Paradise Cove

“Olive, what was your favorite part of today?” “Anchoring out. Don’t you think it’s everyone’s favorite part? I bet everyone in the world loves anchoring out.” We almost didn’t anchor here. The Cruising Guide to San Francisco Bay, had more caveats than usual for this anchorage— Don’t even attempt if it’s foggy; you might get sucked right out the gate as you approach; the Coast Guard won’t take nicely to your presence on their side of the anchorage; etc.. After calling ahead (another recommendation from the guide) we were told that we were more than welcome to anchor, but there was a lot of surge, a few other people had called that day, and there was a pile of flotsam tied to a mooring out in the middle of the harbor that they were worried might work itself loose. But sure, come on down. ...

Sunday morning in Paradise Cove is glorious. The wind and swell from the previous night is gone and even the feeble dawn sun is enough to warm us in our PJs as we lounge in the cockpit. Ruby, Olive, and I eat breakfast and let Vick sleep. The kids dress and ask if they could go in the dingy for a while. Ruby rows (tethered) back and forth to Convivia’s transom while I observe from the cockpit. Within a few minutes she asks to go freely. I hop aboard and let Ruby row me around the anchorage. She rowes Olive and I to shore and we spend a half hour playing on the beach, finding ladybugs, searching for the best sea glass, skipping stones and destroying sandcastles. ...

First the confession. I didn’t set enough scope yesterday. I can blame that on the fact that our chain isn’t yet marked, but that would be another embarrassing admission ( and there it is). As a result of these two mistakes we drug anchor last night. To make matters worse, the direction of travel was towards the pier, the very pier that had been plaguing Victoria’s restless thoughts all night. So it was that, at 3am, I found myself firing up the engine and raising the anchor. I did a circuit of the cove to reorient against the other vessels and came back surprisingly close to our original spot. This time I wasn’t shy with the chain. Vick and I sat out in the cockpit in the surprisingly warm early morning air and tried to get comfortable with my mistake and subsequent resolution. We returned to our berth and tossed and turned while the boat did the same. I didn’t fall back to sleep after until Ruby called me. ...