The tides and resulting currents are a big part of successfully sailing the Bay. May I suggest you look into either the Coast Guard Auxiliary or Power Squadron classes to get a better understanding. Here is a large scale version of the current chart in the back of most tide books.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7758645/SF%2...20Currents.pdf
When planning you can determine where you need to be to best utilize the currents, or have the least negative effects.
Latitude 38 lists lectures around the bay at various locations, including yacht clubs. In Marin, the Corinthian has a lecture every two weeks for some sailing topic, recently, what its like on the commercial shipping, dealing with us yachties, previous to that, emergencies at sea, particularly a portion of COB. There is much to learn, and more to enjoy.