Anchor Drop

Lord - won’t you buy me an Econoline Van

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 18:53:13 -0700

Back to Maui to windsurf and to celebrate my one year anniversary with LoopNet! The wind was steady, temperature high was 85 degrees and the water was clear and warm. I sailed Kanaha for the first 4 days because I was familiar with the site. I met a really nice couple at the place I was staying and they sailed with me at Sprecks, which was amazing. I had my best days at Sprecks, partly because it was so beautiful with few sailors and partly because I was more confident/back in windsurfing shape. This year I chose to wear a PFD since I was on my own. Luckily the life-jacket wasn’t ever necessary, but it sure made water starting easier and let me feel like I could take more risks (be more aggressive) with my sailing.

While I was at Kanaha, I began to covet all of the Maui resident windsurfers specialized Econoline Vans. They had custom shelves to stack their boards (up to five in some cases). The vans contained masts and booms galore. The sailors could pick from their quiver. Really windy, they’d grab their 3.7. Wind came down, they’d leave their 3.7 on the grass and rig a 4.5. A dream come true.

The Kanaha windsurfing community was quirky, though also welcoming and friendly. I could tell many sailors had known each other for years. And though I liked being called that “young lady” it made me wonder whether windsurfing is growing in popularity- it doesn’t seem to be. There are some really talented younger sailors, male and female, but windsurfing seems to be a sport for people who adopted it more than 10 years ago. I’m sure there are a lot of factors in its waning popularity, like the fact that windsurfing is just plain difficult and expensive. Seeing the pros do loops (summersaults) in the air, forward and backward and making it look really easy, makes me even more committed to the sport-and to dream of doing loops myself someday. Seeing such excellence gives a whole new meaning to “Maui, wowy.” Here are some pics of the pros, and me. :)

My mom’s family album

Sun, 8 May 2011 09:42:20 -0700

As I heard it told when I was a child, my grandmother came to California as a maid with a family from Tennessee. My grandfather, already a third generation Californian, was immediately smitten when he met her. His family had arrived shortly after the gold rush, from Ireland. They had a farm with goats in San Pablo, near Richmond. Evidently, the spanish land grant that his family thought they owned, had been deeded to two parties. My great, great grandparents lost out. Lucky for me though, they stayed here in the bay area. My grandfather became a history teacher at Burlingame high. He courted my grandmother until she said yes (she wasn’t as smitten) to marriage. My grandfather had earned his teaching degree at Stanford, so they got married at Stanford Memorial Church. They honeymooned at Fallen Leaf Lake near Lake Tahoe (where I later worked as a Stanford Sierra Camp counselor during my college summers.) My mom grew up in Burlingame and went to Burlingame high where my grandfather taught. My grandparents also had a candy store in town at one point. My grandmother worked at Macy’s as a clerk to help with expenses. I am so lucky my father took the time to scan our family photos. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Happy Mother’s day. Here is the album.

Happy holidays! Happy New Year!!

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 18:59:09 -0800

With much love, wishing you happy holidays and a very happy 2011

Jensen family

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:57:32 -0700

My father scanned all of our family photos and gave them to me and my siblings as gifts for Christmas one year. Here are some of the photos from my father’s side of the family- Christian Jensen. They were Danish and German immigrants who worked hard as Iowa corn farmers. I am so lucky my father took the time and effort to scan these treasures. See Jensen family photos.

My dad was the first and only to attend college. He continued on to earn his medical degree at the University of Iowa and then served in the Army, briefly in Korea, and then back to Letterman at the Presidio in San Francisco where he met and married my mother. During his college summers he earned money serving in the forest service in Wyoming and Idaho.
Jensen family

San Francisco to Marina Del Rey in 43 hours

Sun, 23 May 2010 10:23:11 -0700

I crewed for Arnstein Mustad of Mustad Marine to transport this 57 foot beauty from San Francisco to Marina Del Rey. With only three of us there was a lot to do. 43 hours non-stop, jib only, average 8 knots. Swell reached 12-15 feet, and winds topped off at 38 knots according to the wind meter. Highest speed reached with a reefed jib was an exhilarating 15 knots. Safe, fun, fantastic passage. For more pictures, go here. Quick video, here.

They call me skipper

Sun, 7 Mar 2010 17:15:54 -0800

The Edge
Last weekend I successfully completed my US Sailing Coastal Passage Making course. After more than 50 days total cruising off the coast in the last two years, crewing, navigating and skippering, I am now licensed to take 55 foot yachts up to 200 miles offshore. I celebrated yesterday by sailing with friends to the Farallones and back. What a wonderful reward.

When I started sailing in 2006, my goal was simply to be be able to take friends sailing on the bay. With my first trip out that Gate and down the coast to Half Moon Bay, the peace and power of the sea entranced me. Completing Coastal Passage making, was as much about leadership as it was about sailing. My skills for both have improved tremendously; and I know myself that much better.

