9 minute read
richmond zen
While we were Zen sailing the Olson 30 La Gamelle on the Richmond Riviera, the second of the four Zen circuits on San Francisco Bay, the wind died just after we rounded the northwestern end of the Richmond Harbor jetty. Temporarily unsure of what to do, we recalled a bit of Eastern wisdom: "We cannot see our reflection in running water, only in still water." So we looked over the side. Apparently we haven't achieved enlightenment yet, because all we saw was opaque greenbrown water. It The old ferry landing for looked pretty transcontinental train passengers. cold, too. Discouraged, we backslid to our old Western ways by firing up the iPad. It wasn't to play stupid video games or peruse porno, but rather to learn more about Richmond.
When most people think about Richmond, a city of 100,000, one of the first things that pops to their mind is that it perennially ranks as one of the top ten most dangerous cities in the United States. While this is true, most of the crime takes place in the 'Iron Triangle', away from the boating interests. We've been going to various Richmond boating areas for 40 years and never had a problem.
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Richmond turns out to be a more interesting city than one might imagine. Here are three things about Richmond that we didn't know: 1) Richmond has more waterfront than any other city on San Francisco Bay. 2) In 1919, Richmond was home to the largest winery in the world. And, 3) From the late 1800s to the mid-1900s, Pt. Richmond was Santa Fe Railroad's western terminus. Passengers hopped aboard a ferry to cover
Brickyard Cove, home to homes with docks in back, businesses, some of them with docks, and lots and lots of sailboats.
the last few miles to San Francisco. The remains of the historic ferry dock are still plainly visible at the northwest end of the Potrero Reach.
Just to the east of the old ferry dock is a dilapidated warehouse that deserves a plaque on it describing the exploits of Floridian Bruce Perlowin. The only person we've ever interviewed at the top floor jail of the San Francisco Police Headquarters, Perlowin smuggled close to a half a billion — yes, with a 'b' — dollars' worth of pot into California, most of it into this warehouse. He would spend nine years in prison, including time in two of the last coed prisons in California. For Bruce, the hardest part of doing time seemed to be having an inmate girlfriend who had an inmate girlfriend who got to see her more often.
As we pondered what Buddha would have said to a pot smuggler, a little breeze came up. A little breeze is all that a light boat like an Olson 30 needs to move along smartly, even when carrying plain sail. So after a bit of reaching and a jibe, we slipped between the two freestanding wave barriers that protect the harbor, and sailed into Brickyard Cove, home to the Richmond YC, just under 100 waterfront homes with docks, and a three-building waterfront business complex. When viewed from the air, Brickyard Cove, like Nature, has no straight lines. How Zen can you get?
Founded in '32, the Richmond YC has long featured a very active sailing program, and has always given the more affluent St. Francis and San Francisco YCs a run for the most pickle dishes. The Richmond YC is a fine base out of which to hone any number of sailing skills, as it offers the protected waters of the cove for small boat sailors, and after sailing only a short distance, those with larger boats can usually choose how much wind and chop they wish to play with. There's more action toward the Central Bay and less toward the North Bay. And, it's almost always a mellow spinnaker run home from the West Bay. We're talking March to October, of course.
Richmond has had more of a roller coaster history than most cities. It was a nowheresville that got put on the map
ALL PHOTOS LATITUDE / RICHARD
in the late 1800s by the transcontinental railroad. In the 1920s, the KKK was a popular social movement. In the '60s, Richmond was the first significant city in the United States to elect an AfricanAmerican mayor. In between came World II, during which time lots of women and minorities from the South migrated to the East Bay to work in Richmond's Kaiser Shipyards. These people — including the semi-mythical 'Rosie the Riveter' — turned out 747 Victory and Liberty ships, and the Richmond shipyard was declared the most productive in the country. The Kaiser company also started a field hospital for the workers, which over time has evolved into Kaiser Permanente — a health plan to which all Latitude employees belong.
The remaining World War II dry docks are in ruins. The Red Oak, #587 of the Victory ships, is docked just before the Potrero Reach makes the turn into the Richmond Inner Harbor. Alas, she's not looking too spiffy these days. Neither is the 200-ft Wapama, the last of the 250 distinctive steam powered lumber
Clockwise from upper left; Modern day 49ers from the Richmond YC; The beautiful old Ford plant; Tenants at the Sugar Dock; the rusty 'Red Oak'; A bulk carrier loads up at one of Richmond's 15 terminals. 'US 76', the BMW Oracle Racing America's Cup boat; Something steamy cooking in the Inner Harbor.
schooners that used to ply the 'Redwood
Coast'. She, on land, is in such poor condition that not even a Kaiser Permanente of boats could save her. The Wapama is to be dismantled as soon as the Park
Service locates the funds to do it. So don't hold your breath.
