We were out Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We had groups of 20-30 each day. Thursday was definitely the best day. The Blue Angles did three sessions between around 1:00 and 4:30 and there were only a couple of other boats out there. They flew for about 30-40 minutes with just the two, another 30-40 minutes with the four and then another 30-40 minutes with all six. No other planes flew that day but the Blue Angels are my favorite anyway. Friday was also very good as some of the other planes also flew but the Blue Angels just did one show which was great. Saturday was a bust because of the fog but we still had a great time. An hour earlier the Blue Angels could have done the show. Sunday was pretty good as the Blue Angels did about 90% of their show only leaving out a couple of the high altitude passes. Although it was cloudy the winds were light so it wasn't as cold on the bow.
We were off the West side of Alcatraz all four days. Thursday and Friday we just drifted as there were not that many boats so it was not a big deal but the combination of the wind and the current kept us motoring back toward the Golden Gate many times. Saturday and Sunday I anchored for the shows off the West side of Alcatraz. We anchored closer to the "box" than the island. There was a pretty good current each day although Sunday wasn't quite as bad as the current and the wind were less. We anchored in about 65' of water and had a very good hold. I used about 175' of chain both days. If you anchor you will still want to keep watch as the currents will bring other boats that are drifting past you and many of them aren't paying much attention. On Sunday I had to use the horn with one sail boat that was not looking at all where the current was carrying them. I warned them in time for them to move around us but had I not warned them they would have drifted right into the bow. On Saturday the sail boat anchored in front of us almost took a power boat on the bow, there couldn't have been more than 5 feet of cushion.
Thursday and Friday are my favorite days to watch. If you have a boat in the bay those should both be day you take off work as it doesn't get any better on the Bay for me than those two days. I also like the weekend it is just a bit more work. These are my favorite four days of the year.
(By the way there were a couple of pictures above from last year, I got a few of them mixed up.)
Really sorry about your luck with the boat and then not being able to see the Blue Angels on Saturday.
Kris
