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Newcomer to North CA - advice requested from locals
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moigno



Joined: 09 Jun 2012
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 2:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks so much guys. Lots of food for thought there.

A buddy of mine already living there recommended Santa Cruz as a good bet for a youngish single guy like myself, and from a windsurfing point of view I've always been used to coastal sailing rather than sheltered areas (although I appreciate the bay is huge). I do appreciate that the commute could be brutal though and there are other factors to consider. Sunnyvale area sounds doable for me too, I could do the bay in the evenings and the coast at weekends. I'll hopefully be in a corporate apartment for about a month after I arrive so I'll have some breathing space before committing to renting a place. I've just realised I already know a sailor over there, I believe he usually launches from San Mateo.

The cost of shipping my gear (even one board, two sails/masts and all the other bits) is looking like it could be brutal so I may well consider selling the lot before I arrive and picking up some new bits when I arrive. I'll be packing my inflatable SUP to get me out on the water in the meantime Smile

Really looking forward to it. I'll be back with more questions for sure, and I'll see some of you on the water at some point too.
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moigno



Joined: 09 Jun 2012
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 2:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Also, I meant to ask... what resource(s) are good for checking local forecasts over there? We are big fans of windguru.cz here, anybody use that?
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YippieYo



Joined: 16 Jul 2000
Posts: 108
Location: San Francisco

PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 2:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

moigno wrote:
... I've always been used to coastal sailing rather than sheltered areas (although I appreciate the bay is huge)....


Hi,

Not sure if I'm reading this correctly, but if you think SF Bay is just a big lake where we all BAF on our Original Windsurfers taking advantage of our sheltered conditions, you'll be in for a surprise! Our spots on the Bay provide exciting and challenging conditions. 3rd Ave has very big swell when it's ebbing and the wind is strong, Crissy Field dishes out strong wind, strong current, challenging chop & swell, and a whole mess of small boats, medium-sized ferries, and huge container ships. And there a host of other spots that can dish out all that most of us can handle on a lot of days. And I really believe the talent level is very high here as well.

Just saying, don't knock it for being "just a bay". It's The Bay. I love it.
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boggsman1



Joined: 24 Jun 2002
Posts: 9118
Location: at a computer

PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 3:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Get a 5.0, and a Goya One, 86ltr. Live halfway between 3rd and Crissy(which also gets you over the hill to Waddel). Crissy sailing is hardly "bay" sailing...you've got S.Tower swell, Ocean swells outside the GGB, and the standing "wave" at the NTower. 3rd will deliver the goods on an EBB. And Waddel is as good as it gets.
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gerritt



Joined: 06 May 1998
Posts: 632
Location: Redwood City, CA

PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Why I live on the Peninsula:

Windsurfing:
1. 10 minutes to 3rd;
2. 10 minutes to Coyote;
3. 20 minute to the stick;
4. 35 minutes to Treasure;
5. 45 minutes to Crissy;
6. 50 minutes to Waddell;
7. 60 minutes to the other place;
8. 75 minutes to Rio Vista.

Surfing:
1. 20 minutes to Half Moon Bay;
2. 30 minutes to Linda Mar;
3. 40 minute to Ocean Beach;
4. 60 minutes to Santa Cruz spots;

100 days a year is for pussies. I've got 60 days windsurfing so far this year, 20 days surfing, a full-time career, wife, two kids, and a mortgage. Life is what you make it. You are moving yours in the right direction by moving here. Get a car that you can keep your gear inside and be ready to go 24/7. Get a job with flex hours and you'll be a happy camper. Live near sailing, not your job. You will end your day sailing anyway, so why not be close to home when you finish.
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lsb



Joined: 21 Apr 1999
Posts: 13

PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just have to put a plug in for Santa Cruz. It's (a little) cheaper than the Peninsula, there's plenty of good sailing 10 minutes - 1.5 hours away and we have good days in town too. A mostly-overlooked spot is Natural Bridges, it's tough to predict but can have wind on days when even Waddell and Davenport don't, and it's mostly open water, bump-and-jump.

