Tuesday, December 31, 2013

King Tide at Palo Alto Baylands - 2013

Tides for today according to Calaveras Point, west of, San Francisco Bay, California

Jack and I verified that the tide was fairly accurate as sticks in the water at the sailing station were visibly moving back towards the Bay about ten minutes past eleven.

Here are photos taken with my Nikon D60:
























These next photos were taken with my 3 year old MyTouch 4G smart phone.






Monday, November 4, 2013

Sails Away - End of Season with Guest - PRIMO

On Sunday afternoon, November 3, 2013, Alak and Munir hosted the party at their home with Guest of honor, Primo, providing the food and cooking up great tasting variety of meat on the grills.
Click the images for full screen


















I can't wait for spring sailing but we hope to get in a few storm days before the next season.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Windsurfing at Candlestick on a Weekday

Windsurfing CANDLESTICK on a regular weekday, JUNE 14th 2013, SAN FRANCISCO.

Candlestick used to be the place for beginners and intermediates, but now with "freestyle" boards and skills, many advanced to expert freestyle sailors love sailing "the stick" where they can get good speed for flat water tricks on small pieces of chop.

Here is a video of some of the expert regulars doing some tricks.

Wind graph for June 14, 2013 at "the stick."

From iwindsurf:  Candlestick Point Overview
The Stick is the place for flat water high wind sailing. When the Giants played at Candlestick Park, the Stick became notorious nationwide for the blasts of wind that would send fly balls on erratic trajectories. One time a pitcher was even knocked off the mound here. Candlestick lacks the big swell of Coyote and 3rd Avenue, but if you are feeling the need for speed this is the place. The offshore winds and short fetch makes for small white caps so it is easy to underestimate the wind. Check out other sailors' sail sizes. Because of the powerful and sometimes flukey offshore wind, beginners must be very cautious about getting blown down wind. However, with supervision this can be a good place to learn since there is good wind near shore.  
The Stick is warmer than most Bay sites due to the shallow water and weak tidal flow inside. However a full wetsuit is recommended due to the offshore wind. You launch out of a rocky cove. The winds from the cove are side-shore but once you are outside the winds are effectively offshore. At high tides, do not sail too close to shore since the shoreline rocks will be just below the surface.  
The park has restrooms, picnic areas,, windbreaks and good fishing from the pier upwind. There is limited parking at the prime location but only a short walk to lots of parking.  
Cars have been broken into and valuables should be safely hidden within vehicles. Remaining after dark is not a good idea. Weed is readily available from the locals, ask for Loc Dogg, mention you are looking for some "budd".