Catching up with the Delta Doo Dah

What?! It’s August already? The summer is slipping from its youth into its middle age, and, looking back on the season so far, we see that it’s been a busy one on the California Delta. With many lakes closed to boat launching due to low water levels, many locations in the Delta have seen an up-tick in activity, making this the region’s busiest summer since the beginning of the Great Recession. Beefing up the numbers of sailboats heading inland this season have been almost 70 Delta Doo Dah entries.

The summer months are peppered with Delta Doo Dah events, and Doo Dah sailors can choose to join any or all of them — or none, as they can make up their own do-it-yourself itinerary. July’s featured event was hosted by Owl Harbor Marina along the San Joaquin River in Isleton. Cruisers sailed in from Richmond YC, Vallejo, Benicia, and other locales along the route, meeting up for a BBQ/potluck and outdoor movie on the evening of July 18.

Following a complimentary breakfast at Owl Harbor (the highlight of which was eggs laid by the marina’s own hens), some Doo Dah-ers planned to continue on to Stockton Sailing Club by sail or by land. Jeff and Annie Cook intended to sail their beautiful Richmond-based Sprague/Pratt 33 cutter Annie from Owl to SSC on that hot Delta day, however a broken water pump stalled their progress. But how to get parts to repair it on a Sunday with no car? With a little help from fellow cruisers of course!

Daryl and Patty Silva of the Beneteau 361 Lucy were doin’ the Doo Dah commuter-style, leaving their boat in Owl Harbor for a good chunk of July, and therefore had a car at the marina, which they loaned to Jeff so that he could drive home to Sacramento to get a part. A generous offer to be sure, but the kicker? The two couples had just met that morning at breakfast! The Silvas’ friends from Alameda YC, Paula Posner and Gerhard Serfling, picked them up and those four headed upriver by car to check out SSC.

Stockton Sailing Club will be the destination for the next and final Delta Doo Dah event, coming up on August 13-15, a mini-cruise from Richmond YC to Pittsburg YC to SSC for that club’s Hot Summer Nights Classic Car Show. Free registration for the Delta Doo Dah is open until August 28. See www.deltadoodah.com for all the details.