You just finished a wonderful dinner and are back on the boat. It’s Thursday evening, and decision time. Do you return home or head up to Drakes Bay for a day or two. Time isn’t an issue. You don’t have to be back until Sunday, or even later if you want.

Weather forecast for the next three days.

What is your decision?

• Motor Back Home
• Motor Directly to Drakes Bay
• Sail to Drakes Bay Via the Farallon Islands?

So, you chose Sail to Drakes Bay via the Farallon Islands

Personally, I think you made the best choice.

Leaving Pillar Point Harbor, you head to PP, the Pillar Point Approach Buoy where you raise your sails. Wind is from the NW (315 T). Assume your boat is able to sail to 45 degrees off the true wind, and that your speed will be 5 kts.

1. What is the heading of a direct line from “PP” to the Farallon Light?
2. What is your initial heading under sail?
3. What heading will you tack to?
4. Let’s assume you stay on your initial heading for 3 hours (at 5 kts) before tacking. What is your DR lat and long when you make your first tack.
5. Sunrise is 0547 on June 5 . Sunset is 2029. Assume it takes 45 minutes from your slip to “PP.” If you are able to maintain 5 kts all day, what is the latest time you would need to leave your slip in order to reach your anchorage at 38°00.0′ N; 122°58.5′ W in Drakes Bay before sunset? Plan to go around the west side of Southeast Farallon Island then between Southeast Farallon and Middle Farallon towards Drakes Bay.

Answers: No peaking until after you have done the work.

1. What is the heading of a direct line from PP to the Farallon Light? 300 T
2. What is your initial heading? 270 T
3. What heading will you tack to? 360 T
4. Let’s assume you stay on your initial heading for 3 hours (at 5 kts) before tacking. What is your DR lat and long (to the nearest 0.1′) when you make your first tack. 37°28.4′ N; 122°49.7′ W
5. Sunrise is 0547 on June 5 . Sunset is 2029. Assume it takes 45 minutes from your slip to PP. If you are able to maintain 5 kts all day, what is the latest time you would need to leave your slip in order to reach your anchorage at 38°00.0′ N; 122°58.5′ W in Drakes Bay before sunset? Plan to go around the west side of Southeast Farallon Island then between Southeast Farallon and Middle Farallon towards Drakes Bay. 0803

6. Assuming you leave your slip at 0615 and it takes 45 minutes to reach PP, what is your ETA at the southern traffic lane?
7. How long will it take to cross the lanes?
8. At 1425, you take a bearing of Farallon Lt. bears 004 M, and your depth sounder reads 180 feet. What is your Lat and Long?
9. What course should you steer to put you back on course to round the “back” side of Southeast Farallon?
10. At 1451, you get a bearing of 093M to Farallon Lt. Use the 1425 bearing and the 1451 bearing to get a running fix. What is the Lat and Lon?

Answers: No peaking until after you have done the work.

6. Assuming you leave your slip at 0615 and it takes 45 minutes to reach PP, what is your ETA at the southern traffic lane?
   0819
7. How long will it take to cross the lanes?
   49 minutes
8. At 1425, you take a bearing of Farallon Lt. bears 004 M, and your depth sounder reads 180 feet. What is your Lat and Long?
   37°40.6′ N; 123°00.7′ W
9. What course should you steer to put you back on course to round the “back” side of Southeast Farallon?
   325T to 335T
10. At 1451, you get a bearing of 093M to Farallon Lt. Use the 1425 bearing and the 1451 bearing to get a running fix. What is the Lat and Lon?
    37°42.4′ N; 123°02.1′ W

This navigation exercise requires

• Chart no. 18645 – Gulf of the Farallones
• Parallel rule
• Calculator
• Pencil

Exercise 1

It is June 4, 2020 and you are headed to Pillar Point for the weekend. Slack before flood is at 0724, so you time your arrival at the bridge for 0730. You arrive at R”8” (37° 46.55′ N, 122° 35.18′ W) in the Main Ship Channel at 0830 and turn to 180 (166M). There is fog along the coastline and you can’t see any landmarks or nav aids. Your vessel speed is 6 knots. First, Plot your DR ahead for the next 2 hours (1030).

1. The fog has cleared enough at 0951 to take a bearing of Pt San Pedro Rock. It is 122M and is 045 degrees relative off the port bow. What is your DR Lat and Lon?
2. Use the bearing to determine your estimated position. What is the EP Lat and Lon?

Exercise 2

Continuing on your trip, at 1018 Pt San Pedro Rock bears 090 relative. Hint: Forget the EP. Continue with the DR plot.

3. What is your distance off?
4. Using distance off LOP and the bearing LOP to Pt San Pedro Rock to get a fix. What is your Lat and Lon?
5. Advance the 0951 bearing to Pt San Pedro Rock forward to 1018. What does this do to your fix?

Exercise 3

Continuing on your course of 180T, you plan to turn towards the Pillar Point approach buoy (RW “PP” (37° 28.35′ N 122° 30.83′ W) when abeam of R “26” (37° 32.17’ N, 122° 33.09 W).

6. What is the ETA to the turn?
7. How far away from R “26” are you set to pass?
8. What is the bearing (M) to the Pillar Point radar tower when you make your turn abeam R”26″?
9. What course will you turn to head for RW “PP” (37° 28.35′ N 122° 30.83′ W)?
10. What is your ETA at RW “PP”?

Exercise 4

Continue on a course to take you into Pillar Point Harbor.

11. Set up two danger bearings to guide you between the two reefs. Danger bearing 1 i a line from G”1″ to G”3″. Danger bearing 2 is a line from PP to R”2″. In degrees magnetic, what are the two danger bearings? Remember to label NMT or NLT.
12. What course would you follow from your turn near PP to travel through the channel?
13. Once clear of the channel, what course would take you to the entrance of Pillar Point Harbor?

Golden Gate to Pillar Point Answers