I have lived on a boat in San Francisco Bay for over 20 years. My husband, Captain Sweetie, Noodles, our resident toothless tiger and I, fit very nicely on board our PT 38 trawler, Dancing Dragon.
By Kimmie haworth
Published: May, 2006
I have lived on a boat in San Francisco Bay for over 20 years. My husband, Captain Sweetie, Noodles, our resident toothless tiger and I, fit very nicely on board our PT 38 trawler, Dancing Dragon.
The lifestyle is different from living on land; we know and rely on all of our neighbors, live closely with nature and can identify the change of seasons by the migratory sea birds that are floating just outside the back door.
San Francisco Bay is an amazing resource for thousands of Bay Area residents, and we each enjoy it in our own way.
Some bike or stroll along the bay trail to watch the sea birds, some rent kayaks in Sausalito to paddle along the waterfront, while still others take the ferries to Tiburon to have lunch or shop in the quaint downtown area. Parents take their kids to visit the Interactive Park in Berkeley where generations of children have worked on the ever-changing playground.
The island town of Alameda has beautiful public beaches where sun worshipers gather on summer afternoons.
San Francisco Bay has more than enough to offer the less adventurous as well. You can linger with a latte on the deck at Pier 39 to watch the sea lions hold court on the docks, watch as diving cormorants fish for their dinner, and if you are lucky, you may see the resident leopard shark cruise
past.
In the month of June you can watch graceful Moon jelly fish float into the estuary at Crissy field on the tide, or, in the month of May, see graceful bat rays in the shallow waters in South bay. It’s amazing to observe a bat ray feeding along the grassy banks. You actually hear them before you see them. The hungry rays slurp their way, fins flapping, along the shoreline in search of an easy meal of grass shrimp. Diving terns and pelicans amuse us with their antics throughout the summer months until the sun begins to hang low in the sky in September.
In the winter, solitary loons can easily be confused with penguins as they rest on the surface, while gaggles of grebes herd herring into shallow water to indulge in a communal feast. Life around the bay is rich for all inhabitants.
My favorite thing in the world is to untie the dock lines and head the Dancing Dragon out toward open water. She is heavy for her size and rides comfortably, even in the roughest weather, so we are able to use her all year long. She is equipped with a diesel-forced air heater, so we never suffer from the cold, even in July. We love to drop the anchor at Clipper Cove, Paradise Cay, China Camp or tie to the historic docks at McGrath Yachts in Sausalito and walk up to Fred’s for breakfast.
Boating is my passion. It has all the thrills of an E-Ticket ride to Disneyland and the security of the womb. My boat is my sanctuary and the bay is my world!
