Hot Delta Doo Dah Fun at Delta Bay
Activities packed the final official event in Delta Doo Dah Lucky 13, hosted by Delta Bay Marina on the Delta Loop in Isleton. Just off the San Joaquin River but protected from open waters by tule islands, Delta Bay has now welcomed the Delta Doo Dah cruising rally for the third year in a row. And so much to do and see! Where to begin?
Activities
With the temperature forecast to kiss 100, it made sense to come early. At 10 a.m., Newport Vessels got a head start on the afternoon’s itinerary with demos of their inflatable dinghies and electric outboards.
Next up, the volunteers from Peninsula Yacht Club got the grill going and served 68 lunches throughout the afternoon. Demi Stewart’s photography exhibit in the store at Delta Bay Marina opened. On the other side of the levee in Park Delta Bay, Bill Wells, executive director of the Delta Chambers, gave a talk about the history of boating in the Delta.
Other activities that afternoon included free fishing for kids and free ‘test sails’ on Delta Bay’s fleet of clever electric boats. (More on that on Friday.) Fleet members Pat and Carole McIntosh came by RV and volunteered at a welcome table at the top of the ramp to the marina.
Chatting with Cruisers
Our favorite part of these events is chatting with fleet members, finding out where they’ve been and where they’re going, and listening to their sea stories. Karen and Gary Preston told us that they trailered the Hunter 270 Charmed Life down from Folsom Lake. The lake doesn’t have enough water for sailing. The marina docks never even went in this year. So they came to Delta Bay Marina on the Fourth of July and took a month-to-month slip. They’ll probably stay until March — or until there’s enough water to sail in Folsom Lake. They went for a cruise this week, starting at the west end of the Delta, in Antioch, with a visit to the new restaurant where Humphrey’s used to be, Smith’s Landing, at the Antioch Marina.
After that they anchored out in Potato Slough, then came back to Delta Bay before heading upriver to Stockton Sailing Club on Wednesday, visiting friends from Lina, a Catalina 25, there. Charmed Life was the only boat anchored at Mandeville Tip on Thursday night. Karen and Gary had a great view of the Perseids from there, but only saw two meteors. They had 20 knots coming back on Friday.
Richard and Carolyn Mason followed with Lina on Friday. They encountered the same strong breeze and whitecaps on the San Joaquin. East of Mandeville, they were trying to reef the main and caught a gust in 25 knots of wind. Richard said the slugs blew out of the mast like a zipper unzipping.
Registration will remain open for the Delta Doo Dah until the end of August. Learn more at www.deltadoodah.com.