Many Eyes Make Fog Work

We pulled in to San Francisco yesterday, after a great passage down from Neah Bay, Washington.  I have much to write about, and I hope to cover it all before heading off again later this week.  This entry is about the last, and most exciting day.

We had anchored in Drake's Bay Saturday night, about twenty-five miles north of the Golden Gate, because it was too late in the day for entering the Bay and finding moorage.  Sunday morning dawned with a dismal fog -- one eighth to one quarter mile visibility -- and our radar refused to start.  Motoring along with the chart plotter, it wasn't long before the first fishing vessel emerged out of the gloom.  We had four pair of eyes on sharp watch, and gladly so when the second trawler emerged dead on the nose heading right at us.  A quick jink to starboard cleared him, but there were over three dozen more -- trawlers, charter fishing boats, small private fishing boats -- to dodge at short notice before we got clear to approach the Golden Gate.  That's when it began to get exciting.  The fog was still dense, as was larger traffic, and the wind came up to twenty-five knots or so, thankfully behind us.  We barely got a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge -- straight up above us.  After dodging several more large boats, our instruments warned of a large vessel about to pass us heading outbound.  The first view of it as it emerged from the fog was with heads tilted well back, looking up a hundred feet or so at the bow of the Grand Princess cruise ship, less than a hundred yards to starboard.  Definitely got our attention.  However, the fog broke as we passed Alcatraz, the beautiful skyline of San Francisco emerged in bright sunshine, the wind eased, and all was right with the world again as we motored over to moor in Alameda.