Where We're Sailing Today / where we sailed today

[KevinDo]

Didn't bring enoug cash so I'm currently waiting outside cabriilo beach for wind lol

[veterduet]

Nice day at Marina Bay. Said Hi! to a seal 50yards out from the beach launch. Sharks can't be far behind. Better stay away from here as well.

Of course windsurfers don't need to worry about moving faster than a shark - they just need to move faster than the nearest kiter!

[NickB]

Was able to get off work early Tuesday and caught some (barely) 135L/7.0@145lb conditions in the Harbour Bay Ferry channel 3:30p-4:30p, mostly planing but took some subtle trim, back foot often in front of its strap. Then a 10 minutes slog back.

Yesterday (Wednesday) looked like it would be a repeat, so I opted for 260L/7.7, and the wind decided to crank up to 15-20mph (4p-5:30p), filling in nicely all the way to the beach. Quite a workout on that setup, with a new PB of 23.6mph on this monster (straps removed for a good old-school feel, so a few very close calls in the chop!).

Thursday repeat of Wednesday, a little less gusts and chop. 260L/7.7 4p-6:30p.

[bobt100]

What brand and model board and sail are you using. Pretty cool that you are getting all these good days in at Alameda.

[NickB]

Hi Bob,

Alameda is now the only spot were I windsurf (I just pull my gear on a caddy through a couple of streets and a park to the beach), so I had to adapt my equipment.

For the white-cap days and/or very low tide, I use a RRD Fireride 135L with twin 24cm weed fins (Unifiber/Lessacher) with a 7.0 Ezzy Freeride IV sail. This has been my favorite Alameda setup for 3 seasons, getting me planing sessions pretty much every time I suspected enough wind (even if far outside, likely when OAK is reading >17mph). It has also always brought me back through countless boring hours of slog between the beach and the capricious wind line. The Ezzy is extremely tunable and pulls like a horse when bagged out, yet I can handle it up to 25mph gusts when flat (rare, and I usually stop then to preserve my ankles).

This year, in an effort to extend my TOW to non-planing days, I added a 2012 Starboard Phantom 320, which I use with an old NP Hellcat 7.7 bagged-out for light-wind. Even though I don't use it for its intended purpose (and I'm sure it'd be awesome with the recommended 8.5/9.5 race quiver), I have been having a blast and planing much more often than I would have thought: I leave the beach with the 78cm centerboard down and the mast track forward, I ride/foil it upwind on the rail looking for more wind outside. If I don't find it towards the aircraft carrier, I go look towards the Harbor Bay ferry channel and the Oakland airport. Worst case I'm having a nice and warm glide session, old-school summer vacation style. But I almost always get to a point where it's hard not to capsize with the centerboard down, and that's my cue to retract the centerboard, move the mast track back, and plane downwind. If the wind picks up too much and the 260L get iffy to handle strapless in the chop, I put the mast track forward for more control until I get to the flats by Crab Cove and I'm then rewarded by glassy long-board speed runs (a bit slower than those though).

Probably more info than you asked for, but I feel Alameda is so under-rated. It's a nice park, a 2 mile long sand beach with onshore safety, it's sunny and warm where everything else is cold and damp, I got over 40 planing session since Feb. 26th. We need more light-wind adepts over here! Bring your families and your sailable SUPs for guaranteed fun!

[veterduet]

Went to Berkeley Friday after 4 straight good sailing days at Marina Bay. Came to the conclusion that I'd rather be O.P.'d at Isabel than P.O.'d at Berkeley! The sensors must be switched.

[bert]

Thought about the Delta today but its too frickin far so I decided to go to Oyster at 1 pm. Godsey was right about wind at Tigers. I planed immediately on a 5.0 and shot past the birdcage to the southern tip of the airport, gybed and headed past Sierra Point where the wind sorta petered out ( I wanted to make it to the Stick). Went back to play at Tigers and wondered why more people don't sail here

[ronm41]

Washoe Lake, yesterday truly amazing, not for the quality of wind which was decent(18-25) but just the amount of people windsurfing and kiting. Counted 15 windsurfers and almost thirty kiters out. Kinda reminds me of the old days when a good day here was dozens of windsurfers and lots of Hobies flailing all over the lake. Making a comeback? probably not for windsurfing as no new folks but plenty of hackers and newbies trying and failing at kiting.

[windoggie]

Berkeley Sunday. Hours of powered up fun!

[koogzah]