Many of us come from places where sailing is definitely a seasonal activity. Sailors in Michigan learn that boats don’t sail well in ice, for instance. On San Francisco Bay, however, we enjoy year-round sailing. The Bay takes on a…
After completing the 2014 Singlehanded Transpac, I put my 35 foot cruising boat on the market in Oahu with the intention of buying something smaller to use on San Francisco Bay. Despite Hawaii’s reputation for being a terrible place to…
Clipper Cove, a place that appears on no chart, is one of the most popular anchorages in all of San Francisco Bay. It is bound by Treasure Island on the north and Yerba Buena Island on the south. There is…
This January, OCSC has a wide variety of lectures and even a movie screening, all of them open to the public and free of charge! You can learn about sinking ships, sailing to New Zealand, or how a teenager attempts…
George Hadley was an English lawyer and amateur meteorologist in the days before anybody thought there could be such a thing as a professional meteorologist. In 1735 he published a detailed description of why the trade winds blow, and whey…
The breeze is freshening, the barometer is dropping, and OCSC is preparing the fleet for the incoming storm. We’re thankful for the precipitation and potential for big snow in the sierras, but here on the docks our fleet service team…
For most of us, the only time we might think about Yerba Buena Island is while passing through the tunnel that connects the eastern and western spans of the Bay Bridge. However, this small island, just a little over ½…
Delicious as they may look, albatross make for terrible survival treats. Seabirds, fish, and anything else high in protein will dry you out. That’s bad news when you have limited fresh water, waiting for rescue on a salty sea. I…
Angel Island is the largest island in San Francisco Bay: it covers 740 acres and rises to a height of almost 800 feet. It has had quite a varied history. This month and next, I’d like to relate its story…
Last week, Core Instructor, Trevor Steel, discussed how wind direction becomes variable during SF Bay winters. The wind will not only shift generally during the season, say, from the South West to the North, but during your winter day of…
