On the fourth of July the Free Yacht seemed like just the place to celebrate the freedom we Americans are so famous for.

Our plan was to motor out and anchor in the shallows just upwind of the park and watch the fireworks.

Hilarity ensued!

Thanks to Joe Grand for this photo and others.

continues the Free Yacht saga begun at How to Get a Free Yacht

Here's the table of contents of the whole saga:
Chapter 1: How to Get a Free Yacht
Chapter 2: Maiden Voyage of the Free Yacht
Chapter 3: Fix Broken Stix and other Trix
Chapter 4: Outboard Motor Mutilates Foot
Chapter 5: It's sinking and it's on Fire.
Chapter 6: How To Give Away a Free Yacht
Chapter 7: Get an Even Better One and Fabulize it.
Chapter 8: Celebrate Freedom
Chapter 9: Technicolor Dreamboat
Chapter 10: Privateer Knot
Chapter 11: Dismasted!
Chapter 12: Kiteboat!
Chapter 13: Mast Raising

Step 1: Invite Lots of People

Freedom should be enjoyed by everyone.
Dan sent out this invitation:

Date: Tue, 3 Jul 2007 15:46:32 -0800
From: Dan Goldwater

Step 2: All Aboard!

A whole lot of people showed up in a festive mood.
We were about to depart several times but people kept calling to say they were coming, and please wait. So we hung out on the boat and kept running to the gate to let people in.
Some people started grilling veggies up at the bow of the boat.

Before long there were a whole lot of happy people on board. It's a huge boat, 18 feet wide, seemingly about the size of a tennis court on deck. Our waterlines only got pushed down a an inch or two. The boat got more and more stable as the big vee-hull outriggers got wider waterlines.

It was warm out, the water of the bay was warm, and the wind was blowing toward shore, which would be a stone's throw away. Lists of other conditions relating to the safety of the situation ensue etc. etc.

Step 3: Remember 1776!

We finally left the dock and motored out the channel. We were almost out to our anchoring spot when these characters in red coats showed up and started bossing us around.

"He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance." - The Declaration of Independence

Step 4: Who's the Captain?

"Who's the captain?" Asks the chief redcoat.
"I am" says Victor. Thank you Victor for Captain-level heroism.

They take him aboard their boat and ...
hey Victor - fill in the details?

Step 5: Or the Lack Thereof

Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2007 11:59:18 -0800
From: Dan Goldwater
Subject: Re: 4th of July sailing under the fireworks with dan, daphna, emily, patrick, tim,
victor & maybe kenny

Hi All!
Thanks so much for joining us last night, we do apologize about the unplanned
excitement! 4th of july is a bad day for freedom... Many of you made it to the
after-party at the alameda air control tower and I further apologize to those who got
lost in the shuffle. Thank you for your concerns, the coast guard treated us very
professionally. They were perhaps a bit displeased that they could not ticket us for
over-loading as our draft was only about 2 inches low. Sadly that meant that they then
insisted on a 13-point "freedom inspection", which we passed on 12 of 13 counts (lights,
whistle, fire extinguishers, bail pump, fog horn, etc) and ultimately wrote us up for
being a bit short on life jackets. to avoid future problems we're thinking of
re-finishing our entire deck surface with neoprene lifejackets for a super plush lounging
experience - no more sore bottoms on long voyages! Hijinks included Victor convincing
the entire police staff that there were only 20 people on board, and Dan trying to
suavely extinguish the BBQ with water before it was noticed, unfortunately this created a
large steam cloud which blew directly into the cluster of assembled officers...
-dan-

What happens next? Continued at Technicolor Dreamboat

Here's the table of contents of the whole saga:
Chapter 1: How to Get a Free Yacht
Chapter 2: Maiden Voyage of the Free Yacht
Chapter 3: Fix Broken Stix and other Trix
Chapter 4: Outboard Motor Mutilates Foot
Chapter 5: It's sinking and it's on Fire.
Chapter 6: How To Give Away a Free Yacht
Chapter 7: Get an Even Better One and Fabulize it.
Chapter 8: Celebrate Freedom
Chapter 9: Technicolor Dreamboat
Chapter 10: Privateer Knot
Chapter 11: Dismasted!
Chapter 12: Kiteboat!
Chapter 13: Mast Raising