Drivin to San Fran, wheres da spot

matt99eo · Since 12 Jun 2008 72 Posts

heading down to the treasure island music festival for a sick show and hopin to hit some kitin on the way. Wheres da spot? Sherman Island?

eric · Since 13 Jan 2006 1871 Posts XTreme Poster

my favorite spot is Berkeley. Launch from the beach a mile south of the Berkeley Marina exit. Head up wind and kite through the slot between the rebuilt pier, and the old pier. You are now in Olympic Circle. Nice wind, decent chop, NO crowds. I have an Eastbay bias as I can't handle the traffic getting to Crissy, 3rd ave, or Coyote. I don't really like Sherman very much, but that's just me. Alameda will be too light 80% of the time. Nice beach, though.

Eric

shred_da_gorge · Tue Oct 06, 09 8:21 pm

Most of the consistent wind is at 3rd Ave or Crissy, but this time of year gets hit or miss. Alameda and Berkeley blow on fronts and it sounds like you'll be in that area. I haven't kited Sherman yet but am told it has a funky launch. The local forum is http://www.bayareakiteboarding.com (BAK), but I couldn't get the 'sites' tab to work. (Don't kite Crissy unless you really know what you're doing).

genek · Since 21 Jul 2006 2165 Posts East Po KGB

Sherman Island is best for flat water. 3rd ave can be backup. Waddell for waves. Crissy is sketchy with fluky wind and strong currents so don't bother. Never tried riding Berkeley. Definitely getting into the sketchier wind season so check weather before heading anywhere.

Wind Slither · Since 04 Mar 2005 2624 Posts The 503 METAL

Crissy is funky, but it's definately an experience to kite near/under the Golden Gate Bridge!

I saw somewhere that it's supposed to be light this week, so Berkley may be your last resort...

jack · Since 12 Mar 2006 215 Posts Stoked

crissy cant be beat for the experience and the view. great swell and flat water can be found at the southern base of the bridge. hazards there are overrated, but pay attention to the fog and tides. the wind is flukiest closest to shore on most days the rest is totally fine.

matt99eo · Since 12 Jun 2008 72 Posts

Sweet. Well hopefully I can catch some wind at one of the spots. If not, at least it will be a killer concert!

http://treasureislandfestival.com/

shred_da_gorge · Wed Oct 07, 09 2:38 pm

Here's a useful link for 3rd: http://arbor-studios.com/thirdavecam.html

Looks like a great lineup! Too bad I've got a bike race; I'd love to hear Bob Mould these days.

Sasquatch · Since 09 Mar 2005 2103 Posts PNW Bigfoot

Quote from Wind Slither: "Just finished an amazing trip down to the Bay Area and up the Nor-Cal coast. Barfly and I packed up the campers and got really lucky with sun and wind every day.

I spent a lot of time searching for info on the Nor-Cal coast before the trip and had a tough time finding much on anything north of Dillion Beach. Only Mocean stepped up with some recommendations around Eureka. So here is a brief synopis of our trip for future planners.

Day 1 & 2: Sherman (Like the Gorge with lots of wide open chop and some island slicks. No big swell and not as scenic. Wind blows 24 hours/day - kites in the air when I woke up, and when I went to bed.)

Day 3: Berkley/Emeryville (Last resort on many light days. We had solid 11m. Onshore. You don't want to wash into the rocks or drop your kite on the freeway!)

Day 4: Crissy (Sailing under the Golden Gate is very cool! Big, spooky, open ocean feel to it. We had honkin gusty 9m winds and some of the most jumbled up, knee-bashing swell on the inside I have ever ridden.

Day 5 & 6: Dillon Beach (Fun reefy A frames all spaced apart. NW wind is onshore here. After lots of waves, we downwinded into Tomales Bay where it's buttery. There's is a lot of water moving around.

Day 7: Westport: (Solid 9m and a gluttany of steep faces. Rocks downwind and fields of bull whip kelp that would stop you in your tracks. (see pics below)

Day 8: Klamath River Mouth: (Lots of protected butter on the inside of the estuary. When I was there the ocean was a double overhead shore pound but I hear there can be a great wave there. My 14m was perfect in the estuary but I could have probably had a 9m on the ocean.)

Day 9: Cresent Beach: (Beautiful beach with side/side off in a N/NW wind. Fairly good 11m with some occasional holes on the inside. Nice waves and only 6.5 hours from PDX!)

My take away is that the Nor-Cal coast has unlimited kiting and camping possiblities and we just scratched the surface. You need to go on a good forecast though, as many of the people we talked to, said they don't often see that kind of wind and sun. "

http://www.nwkite.com/forums/t-13892.html&highlight=