Ballena Bay Cruise

by Fred Conta

Picture this! A few minutes before arrival at Ballena Bay you contact BBYC Port Captain, David Tucker, on VHF 68. He assures that your berth is ready, and he is waiting in a Boston Whaler to guide you right to your assigned berth. After his associate, another BBYC member named David, helps you tie up, David Tucker reappears with a key to the gates. That’s it – no contact with the Marina, no money for the berth, and no deposit for the key. That will give you an idea of the degree of hospitality that greeted our June 23rd cruise to the Ballena Bay Yacht Club.

Only 25 CYC members attended this cruise, but those who did had a fun weekend. Brisk conditions on Saturday propelled our group quickly across to the warmer weather South of the Bay Bridge, and after arrival in Ballena Bay, many took advantage of the several yacht brokerages to explore the new boats on display. (cont'd...)

We were welcomed to BBYC for cocktail hour by their Commodore, Gail Stivers, along with about 65 BBYC members. This was followed by a barbequed beef tri-tip dinner prepared by BBYC Staff Commodore, Patt Bekker, that received rave reviews. (cont'd...)

This was almost topped by the homemade pineapple upside-down cake baked special for us that day by another industrious BBYC member. After dinner, dancing to renowned DJ, Danny Fisher, kept everyone going until past midnight. When Sunday dawned, most of us enjoyed an excellent and inexpensive brunch at the new Harbor House Restaurant. The big diesel guzzlers all topped off to take advantage of the cheap pricing at the fuel dock, and, then, enjoyed a pleasant trip home in milder conditions than the day before.

Photo Gallery To see the complete gallery of 19 photos from the event, simply follow these steps: 1) Click Here (this will open in a new browser window) 2) For the best picture-viewing experience, click "View as slideshow" on the right side of the page. If you like the pictures, you'll be able order prints from Shutterfly.

[next page]