Port of Oakland Tour

After a long week in Southern California and a full day of travel on Saturday, I woke on Sunday with the intentions of a rest day.  But, the sun was shining warm & bright and I figured some paddling was in order.  A quick text conversation led to a 11:45 meet in Oakland for a paddle out to Yerba Buena Island.

We were both late and by the time we actually launched it was after 12:30.  As the tide started to flood and the wind gained strength we paddled out the Oakland estuary.  The ride out was exciting with plenty of boat wake and traffic to contend with.  We reached the mouth and stopped on the beach at the point of Alameda for a snack and a rest.  As we re-assessed our plan I picked up a handful of shiny beach glass.

Continuing to Yerba Buena meant a straight slog against a 2kt current and 10kt wind and would take at least an hour without breaks.  Instead, we ferried the channel towards middle harbor, found shelter from the wind against the jetty and made good forward progress towards the outer harbor.  The last push was a straight shot upwind from buoy 3 to the Bay Bridge.  Half way there we decided not to push it, opting to turn and burn downwind, riding bumps back into the estuary.  Another rest at the Chappell R. Hayes Memorial Observation Tower for pb&j and hardboiled eggs and then back to the start.  Good day.

heading out the estuary

North point of Alameda, looking towards Yerba Buena & the Bay Bridge

Back through the Port