Napa Valley wine tasting by sailboat and bike

Susan and Frank Mayo, aboard Amante in Napa

“This is one of those things everyone with a boat should experience,” Susan Mayo says. “It is just so beautiful and peaceful.”

Susan and Frank Mayo were on their second annual Napa Valley Wine Tour in their Island 36, Amante. The Mayos live in Sunnyvale, CA. They keep Amante at the South Beach Harbor, where they are members of the yacht club there.

They left South Beach Friday morning, September 4, and stopped on the way to Napa at the Richmond Yacht Club, where they have reciprocal privileges, arriving in Napa early Saturday afternoon. They had expected to tie up at the Napa Valley Yacht Club, but there was no space available. They could have anchored for up to 72 hours in the Napa River at the Third St. Bridge, but chose instead to tie up at the River Park Marina Homeowners’ dock, courtesy of John Wright, founder of Domaine Chandon. Then they took their dinghy into downtown Napa where they rented bikes for a wine tasting trip up the Silverado Trail.

They left Napa for the sail back to South Beach on Monday, the 7th, planning to make it in a single 5-6- hour leg.

“People told us that boating up the Napa River was difficult, with lots of spots to run aground,” Susan said. “But we had no trouble at all.” Heading back to windward doesn’t both the Mayo’s at all. “This boat loves sailing through San Pablo Bay,” she said. "Lot's of tacks."

The Mayo’s favorites among the wines they tasted were Judd’s Hill old vine zinfandel and Black Stallion’s cabernet sauvignon. They had two dinners in downtown Napa, with standouts being Spanish wine at Zuzu and tuna sashimi at Celadon.

The Mayo’s recently returned from a second honeymoon trip to Greece where they walked through the Samaria Gorge on Crete. “That’s another wonderful experience,” Susan said. “Like the wine tasting sail to Napa.”

The Mayos race in the Islander One Design class, and offshore in the Light Buoy and Drakes Bay races. Susan is an experienced skipper, having skippered a sailboat to Alaska twice.

The wooden ketch in the background of the photo belongs to SF Boating Examiner, Laird Durham.