~ SOLO CRUISING THE SACRAMENTO DELTA (part 2) ~ Navy Ships | Nutters and Dockside Disasters?

Day 4 started innocuously enough after setting sail then having to start the motor again because the wind dropped and the tide was sending me backwards. No biggy, but the “fun” was still to come.

After an impromptu detour to rec ee some abandoned navy vessels, i almost ran aground after allowing myself to be distracted by a text. The depth was down to 5 feet and i gingerly picked my way back to the channel, remembering that I’d seen a dude being towed off that very same spot on a previous visit. Next was some route finding difficulties because i could’nt remember if it was right before the power station, or after it. I was attempting to navigate from memory. lol.

But to cap it all, when i arrived to the marina, i could’nt get in on account of the biggest collection of ungentlemanly persons on powerboats one could even have the misfortune to lay eyes on. Boat after boat after boat exiting the narrow entrance left me doing turns waiting to get in. After a seeming eternity I go tired of waiting and tied off to a nearby landing dock. i was sat there and one of these doofers gunned his heap chit (but very expensive) boat that caused a wake which slammed Jonah repeatedly against the dock…

I was powerless to do anything and just waiting for the sound of crunching fiberglass which thankfully never came. A testament to Jonah’s stoat build, there was simply no damage at at; barely a scuff!!!

Anyway, I eventually got into the marina to find the harbormaster is AWOL. So now I need 3 things; ice, dump trash, shower, but because there’s no marina staff, i cant get off the dock! this problem was solved with the help of the nearby restaurant. To my surprise, they knew about the apparently chronic management problem at the marina and were able to buzz me in and out of the dock gate.

I ate at the restaurant, and they gave me a big bag of ice. Having dumped the trash, my only remaining goal was to get a shower, but with no dock key, i couldn’t get in. So I went in over the side of the boat and just rinsed myself in the remarkably fresh water of the marina! I know clean freak would probably not be impressed, but one has to be pragmatic.