We had a very enjoyable week at the Richmond Yacht Club. Mark Phillipps, who accompanied us on the first leg and Greg Mitchell, owner of Kahoots, which we delivered back from Hawaii last year are members. RYC is also a reciprocal club to the Poulsbo Yacht Club so we were able to stay a few days complimentary. Our end tie on the dock had a gorgeous view of the San Francisco and Oakland skylines, along with a front row seat to all the activities going on at RYC. RYC and their youth sailing teams hosted a high school regatta over the weekend, and the energy of the sailors was fun to hear and see.

Greg invited us to sail in the Wednesday night Beer Can Race, and generously welcomed my sister Janet, and brother-in-law Richard. Richard was a member of RYC decades ago and has extensive sailing experience. We’re thrilled that Janet and Richard now plan to join us on the leg from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas at the beginning of November.

Laura Mason, who flies for Alaska had two stopovers in Oakland, so we got to see her twice! Marlene and Mitch Mitchell, who moved from Poulsbo to Brentwood, CA last year, also visited. We hope to reconnect with many friends and family along the way, so let us know if you’re on our route or want to join us.

In addition to all the visits and fun, we also took care of boring stuff such as:

• Trying to resolve issues with Tieton’s Temporary Import Permit (TIP) to Mexico, which wasn’t properly closed out by the previous owner.
• Fixing the autopilot, which involved a physical adjustment and a technology reset. Some folks in the bay may have questioned the circles we were spinning…
• Provisioning, laundry and other mundane tasks.
• Tieton’s never ending “to do” list. We focused on getting her ready for the first leg, but still have much to do before we sail to the South Pacific.

We left RYC on September 27 and headed south to Half Moon Bay. Weather will keep us here through the weekend when we’ll go to Monterey and Carmel, which will include a visit with Meredith’s Uncle Dan and Aunt Judie Riley.