Of course, we have epic waves, too, but mid-summer the conditions get a lot friendlier. And my personal experience is that the coastal sailors are the friendliest (maybe cuz there's fewer of us). In general, CA sailors are friendly and welcoming to the newcomer, pretty rare to see the territoriality that you get surfing.

And you really can't beat Santa Cruz for beautiful scenery, recreational options, and pretty people I've done the commute for many years to the Silicon Valley, and I think it's totally worth it!

Just my two cents...
Lisa in Santa Cruz.
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ctuna



Joined: 27 Jun 1995
Posts: 1125
Location: Santa Cruz Ca

PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 6:22 pm    Post subject: The bay area is the coast california and the world is wired Reply with quote

The bay area is the coast california and the world is wired
by iwindsurf.com and its sub off shoot windalerts. cost about 14 bucks
a month

Some free ones
http://www.poulton.net/windsurf/wrpt.html

http://www.met.sjsu.edu/cgi-bin/wind/windbin.cgi

http://www.wunderground.com/wundermap/?sat=1

http://sat.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/1km/Monterey/VIS1MRY.GIF

http://www.goinoff.com/

also surfline.com for regular surfing


The thing about Santa Cruz is its a place where you want to be outside
doing something all the time. Not so much so in Silicon Valley.
The cost of the commute is getting high in terms of what we are use
to paying in the states for fuel.

Windsurfers are very friendly to each other here
sometimes there are rare traffic problems between us and
kiters at a very few places.
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moigno



Joined: 09 Jun 2012
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 1:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hah, sorry if I underestimated what The Bay is capable of producing. My existing experience of sailing in enclosed water hasn't been great, I knew SF Bay was way bigger than anything I've done before but its a pleasant surprise to hear that its capable of producing big swell.

I'll have to think hard about where to live. I have a lot of factors to consider, although where/how to windsurf is one of the biggest Wink I'll talk to a few people I know over there and of course take on board everything I've heard here.
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kirk



Joined: 10 Apr 2000
Posts: 158

PostPosted: Sat Jun 16, 2012 4:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

gerritt wrote:
100 days a year is for pussies. I've got 60 days windsurfing so far this year, 20 days surfing, a full-time career, wife, two kids, and a mortgage. Life is what you make it.

Don't you work for the government? Not sure a tech job allows so much time off... Very Happy

...unless you have a windsurfing friendly boss who lets you work odd hours which I did when I worked at HP in San Jose before it became Agilent then Avago... then gone.

Anyway, I lived in Sunnyvale and drove my van with gear to San Jose to work early in the AM to leave at 3PM so I could windsurf at Coyote, Third Ave. or Palo Alto in the early 1990s. Commute was tough then and worse now.... but doable if you lived near 85 and could take HWY home 280 from Coyote or Third Ave in the evenings when 101 backs up.

I moved closer to Coyote and now live in Los Altos to be about halfway between San Jose and Coyote to be in a great town, but you need some stock gains these days as housing is expensive now with all the facebook and Google money. Goal was to get North of HWY 85 to beat the backups there.... Mountain View and Sunnyvale are reasonable to buy or rent and a good compromise for traffic, etc.

gerritt in San Mateo / San Carlos area probably has the ideal location for access if you can drive in the early AM to San Jose to beat traffic and get out early to windsurf... or work at home until traffic dies down.

I Look forward to meeting you!

_________________
Best Regards
Kirk Out
http://bayareawindsurfing.blogspot.com/
http://kirklindstrom.blogspot.com/
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pacspeed



Joined: 14 Sep 2000
Posts: 627

PostPosted: Sat Jun 23, 2012 11:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Im gonna make a vote for living in the city. (Thats what we call San Francisco proper 'round these parts)

If youre young and single...it's tough to beat. Look for a place in the SOMA (south of market) neighborhood, or the Mission District. Both of these are on the south side of the city, near the freeways or train that can get you to your job in the south bay. SO yes, theres a 40-60 minute commute to work, but youre living in nirvana for unattached ladies, top-notch restaurant/bar/cultural mix, and right smack in the middle of the action for windsurfing, surfing, and everything else NorCal has to offer.

Save Santa Cruz or the suburbs for later in life when you need a decent place for wife and kids.
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