats without needing to wrap chain around the cleat like at Coyote Point (I'll have to take a photo of that so you see what I mean).  I didn't come up with a really good way to tie the fenders to the roof supports so each one is done a little differently.  Hopefully they will all still be tied on when we get there Friday.  We'll be able to spot our slip for sure with two orange fenders on one side and three white ones on the other.  It looks like we have absolutely no idea what we are doing so we lined the slip with fenders.  Which is about right.  Coming in with the current running and the wind blowing is fairly petrifying.  Very high pucker factor. At least we'll have the dock lines there so we can get one fastened on quickly.  Figuring out which one is the best one is the challenge!  It always seems to work out that I think I have picked the correct side of the boat to be on to be able to get on the dock and the boat ends up on the other side of the slip and I have to madly run around the whole boat to try and get on the dock before the hand rail makes contact with the roof supports.  Definitely agree with the docking rule to not be going any faster than you want to hit the dock.  Everybody knows somebody who has come in too fast and ended up with the bow of the boat riding up ON the dock.  As in, parts of the boat that should always be underwater are not.  Doesn't really do your gel coat, fiberglass, dock box, etc any favors to do that.

So after we got everything set up we didn't even bother with the lock on the dock box since all that we left in there is a bucket and some Clorox...  But hey I got a new phone out of it.  Whoop dee do.

We left the marina and headed over to Rio Vista for lunch.  We wanted to try out the famous Foster's Restaurant.  We'd heard that it was full of trophy heads from the founders hunting expeditions back in the 30s and 40s.  Yep, sure is.  It is really quite an incredible collection of trophies, including several of many of the animals.  For instance there seemed to be an entire pride of lions and quite a few water buffalo.  There was a huge elephant head and a giraffe.  I was amazed at how clean they all seemed to be.  To us, it wasn't really the most conducive atmosphere for eating, more of a kitschy touristy place.  By delta standards it was on the pricey side, but not compared to Bay Area prices.  Not someplace I'd be inclined to go again, especially with all the great and inexpensive food much closer to the marina.

CP.  we have to calculate if we can get up there without fueling first.  We are going to the boat tomorrow to check and to see if there is anything else we missed doing in preparation.  We still have to figure out launching the dinghy, since the motor is on the big boat and one of the oar locks is broken.  Makes getting the dinghy from the launch ramp to the boat MUCH more interesting...