Believe’s Sea Quest
Jim Staley, Cristina Rubke, Ed Gallagher, Melissa Ryan, Nathan Addy, Alex Hruzewicz and Chris Naughton met early on Sunday, February 6, to take BAADS’ newest keelboat, Believe, out “The Gate” to go crab fishing. It was a long-held dream of our crew to go crab fishing so it was a first for BAADS and Believe.
Planning and preparations were made with Skipper Jim watching the weather, checking the sea swells, currents and tides. Both the Windy and Weather Underground apps predicted 5 to 9mph winds with NOAA inching up to 10 mph. Jim also purchased a fishing license with a crab endorsement. Chris procured the crab pots and needed accoutrements from a very helpful old salt at Gus’ Discount Tackle in San Francisco’s Sunset district.
Our hardy crew met at the South Beach Marina at 8 AM to prepare the boat. Once the vessel was ready and the crab pots, gear, and provisions secured, Believe headed out of the marina at 9 AM sharp. After motoring under the Bay Bridge, past the City Front and Crissy Field, they passed under “The Gate” with clear skies and mellow swells (3 feet at 12 seconds). Small pods of harbor porpoise guided the boat out to sea.
Always one to bring snacks, Melissa provided breakfast and lunch. Her breakfast baked egg casserole was a big surprise and thoroughly gobbled up by the sailors. She also brought all the fix-in’s for sandwiches for lunch. What a treat! Once out The Gate, our fearless sailors headed toward Point Bonita, with its historic lighthouse watching over the channel. Cautiously they headed north through the Potato Patch Shoal which was unusually calm. Continuing north, the crew began looking for red buoy number 2 (R”2,” F R, 6s, whistle) where they intended to drop the pots.
It was a beautiful day when the pots went in the water, taking care to ensure the lines did not come anywhere near Believe’s prop. The swim platform lowered perfectly so that Jim and Nathan could drop the first pot and then the second pot about 100 yards away.
Once the pots were place, they sailed a broad reach toward the Southwest, along the San Francisco main ship channel. Melissa was at the port helm and Cristina at the starboard helm. It was a first for Melissa to sail Believe! What a view of the beautiful Pacific Ocean! Our crew sailed for a couple hours along the shipping channel until spotting the lightbucket. This was another first as Jim and others had wanted to sail to the lightbucket for years. After rounding the bucket, they then navigated around the fields of crab pot buoys all around.
Sailing a close reach back to the place where the pots were dropped, the crew enjoyed the views of the coast and each other’s company. Ed thought he would catch 40 winks and went below for a snooze in the V berth as the boat transited back to the drop point, red buoy number 2.
Our crew approached the first buoy slowly and cautiously so Nathan and Melissa could attempt to grab the float and line with a boathook. With the line secured, Jim and Alex pulled the first pot up to the swim platform. Wow! There were so many crabs! Success? Unfortunately not. This first group of spiders were measured by Melissa and all were too small. Damn! Every last one of them were thrown back in the ocean and sank before the hyper attentive seagulls could catch ’em.
A bit disappointed, the crew turned their sights to the second pot hoping for better results. As the pot was pulled onto the boat, all were amazed at the number of crabs in this pot! Excitedly, Melissa began measuring for the 5¾ inches required by California Fish and Game. There were about 12-15 crabs with 8 keepers! Yay! Success! The keeper crabs were put in buckets with sea water to stay fresh for the return voyage home.
With the pots secured back on deck, our vessel headed back around Point Bonita and under the Golden Gate arriving at South Beach Marina with Melissa guiding Believe safely in to port. Once at the dock, almost everyone headed to the outside picnic tables near the Harbormaster’s office to begin preparations for a crab feast while other cleaned up and secured Believe.
Never one to miss out on a fresh crab dinner, Commodore Kathi Pugh, her husband Josh Maddox and their dog Zola, as well as Chris Burrell joined the fun as the crabs boiled on Melissa’s Coleman stove. Cleaning the crustaceans was a group effort led by Sean Harvey. The garlic butter and crab tasted great and a bit of grog helped to round out a great day of firsts for BAADS.
There were numerous times during this excursion that the crew thanked Stan Pawlak for his generosity which made this adventure and future excursions possible. Believe gives our club new opportunities for future day sails, Angel Island barbecues, overnights to local anchorages, Half Moon Bay, Drakes Bay and elsewhere. Who knows what adventures and dreams will come true?
— Chris Naughton