From sailing on the bay to visiting the iconic island prison, San Francisco is the perfect city break

“There are seven species of sharks in this bay…”

Those are the 10 words I don't want to hear while clinging to the stern of USA 76, a retired America's Cup racing yacht, as it makes its way from San Francisco's famous Fisherman's Wharf toward the Golden Gate Bridge.

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Captain Pete and Captain John got to work on the winches and we were soon out of port.

With a shout of “Tilt!” (warning those not using the winch to switch to the higher side of the boat) we faced upwind, the lower side tilting towards the water.

This experience is not for the faint of heart or those who dislike work.

A crew of 14 is needed to operate the ship, but with only four experts on board, they have no choice but to join in.

As we passed Alcatraz, I was handed the wheel.

“It's just like driving a car!” John encourages.

I couldn’t find any similarities, but the adrenaline rush quickly blew away any signs of jet lag.

Watch the sun go down as you head underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, a picture-postcard view you'd never get to see from land.

Sailing experiences cost from £87 per person for two and a half hours (Acsailingsf.com).

Pizza Action

Ready to refuel, we head to Tony's Pizza Napoletana in Little Italy, a 15-minute walk from the pier, but first we stop at Pier 39 to watch the playful sea lions.

Founder Tony Gemignani is a 13-time World Pizza Champion, and one slice of the 20-inch Coalfire New Yorker (£30) and it's easy to see why. Topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, fennel, Calabrese sausage, two kinds of pepperoni and ricotta, it's got no signs of soggy bottom. (Tonyspizzanapoletana.com)

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Around the corner is Vesuvio Café, where I walk through the saloon doors and order a signature Jack Kerouac cocktail (£12), a mix of rum, tequila, cranberry and orange juice.

This eclectic bar is known for its beatnik roots, with art on the walls and plenty of beer poured (Vesuvio.com).

The best views of the city can be seen from Dolores Park, so I start my day the next day with a morning bun (£4.50) from Tartine Bakery (Tartinebakery.com), topped with a giant cinnamon-sugar and candied orange peel.

I ate it at the top of the park, then bought some otherworldly carnitas tacos (£3.20) at La Taqueria (Lataqueriasf.com) before catching a taxi to the PayPal Park football stadium.

kick off

The home ground of soccer teams San Jose Earthquakes and new club Bay FC, which signed Arsenal Women's defender Jen Beattie this year, is just under an hour away and costs £36.

The atmosphere was festival-like, with a pre-match DJ set, numerous food stalls on the sidelines and a breakdancing show at halftime.

Even better, tickets start from £11 (Bayfc.com).

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The match finished 3-2 for Bay FC and we headed back into the city to celebrate the victory with creamy gin-based Silver Fizz (£16) at Starlite Lounge, a posh rooftop bar with 360-degree views of the glittering skyline (Beacongrand.com/starlite).

We're staying at The Jay, a new hotel in the Financial District, whose rooms are full of trendy accents, like Crittol-style showers and bouclé sofas.

Less than five minutes away is the Ferry Building, an indoor market that houses artisan bakery ACME Bread Co. There I bought a crisp cinnamon swirl (£3.35) for breakfast and a fancy cheese sandwich (£7.75) with fig jam, rocket leaf and Mt Tam triple cream cheese from local Cowgirl Creamery for lunch later (Acmebread.com).

You can spend hours exploring the nearby Fog City Flea Trading Post (Shoptradingpost.com), a treasure trove of indie fashion, home and beauty brands, including local sustainable skincare brand Bathing Culture (Bathingculture.com) and LA-based Biology Functional Fragrances (Biologyfragrances.com).

But I walked away before I could convince myself to spend £15 on adorable avocado toast nail clips.

Jailhouse Rock

Of course, no first trip would be complete without a visit to Alcatraz Island.

The ferry departs from Pier 33. From the Ferry Building, it's a 20-minute walk along the waterfront to begin your self-guided tour of the main cell block, which can be unsettling but is very fascinating.

Day tours cost £36 per person (Cityexperiences.com).

When we got back to the pier it started to rain so we headed to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art to get up close and personal with Frida Kahlo's wedding portrait, Frida and Diego Rivera, Yayoi Kusama's “Pumpkin Love My Heart's Love” (a giant polka dot pumpkin sculpture taller than me), and works by Matisse, Pollock and Warhol. Entry was £24 per person (Sfmoma.org) for the jam-packed seven floors of the museum.

The final morning inevitably comes early.

We ordered giant SMSF pancakes (£13) and Millionaire Candy (£11) (reputedly candy bacon) at Sweet Maple (Sweetmaplesf.com) and then headed to Presidio National Park (Presidio.gov), which is chock-full of hiking trails.

Walk the sands of Crissy Field Beach, then climb to the roof of Fort Point, a Civil War-era fort, for one last view of the majestic Golden Gate Bridge, ending your trip where it began.

Photo: Getty Images, Instagram/Tartine Bakery