Celebrating Summer SAIL-stice with a Weekend in the SF Bay

As if hiking 20-miles last weekend in Big Sur wasn’t enough activity, we spent the weekend sailing in the San Francisco Bay as part of the international Summer Sail-stice event! AND ONE OF THE SAILBOATS MADE A JACUZZI. Emphasis on made.

Setting sail for #summersailstice! Captained by @natewapner ⛵#sailsf

A photo posted by Dani Nemzer (@danicaliforniacooks) on Jun 20, 2015 at 11:36am PDT

So let’s just take a step back here [apologies for the consultant lingo]. Nate’s a big time sailor - remember our awesome week-long sailing trip to the Bahamas? Well he’s since joined a club out in Sausalito and us along with our trusted sailing buddies spent the weekend sailing on the bay, with an overnight anchorage at Clipper Cove on Treasure Island. To be honest, I was a little nervous before this sailing trip just because the last time we had been out on the Bay it had been pretty windy and choppy and I just wasn’t comfortable with the whole heeling aspect yet of a monohull. But I knew I was in good hands, so I put on an anti-seasickness patch just in case and we set sail on a beautiful morning!

The first thing we did was sail out out Sausalito and went underneath the Golden Gate Bridge! That was definitely the windiest most wavy part of our trip, but one of the most epic and exciting. And I wasn’t panicked at all (a gluten-free beer helped, I’m sure).

Crossing under the GGB!

Suddenly it was lunchtime (yay!) and I made big sandwiches with whole wheat sourdough, avocado, turkey, ham, cheese, and lettuce. I had mine sans bread and we ate a TON of salsa and chips as we sailed along the city. We then parked at the Embarcadero in the city, where one of our buddies left our vessel to tend to his dog. It was so cool pulling up to the city in a sailboat!

We then did a bit more sailing around towards Alcatraz, and headed over to Treasure Island (attached to Yerba Buena Island) and joined four other boats in one flotilla. Then it was dinnertime! I heated up crockpot BBQ flank steak and black beans and tortillas, and we had a taco bar with corn salad (recipe to come), more avocado, and salad. These blondies for dessert. Then we jumped over to the other boat where the fun really got started!

They built a jacuzzi in the cockpit using a liner to keep the water in, and a home water heater. Pretty genius. Someone had brought a keg of homemade beer, and we all blasted music and hung out in the jacuzzi. I was so impressed with this whole jacuzzi setup I couldn’t even believe my eyes. I ate so many Reese’s pieces, and I blame the jacuzzi.

Can you see the makings of a jacuzzi in there?

Can you see Dan at the top of the mast? There’s a person up there!

Nate and I slept in some small quarters, but woke up to another beautiful sunny day. I honestly never cook bacon, except when I’m on a boat. So I made a ton of cheesy eggs, bacon, and coffee which we devoured for breakfast before heading out for another day on the water! This day we sailed around Yerba Buena island and underneath the Bay Bridge, around the backside of Alcatraz, and then back to Sausalito.

Honestly, I had SO much fun. There is honestly nothing better than being on a boat, in the elements, with a mimosa, with your handsome boyfriend captaining the ship. Granted - it could have been warmer. I pretty much was dressed for winter.

Nate the sailing ninja in all black!

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