GO, NO GO!

Bodega Bay, California, USA

Just like us, the whole crab season here in the San Francisco area is having problems getting going.

The boats are ready, loaded up with traps, crews looking anxiously at the weather.  The big kick-off was scheduled for Sunday.  Some of the bigger boats left on Saturday afternoon for Drakes Bay where they can get an early start for Sunday morning, in spite of the gale warnings for the open water.  Most of the boats elected to wait till Sunday.

Sunday came and word came down that the "product" is not so good.  I guess there are so many crabs that they are having problems competing for food and are not mature enough yet (shells too soft?) - the buying company does not want them.  So the boats are still here, except for the few that left early - presumably they are going to wait out at anchor.

Meanwhile, we have a marina full of salty-looking seamen, all at loose ends, wandering up and down the docks and generally grumbling about the wasted time.  Apparently the earlier they get out there, the better the price is, since the season here starts about two weeks earlier than elsewhere.  Of course, some of them are happy as they did not have to go out into the big winds and seas, and have time to work on their boats, some of which don't seem to be all that well prepared.  And we are also left with a huge number of crab pots on the wharfs and along the roads, waiting patiently.

As for us, this is all good news since, assuming we can get away this week, we may not have to contend with all those hazardous crab pots for a few more days.  Right now, there appears to be a likely looking weather window for Wednesday, so that is what we are gearing up for.  Meanwhile, back to getting our exercise by walking to and from town, around the bay, etc.

 Generally the weather here in the bay has been good, with only a couple of days when it rained (mostly at night).  It is still cool enough that I would call it "jacket" weather, but it is never really cold.  Looking forward to getting a little further south.  BTW, we have no intention of stopping in San Francisco, as we have been there several times by car, and we feel that if we were to enter the bay, we would probably end up staying there for far too long, and it is just another of those nasty "bars" that we would have to navigate to get back out again.


{GMST}38|19.8068|N|123|3.4517|W|Bodega Bay, California,|Bodega Bay, California{GEND}