"Dan Best" wrote in message
...
NE Sailboat wrote:
Roger ,, I didn't know anything about the sinking/disappearance so I
looked up using google. From what I read on the net, there have been
other disappearances in that area.

Lots of speculation about whales and ships.

Sounds like a pretty bad area to boat in.

I'd have to disagree with this. Sure, there are some hazards, but they
are well known and easy to avoid. Specifically, there are a couple of
shoal areas outside the gate (the Potato Patch and the Southern Shoal)
that can be quite uncomfortable, dangerous or even disastrous when the
swell is high. There is also some shipping traffic.

The shoals are well know to anyone who has spent any time in the area as I
understand Grey had. In any case, from all accounts, conditions on the
day he disappeared were apparently such that they wouldn't have been a
problem even if he went right through one of them. As for the ships, they
are confined to a well known and marked channel and unless it's foggy,
they are easy to avoid (certainly no harder to avoid than inside the bay).
Lots of places have as much or more shipping going in and out than SF bay.

I've been out to the Faralons and back many times in our boats. On a nice
day (such as it was), it's a wonderful daysail.


Dan,

In some respects, I'd say that the tanker/container traffic in the bay is
more dangerous than outside. There's more of a concentration of traffic (not
including ferries, kayakers, sail, pleasure boats, etc.) and less
experienced people. I've had customers on my boat who had some sailing
experience that on their own would have totally misjudged big ship traffic,
both in direction and speed. Outside, they pretty much stay on track.

Sounds like you sail in the area... out of where?

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com