Memorial Day Weekend 1999
Bethel Island, CA
A Cruise Around Bethel Island


After getting the boat out of the dock and heading toward Sugar Barge, Tom handed the helm over to me for a couple of minutes while he went "Topside." Wow, I still remember my nautical terms from my days in the U.S. Navy. When Tom arrived at the wheel, he quickly increased the engine speed for a second to let me know he had control.


Cruising by Sugar Barge

There was a trio on the upper deck that included Tom; he was at the helm with Kevin on his left and Kay was sitting to his right. Fred took up a position on the lower deck forward of the cabin where he had a great view of the oncoming scenery. Nora, Tina, and Linda were down in the salon visiting. Tina was suffering from an allergy attack and wanted to stay inside for awhile. I also noticed a flare-up of my hay-fever symptoms, the seriousness of which seemed to change as the direction of the wind shifted throughout the cruise.


Tina and Linda inside out of the wind

Tom was acting as a tour guide to the upper deck group, giving a descriptive monologue about the passing scenes. He gave us a great commentary on our surroundings as we passed one landmark after another. He knows much of the history and stories of the Delta area from personal experience.

The wind continued to blow briskly. I could tell it was having an effect on the helm. As we approached the bridge that connects Bethel Island to the mainland, I went below to get ready to take a picture. Unfortunately, I didn't get in a good place soon enough. Tom was steering the boat under the bridge, while I was on the after deck. Just as the forward half of the boat cleared the opposite side of the bridge, the wind caught the boat broadside. Tom reacted quickly and accelerated to get the boat away from the bridge before it was blown into the pilings.


We are about to go under the bridge

I watched helplessly while the boat looked as if it was about to be smashed against the bridge supports. Instead, the left rear corner of the boat cleared the bridge supports by a matter of only a few inches. It was so close; I had braced for a collision. I'm convinced that the boat was saved by Tom's fast action. His experience at the helm served him well on this day. Once through the bridge we moved ahead slowly so as to keep the boat from creating a wake.


A nice looking waterfront house

Tom has had a boat berthed somewhere on Bethel Island for many years. So, as we cruised along, he would point out various places where he had kept a boat. One of those places was Leisure Landing Marina. This place seems to be about as far from town as you can get and still be on the island. Just as we rounded the point at Leisure Landing, the wind shifted and my hat took flight. The wind carried it toward the shore, but it didn’t quite make it.


Leisure Landing Marina ahead

The last time I saw my hat, it was about five feet from the rocks and sinking fast. I didn’t say anything because I knew if Tom learned about my hat, he would try to retrieve it. I know he would do this because he has retrieved one of my hats on a previous cruise. The hat I lost was my NASA hat that I bought at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson, Kansas. I figured I now have a good reason to go back to the space museum, as if I really needed an excuse. The next time I visit Wichita, I might take a side trip to get a new hat.

Later in the day when Tom found out about the loss of my hat, he expressed some disappointment at not being given the opportunity to rescue my topper. I told him I didn’t think it was worth the diesel fuel to go back. Nora assured me that not only would Tom have gone back to get my hat, but also he really enjoys doing so. Tom spent nearly the whole cruise at the helm on the flying bridge, so he didn't see my hat sail away.

At one point not far from our home berth, I saw a place I had visited, with my family, many times starting in the late 1960s. It was the Bethel Harbor Marina. I took a picture of the launch facilities, just for old time's sake, as we cruised by. I always enjoyed launching our boat there because I didn’t have to back down a ramp.


Bethel Harbor launch facilities

The method used to launch a boat there is an elevator where a boat and trailer are lowered into the water, submerging the trailer until the boat floats free. After the boat is moved away from the trailer, the elevator will bring the dripping trailer back up to be connected back to the towing vehicle. Tom told me that he and Nora had a boat berthed at Bethel Harbor at the same time we were going there to launch our boat.


Ahoy from the upper deck — Kay -Tom - Kevin

Now it was just a short distance until we saw a familiar sight. Ahead of us was the dock we left earlier in the afternoon; we had come full circle. Tom turned the topside helm over to Kevin. Then Tom went below to take over the helm inside the cabin. Again he briefly increased the engine RPMs to let Kevin know when Tom had control.


A view from "The Lady Nora"

As Tom got the boat into position to move into the berth, he tested the effect of the wind on the boat. Then, with a small adjustment in the heading of the boat, Tom slid the boat smoothly into its slip; we were home.


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