By Linda Gordon | May 2025
PICYA Opening Day on the Bay 2025
April 27 was a cool, cloudy day on San Francisco Bay, but the weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the 170 PICYA members and their guests who boarded the luxe cruise ship Cabernet Sauvignon at Alameda’s Mariner’s Square.
Among them were four SLTWYC members—Gary and Linda Gordon, Norma Severloh, and John McChesney—along with four of their guests. Over a Continental breakfast, we cruised north to Tiburon to observe the traditional “Blessing of the Fleet,” then continued south to the St. Francis Yacht Club, where we moored offshore to watch the “Opening Day Parade.”
With the Golden Gate Bridge as a dramatic backdrop and the San Francisco Fire Boat leading the procession, we watched as approximately 50 boats from participating PICYA yacht clubs passed by, many decorated to this year’s theme, “Generations on the Bay.”
We enjoyed a delicious buffet lunch on board as we cruised back to Alameda. Despite the weather, we were treated to occasional bursts of sunshine and remarkably calm waters. By 2:30 p.m., we had returned to Mariner’s Square with fond memories of a wonderful day.
A fun highlight of the day: Linda won a beautiful picture of racing sailboats in the Opportunity Raffle—much to Gary’s delight!
We hope to see even more SLTWYC members participating next year—and maybe even a few boats in the parade!
