SFB Speed King Event

SpeedRoo · Joined: 27 Sep 2006 Posts: 89

I think Boris may be a bit confused, it's speedsailing. Speedsurfing is that weird thing they do in Europe wearing speedos! Maybe that's the right name for the things they do down in San Francisco. It you want some real speedsailing head up to Northwest where the fastest speeds on a windsurfer in the USA have all been recorded. Also it's too cold to wear speedos up here! Season starts in October at ARooBar just inside the mouth of the mighty Columbia river.

Roo
Speedsailor without speedos

keycocker · Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 3598

What are those fastest speeds ever recorded?

SpeedRoo · Joined: 27 Sep 2006 Posts: 89

Max speed around 46 knots, 500 m 41 knots

fearlu · Joined: 30 Apr 1997 Posts: 155

So fun to race for pink-slips like this using GPS! The off-shore conditions at Doran/Hart's had me swimming my speed needle back in the day at the Barcardi Breezer California Boardsailor Speedcheck. (You know, "trolling for Whitey"!) Laughing

tramontana00 · Joined: 15 Feb 2010 Posts: 204

SpeedRoo · Joined: 27 Sep 2006 Posts: 89

No need to go to the Bay to go quick, can go just as fast up here in the Gorge! It always the right time to go fast and ARooBar is the place to do it. We can always have a King of the Columbia.

superkraut · Joined: 18 Mar 2001 Posts: 346

[quote="paypal"]I think Boris may be a bit confused, it's speedsailing. Speedsurfing is that weird thing they do in Europe wearing speedos!

Roo
Speedsailor without speedos

its a European thing indeed - "windsurfing" here is called "surfing" there, hence the GPS speed site is "GPS-Speedsurfing"
just go fast already!

dsgrntlxmply · Joined: 16 Jun 2010 Posts: 255

Re: Harts / Bodega

Harts beach is a small strip of sand adjacent to the public boat launch ramp at Doran. It is a launch point for sailing in the Bodega harbor channel. People who use this for speed sailing, typically do so during low tides during peak wind season (Jan-Apr). During this part of the season, the water and air can be quite cold, and the wind typically is quite gusty.

Entry to Doran is $7 for day use, or $69 for an annual pass (good at all Sonoma County Parks locations).

I have sailed there a few times, but have come to recognize that my skills (especially jibes) are insufficient to sail there safely. The channel can at times be quite busy with commercial and personal boat traffic. USCG Station Bodega Bay is located there, and when a 47 MLB gets dispatched on an emergency call, I do not want be in their way.

During peak wind season, there are maybe 5-7 regulars at Harts during its best conditions. One sailor said that his GPS showed 42 MPH on one reach, and I recall that winds that day were gusting to around 35 MPH.

There are reports that a Great White was seen disassembling a seal right off the USCG station, and that someone photographed it. I have not seen the pictures, and do not know when this was claimed to have happened.

I sail Bodega regularly, and launch at the little bit of beach adjacent to Bodega Harbour Yacht Club. Bat rays can be fairly numerous there, and I have seen leopard sharks while paddleboarding. Weed fins are necessary during much of the season on that side of the harbor due to eel grass. I do not believe that eel grass is a factor in the channel at Harts.

I would not rate the bat rays as a real hazard, but one needs to be aware that they are there. I was once splashed by a large one trying to move rapidly away from my board, but that is the worst that has happened.

One person claimed to have seen a Great White in the channel near the Yacht Club launch early last year. I have never seen one there, and I would like to believe it unlikely that one would travel all the way up and around the harbor channel, but maybe it happens.