Last weekend was the first time I would lead a crew, without an instructor, out on the open ocean. This was also the first time I could pick my crew; so I had asked five friends who I had sailed with before and who were all very experienced sailors. I chartered The Edge, a 41 foot sloop, out of Ballena Bay in Alameda. We would “tag-along” with another boat that did have an instructor on it, sailing within sight of one another, and checking in hourly over the radio.

As I looked at the gale force winds forecast, I wondered why I keep putting myself through things that feel like final exams in college, but with the added intensity of having people’s lives at stake. The answer lies in the process and the people. The required team work and the exact knowledge demanded sailing out on the ocean challenges me to be my best and rewards me with new friendships, leadership skills and a deeper understanding of nature.

Tsunami test
We were fortunate that the winds died down on the bay earlier than forecasted. We anchored near Sausalito, in Richardson Bay, on Friday night. I woke up at 4:45 am to make the crew breakfast, early enough to get everyone fed and ready to depart under the Golden Gate with favorable currents. Once the coffee was brewed, I woke everyone up. We listened to the weather forecast over the VHF radio- tsunami advisory for the California coast. Hmmm, new challenge. We conferred with the other boats and waited for a decision from the club’s instructors and administration. Though the tsunami advisory was only for waves of 3 feet in our area, the club wisely decided not to go out to sea until the tsunami passed. At 13:30, we were docked at the Richmond marina. I observed the sea level rise about six inches and then drop about two feet. Thankfully that was all we saw of the Tsunami.

We decided to sail out that night at 10:30 pm, “to poke our nose out the Gate.” In order for me to pass the skipper test, we needed to go out to the open ocean. 15 foot swells, 15-20 knot winds, 2-3 foot wind waves made for exciting sailing. The crew rotated duties according to the watch schedule, 2 hours on at the helm and on deck, four hours off to sleep or relax. During our passage out, we were careful to stay out of the shipping lane. Because the sea was so kicked up though, it was better for us to be as close to the shipping channel as possible. The waves were less dramatic near the channel with the deeper water lessening their swell. I asked the crew to reef the main, anticipating higher winds as we went farther out. The furling line came off its track, causing the main sail to flap about dramatically. It needed to be fixed, so I went forward, harnessed to the jack lines, to diagnose the problem. I called for help- putting the furling line back in was going to take two people and a winch handle. Pip bravely came forward and we fixed the line. John heard the swearing and came up to the cockpit to help. Lines fixed, John cranked the furling lines hard, reefing to about 50% of the main. It’s events like this, that bring home the reasons for having a good, strong and experienced crew.

We sailed out to the San Francisco Sea Buoy, where the ocean was even more riled up. Having reached our goal, we turned around and headed back to the bay. It was slow going against the ebb, but we motor sailed back, surfing with the waves toward home. We anchored near Sausalito at 5am, toasted our accomplishments with a bit of wine, and quickly fell asleep. We headed back to Alameda later that morning, with a great sense of accomplishment and bonding as a team.

Pictures of the day sail celebration to the Farallones: click here.

Landlubbing

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:12:30 -0800

The weather forecast is for gale force winds around 5pm tonight and then dropping off, but with an alert until midnight. Think we’ll be conservative today for sure-stay the night in Ayala cove or at the dock in Alameda. The picture above shows the 5pm forecast on the central bay. Anticipating a wet and windy weekend. We’ll be safe no matter what, but staying on land is sounding appealing right now.

Maverick’s and Ano Nuevo

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 10:38:47 -0800

I spent the early morning at Maverick’s surf contest, with hundreds of other onlookers. Arriving early paid off; I was perched with a cliff-side view of the main breaks. I could see the big waves curling up and the surfers catching them. It was beautiful. As I departed around 9:30 am, ambulances drove toward the point and soaked spectators returned from the break water area. A large wave or two had doused about 40 people, taken down a vendor’s booth and injured a couple of people. No one seemed to have been seriously hurt or washed away. Some nice cameras had taken a hit though.

We left for Ano Nuevo to see the Elephant seals, a favorite annual trip of mine. The alpha males were showing their stuff. It was the first time I had seen them fight, blubber to blubber, red necks and gashes, showing the battles over the last several weeks. Females protected their pups who were still nursing; they made clear protests if the testosterone-crazy males got too close. The weaners, pups whose mom’s have gone back to the ocean to restore themselves for another breeding season, avoided the alpha-male rolling tonnage by staying on the perimeter. It was also the first time I had seen the elephant seals mate. What looks like a dramatic, “Jaba the Hut” approach, as the males roll toward the females and the pups scatter, becomes a little comical as the males slide up next to the female, put their front flipper around the female and do their thing.

These two great events, all within an hour of my house, reminded me of the treasures we can find so close to home. I’m so glad the state park system and mother nature make them possible.

Here’s a video of Ano Nuevo and the Elephant Seals.