August Cruise to Petaluma
The Fleet 9 August cruise is this weekend the 15th-17th to Petaluma. This is always a fun place to visit and is one of the more popular cruising destinations in the area. This is also a long trip, 7 hours from Alameda, just like the Napa River trip. Getting to the mouth of the river should give us some good sailing into northern San Pablo Bay. Once we get into the river the wind slows down and we usually end up motoring. This is quite a scenic river surrounded by wetlands and vineyards.
So far Migration and Perseverance are the only boats that have confirmed that they are going. We will both be leaving Alameda at 9:00 AM on Friday to arrive in Petaluma around 4:00 PM. This will have us at Red Rock~ 11:30 and at marker #1 (N34.02.72 W122.25.60) of the Petaluma Channel ~ 1:00 PM. There is a flood in the morning that we should be able to ride most of the way up the river.
For those who can't go on Friday, it's not too complicated. I havewritten instructions to get you from Petaluma Marker #1 to the Turning Basin.
From Marker #1 it is important to keep in the channel as it narrows, as there is usually some cross current. Look aft to make sure you are aligned with your forward view to help keep you on the channel. You should see at least 14 feet in this part of the channel. If you see less than 10 slow down and turn to get back into the center of the channel. There is a 30 degree turn to port at marker #5 and 6, then slight turns again to port at #13, #15 and #17 to get you to up the mouth of the river. Once you pass #19 you are now in the river looking forward at the open RR Swing Bridge. This part if the trip from Marker #1 to the RR Bridge should be ~ 1 hour.
From here the river has been dredged and is deeper than the channel in San Pablo Bay. If you follow the channel markers and keep an eye on your depth gaugethere should be no issues with the depth. In the last 4 years we have gone twice a year and had no incidents with club members getting into shallow water. As a landmark about 1 hour past the RR bridge you will pass a marina on the right, I think it is Lakeville Marina. From there it is 1 more hour to the Petaluma Turning Basin. As you near Petaluma the Petaluma Municipal Marina will be on your right. Go past this marina, through the open RR swing bridge and under the HWY 101 fixed bridge. The river narrows at this point, but there is little current effect at this point, just stay towards the middle of the river.
This is usually where I call the D Street Bridge operatorto give him 10 to 15 minutes to get to the bridge and be ready for you when you get there. D Street is the only bridge that needs to be opened on this trip. Once you go through the D Street Bridge you are at our destination, the Petaluma Turning Basin. We usually side tie and raft out as needed.
Notes on the D Street Bridge.
This bridge needs 24 hours notice. I will notify him of both a Friday and Saturday arrivals. If you think you will not arrive before 5:00 PM, call the operator to notify him of your late arrival as soon as you can. This is usually not a problem but he is supposed to go home at 5:00 PM. If there is a problem contacting the bridge tender call Chuck Herman's cell phone, I will have the bridge operator's cell phone #.
D Street Bridge 707-778-4489 or VHF 9
Chuck Herman 408-482-4683
The mooring fee will be $20 per night. There is a drop box for this at the Yacht Club.
Friday night dinner will be on the boats or in town, depending on how we feel when we get there. We will be planning to go out for dinner in town Saturday night. There are many restaurants to choose from and we will pick one when we get there.
There are minus tides early in the morning all 3 days, with highs late in the afternoon, so all portions of the trip on the river will be on rising tides. We will be going with the current on Friday/Saturday and against the current on Sunday. The turning basin at Petaluma was dredged 2 years ago, so there should be no problems once we get to Petaluma.
We will be communicating on channel 72, and monitoring 16.
Contact Chuck Herman if you plan to go on this cruise. Please let me know if you are going up on Friday or Saturday.