Fortunately, there's a more uplifting feel once you jibe onto port and make your way into the Inner Harbor, for not only are the narrow waters even flatter for dryer sailing, but it's a surprisingly active commercial port. Richmond Harbor is home to 10 private terminals and five city-owned terminals. Every time we sailed this Zen circuit, we saw all new ships. "Out of the mud grows the lotus," said Buddha. "Out of world trade grows global prosperity," said St. Bono.
Thanks to the hills of Pt. Richmond, and the various structures and ships, there are lots of fits and starts to the breeze in the Inner Harbor. Such fluctuations makes the sailing more active. But it's near the end of the Inner Harbor that this part of Richmond becomes more interesting to even the unenlightened sailor. On the port side is the Sugar Dock, once a railroad offloading wharf, now a deepwater dock capable of accommodating the largest private yachts — or a number of smaller ones. The dock was transformed by Bill and Grace Bodle, both of whom are in their 70s, and who, as previously noted in Latitude, do charters with their 100-ft wood schooner Eros in the Caribbean with the help of just one deckhand. On the starboard side is Bay Marine Boatworks, which has a healthy combination of commercial and recreational boat clients, and is the sister facility of the big Bay Ship and Yacht operation in the Oakland Estuary. Next to it are the remains of Richmond Yacht Harbor / Pacific Boatworks. While those businesses are no more, it's nonetheless the site of a magnificent — but hidden — yacht restoration that after many years is nearing completion. More on that in a few months.
Next on the starboard side is KKMI, which probably hauls more big boats than any other yard on the Bay, and often plays host to some of the world's
If you like flatwater sailing, you'll love the Potrero Reach. If you really like flatwater sailing, you'll love the Inner Harbor even more.
great racing yachts. And at the turning basin end of the Inner Harbor is Point San Pablo YC, a working man's yacht club on the original site of Richmond YC.
In a Zen world, there would be mellow small boat races in these flat waters every Friday night, from the turning basin to Potrero Reach and back. What could be more Zenderful? Alas, there are very few small boats in this part of Richmond.
Two more marks remain on the Richmond Zen Circuit. The first is the 850-slip Marina Bay Yacht Harbor, which is just past the old Ford plant that produced 150,000 military vehicles, most of them Jeeps. The plant has been nicely restored, and is currently the Craneway event venue. But careful, for if you don't follow the buoys as you pass the old plant, you'll go hard aground. Haven't been able to find a liveaboard slip in the Bay Area? Marina Bay has them. If you have a 40-ft boat, it's $360/month for a slip, plus $200 for the liveaboard fee. Not a bad deal. La Gamelle used to live in this marina back when she was Analogue.
Great boats hanging together. 'La Gamelle' chillin' with 'USA 76' at KKMI.
The last mark on the Richmond Riviera Zen Circuit is 5-mile distant — from Marina Bay — Red Rock, which is unique for two reasons. First, it's the only island on the Bay that was once mined for manganese. Secondly, it's the only one of the Bay's 31 islands that is privately owned. The last we heard, David Glickman, formerly of San Francisco and now a gem dealer in Thailand, had the island for sale for $22 million — which is $21,950,000 more than he paid for it in '70. In the '80s, he had a plan to remove the top half of the island and use it for roadbed construction, and what remained would be the site of a 10-story hotel and casino, and on the north side, a yacht harbor. Some developments are best left undone, and this was probably one of them.
And some industries are best terminated also. Not too far ashore from
Red Rock is Pt. Molate, which was home to the last whaling station in the United States, operational into the '70s.
The Richmond Zen circuit is a little more challenging than the Oakland Estuary one, in that the wind is more likely to be stronger and/or non-existent, and some channels are more narrow, and it's not as uniformly deep. But it's not a difficult place to sail, and it's certainly worth seeing and sailing.
Having done this Zen circuit several times, we were again reminded of one of the most famous Zen sayings: "If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there would be a shortage of sailboats." No kidding. — latitude/richard
Loch Lomond marina
RARe OPPORtunitY! (1) 96-ft end-tie Plus 26 to 46-ft slips available
Completely Rebuilt Marina • Gas & Diesel Fuel Dock • Free Pump Out Station Modern Launch Ramp • Guest Slips Available • Marine Mechanical Boat Repair Arena Marine Supply Store • Andy's Local Market • Bait Shop Land or Sea Canvas • Windjammer Yacht Sales • Loch Lomond Yacht Club 110 Loch Lomond Drive, San Rafael, CA 94901 Phone: (415) 454-7228 • Fax: (415) 454-6154
