Dan,

I agree that this isn't a particularly "bad area to boat in". In fact,
I'd say it was one of the best around, offering a great variety of
conditions. I feel quite lucky to have had the opportunity to have
learned a lot sailing in the SF bay and environs.

Interestingly, the gentleman whose boat is across from mine happened to
see Mr. Gray's boat as it was exiting the bay. According to my neighbor
they were behind him but within sight as they passed under the GG
bridge, and eventually caught up and passed him as they headed out to
the Farallons.

He didn't think anything was wrong or ominous, but he said that at one
point the boat turned 90 degrees south, ran for a bit, then turned back
west again. Odd, but not that unusual.

I think the possibility that something happened, and the boat kept
sailing on autopilot is quite high, but I do wonder how much debris
would be visible if the boat sank very quickly without rupturing the
fuel tanks. Especially if this occurred somewhere outside the search area.

Robb



Dan Best wrote:
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.