Monday, June 29, 1992 - On Way to Alaska

Finally! We're actually on our way to Alaska!
We had planned on spending two weeks in Richmond. We were there four weeks and still didn't get done half the stuff we wanted to do. We finally decided to just GO. We intended to leave around one o'clock this afternoon, so we'd have the tide with us. In the morning, Roy decided to take his bike to the bike shop for its "30-day" checkup, and I busied myself on the boat, getting charts ready, entering waypoints, etc. It was nearly noon when Roy returned, and there was a 30% chance of rain, but we wanted to take a bike ride while our bikes were off the boat and in A-1 condition, so we decided to ride around for half an hour. The 30% chance of rain turned to 100% long before we returned from our half-hour bike ride two hours later, but we had fun anyway.
We put the bikes back on the boat and dried them off. Then we went over to the Harbor Master's dock to return the gate keys. We tied up at the new dock and then realized the gate was locked and there was a chain-link fence along the dock. After a few tries, I managed to wriggle by and returned the keys. Then we were off.
Our new doghouse sure felt cozy in the pouring rain. We motored to Sausalito, dropped anchor, and ate some soup. We debated spending the night there (it was 7 p.m. by then) or continuing on our way. The wind was from the south (most unusual), so we decided we'd better take advantage of it.
Went out the Gate to the Separation Zone and turned right. Had to use the engine as well as the headsail. Zoomed along at six knots. Peaceful, uneventful night.