Well, while I have finally realized one of my many goals of participating in the Delta Ditch Run, the experience was mixed, to say the least. Special thanks go to Dave Collier, a high school chemistry teacher at Santa Rosa High School for answering my last minute plea for crewmen, when the last of my scheduled crew bailed the day before the event. He was a real trooper on the trip back which may have established a new world's endurance record for the tragically overworked 8HP outboard motor. Additional thanks go to Jaime Munoz and his website www.sfsailing.com for the crew list that put me in touch with Dave.

I spent the week leading up to the race, scurrying to prepare the boat for the 60 plus miles of downwind racing and the tedium of bashing back against tide and wind. In the end, I was overprepped with food and Jimmy Buffet CD's and forgot little details like the whisker pole for my secret weapon, a 155% "deck sweeper" genoa. Hey, if it was easy, everyone would do it, right? Besides, can you ever really have too much Jimmy Buffet on a sailboat?

I spent the deadline day driving to the Stockton Sailing Club to register. Since I hadn't been to their marina in a few years, getting lost was part of the fun. Still, it was a nice excuse to drive on all the old levee roads that figured so prominently in the adventures of my misspent youth. Add in a final trip to the modern day pirates at West Marine for charts and assorted nautical sundries and the horrendous commute back to the boat in Alameda and you have a really full day.

I was told there would be a Skipper's Meeting at the Richmond Yacht Club the night before the race and arrived only to find out that this "meeting" was grossly overstated. There was a listing posted on the entry way wall that erroneously listed me in the Heavy 3 class against boats a LOT faster than Bananawind! After a very helpful gentleman from the RYC contacted the event coordinator on his cell, I was reassigned to the Cruiser Class and found out my new class started 2 hours earlier than I had planned. Again, Dave took the news with grace and aplomb and even showed up earlier than required for the new start time! AND he showed up with enough sushi to start a Tokyo food bank!

After the "meeting" it was back to Bananawind for final preparation, hanking on all sail, running rigging and sheets. With a freshly topped off battery, I plugged in the new Engle refer to keep all the drinks and food cold for the trip. There is just something "civilized" about cold and dry food that make good days even better. Between the obsessive preparation and excitement, I finally turned in after 0100.

Dave showed up by 0530 and we were motoring to Richmond by first light due to VERY light winds and our 0800 start time. We made it with a few minutes to spare and, since neither of us had ever participated in a race start before, spent a few very anxious minutes trying to figure out the strategy and protocol for a windward start in close proximity to the other racers. One of these folks rightly pointed out that having the engine still idling was "bad form" which we quickly corrected. In all the excitement of the moment, I did however, forget to kill the running and steaming lights which would haunt me the rest of the trip.

At 0800 and after a cryptic progression of sound signals, the Cruising Class was off like a herd of turtles on a freshening breeze and flood tide. It was great! For the next several hours we enjoyed some of the best sailing and scenery the Bay Area has to offer. By the time we reached the Carquinez Bridge, the first of the multi hulls came screaming past us and made for some great pictures. By the Benicia Bridge, we were in an ocean of spinnakers as the Light and Heavy racing classes passed. More great pics and a phone call to Brenda to tell her to look out the window at our progress and company! In all the excitement (again) I forgot to call the folks at work to tell them the same thing as we passed them, slaving away. Sorry about that.

According to the GPS, we were making about 10 MPH "over the ground" and the weather couldn't have been better! While below stashing my foul weather gear, I realized that I had been draining the battery with all the lights on for the last several hours. Still, we had the weather, the music and food so we continued to race knowing that I had a slip waiting in Stockton and could recharge for the return trip when I got there. We were able to run "wing and wing" for hours on end with only the occasional jibe (usually controlled). I wish I had remembered the whisker pole though..............

By the Antioch Bridge, the breeze had "freshened" to 20+ and there was some serious discussion about shortening sail until we cleared the bend around Frank's Tract. Bananawind literally showed her bottom to a few fisherman on the banks of the San Joaquin during this stretch as we were rail down on a beam reach. When Dave could, he continued checking his GPS to find we were still above 9 MPH at the tiller while I hung on to the mainsheet keeping the boat under some semblance of control. Looking back, this was the most exciting time of the whole trip and even when it was happening, was a lot of fun.

As the sun set, we mistakenly calculated our position as well within 1 hour of Stockton and with a dying wind, fired up the outboard to make it in by dark. We almost made it and used up the last of the battery to enter the marina at 2140. We were exhausted and somewhat "miffed" to find that our slip wasn't REALLY reserved. Oh boy, another first, rafting up to a five deep raft of serious low freeboard racers. After this was accomplished, we went ashore for a well deserved barbecue dinner and a fruitless search for a vacant power receptacle to charge the boat battery. I was so tired, by the time I got across the five boats to the dock, I realized I was still wearing my life preserver and wasn't about to walk back across all those boats again until I after ate. 

After a great meal, and meeting some really great folks at the dinner, I went back to Bananawind and checked all the lines and fenders and promptly went to sleep. That is until the Race Committee called me on my cell a couple of hours later to ask where I was. Evidentally, my radio call to check in at the end of the race was insufficient in some way. I was so "beat" that I didn't really care anymore. The parties on the boats all around us subsided to a dull roar and I was back to sleep in minutes.

At first light, Dave was turning to in the galley and anxious to get underway. After a light breakfast, we were motoring to the Antioch Marina which was the nearest gas that would be open as we passed by. The wind was dead on the nose for the whole trip and our now dead battery prevented the depth sounder from working. This restricted us from cutting some of the corners we did yesterday. At no time on the previous day did we touch mud and we weren't going to start now. To add to the discomfort level, Dave's GPS ran out of battery about the same time as Bananawind so we were bashing blind. On the plus side, the pounding we were taking finally free'd up the wheel on the speedometer so we had that back.

The bash/beat from Antioch to the Bay is the main reason Bananawind lives in Alameda now, and this day was no exception. We fought the tide at the worst location we could encountered it, between Pittsburg and Concord. This stretch seemed to take as long as the rest of the trip combined. Oh well, if it was easy...... The scenery was enhanced by a continuing overflight of at least one B-17 Flying Fortress and A B-25 Mitchell that lasted for a couple of hours. I admit, I had to cut the boat throttle to hear the sounds of those big radial engines again, sigh, music to my tired old ears.

Sundown found us near the Racoon Straight with the Alameda estuary in sight. As soon as reached the "Slot", we made the turn towards the estuary and the wind died completely with the surface completely smooth. We were now running on the emergency jumpstart battery I packed in my obsessive preparation and it kept all the lights lit until we were tied back up in the slip.

On the down side, I had been desperate for a big cup of Starbucks for the last several hours and the only coffee available in Alameda was Jack in the Box, not quite the same.....  Upon my return to the boat, I discovered the trusty outboard had succomed to the rigors of 16 hours at top speed. Not before getting us safely home, but dead none the less.

All in all, it was everything I expected it would be, and more. I was dissapointed to find I was a DNF when the results posted, but was glad I made the event. At least I got a cool shirt to wear at this years Caltopia at the Encinal Yacht Club.