Moving to SF, location, logistics?

[diannesf]

You're right....sorry about that. I'm used to it, and this time of year, it's so beautiful that I sort of forget. You do have to put up with cooler temperatures in general, but as Steve said, the benefits can outweigh that, although it's completely personal. Some people really can't do it.

We do have a little micro-climate in the north richmond/lake st area, so we don't get nearly as much fog as the or outer richmond. But we do get it, and for at least two weeks every August, I swear I want to move. But just like a windsurfer...I forget the bad experiences quickly and am so grateful to be able to have a great session at the north tower and then drive home on the cliffs past the golden gate and the beaches. And have a garage and a nice place in a laid-back neighborhood. It's all a balancing act.

[jpf18]

Thanks guys for all the impressions

My stuff is on wheels right now and I can keep it in storage for 30 days at no cost to me (sweet), yet without access to it. So... in a few weeks from now I'll have to have an address to send it to... what is a good strategy to find a spot? Where do you guys keep your equipment?
In commercial storage places? Are these OK?

JP

[diannesf]

JP,

If you really need to put it in storage for a while, there is a Public Storage right across the street from Crissy. I don't know how well it would work, but it's really close.

[jpf18]

[rigatoni]

No brainer-live in the city. There is a whole bunch of us who work downtown and sail Crissy after work, usually as the slacker crowd is getting off the water around 5:30pm.

A couple of random thoughts:

1) $100K doesn't go far in the city but you can creatively make it happen.
2) Parking sucks here-if you can find a place with parking/storage it will make your life easier
3) When looking for a place, think the "north side of town." You will be close to Crissy and public transit runs reasonably well in the east-west direction. If I hop on the 38L-Geary bus, I am home in about 15-20 minutes and on the water 15-20 minutes later. Inner Richmond might be a good call.

I live in a 500sf apartment with board storage in the garage and the rest of my stuff in a roof box. You make sacrifices to live here but it is worth it.

[jpf18]

Alright gang... First session at Crissy Field today. With the tide running out I guess I can skip a session report. I am sure everybody was on the water this afternoon. There are distinct differences compared to the East Coast (or Central Coast, for that matter), in particular as far as crowds on land and traffic on the water's concerned. I had hoped to just cruise and enjoy the scenery but it was way too busy on the water. Windsurfers no problem but those bigass boats tacking right in front of the beach or running tourist around or dropping off stranded kiters are not my cupatea. I'll get used to it though. No lazy sailing and sightseeing 'round here then, at least on the weekends, I guess.

Thanks again for all the tips.

I took all the recommendations for the city and finally found a place in the Sunset, with a big single garage. Easy commute on the L. Takes about 30mins. Not a fancy neighborhood, a city light view and fog, but that's a compromise I can make for a year. I suppose I will start showing up in the office early, at least when tide's running out in the evening. I was also checking out Berkeley, but the culture shock moving from Virginia Beach, VA (to answer a question from the thread) would have been probably more that I would have been willing to take.

BTW, I checked out the Public Storage place the other week. There is no decent windsurfing storage available there (I got a Kona, among others). With fewer boards below 9" it might be doable but overall that was not an option that would work. They have kayak storage spaces which might work, but they are all booked long term, as you can imagine.

JP

[jse]

JP,

Today was probably an anomaly. Saturday, day of the swap meet, probably 4 kt ebb, sunny, everyone wants to be on the water. I bet it was confusing. I remember my first Sunday at Crissy - I hated it. I had no time to enjoy myself for watching out for everyone else. It'll take you a few times to get dialed in at Crissy.

This is from my friend Kevin's blog about Crissy today: "So, the lesson learned is always to do the "tour" at Crissy before settling in on sailing one area. It's so diverse and expansive... one area is probably going off, and you'll miss it if you don't look for it." He sailed outside the gate and found some nice swell and less people.

You shoulda come to Tomales today - 6 sailors all day, solid 4.5 winds, nice smooth ebb making big rolling swell. No other traffic on the water. Sail Crissy during the week, head to Tomales, Delta, coast, on weekends to escape the crowd.

Steve

[kevinkan]

Man, today was all-time Crissy for me. Here's my blog post about today's sesh:

http://www.teamdawg.org/blog/show/122

it's 11:30pm now, and I'm still buzzing about today. And as far as crowds go, just sail upwind 50 yards and you will have the place to yourself. There were only about five sailors at a time today outside the gate. Pretty astonishing considering how much better it was there. The ebb over there felt huge today. I remember reaching on starboard toward the red buoy near the south tower... thinking it would make a good jibe marker... only next time to be way upwind of it. Making those downwind runs w/ that much speed was a little scary... much easier to ride the swell to get downwind then crack off a beam reach to get on a speed run.

[slayer666]

[churan]

the hot single chicks are in the city.
your new vehicle is a van or suv with fold down seats.
you dont store your gear, you use it.
keeping your gear with you 365 is the bay way.
you never know when the conditions will go epic. it can happen all year.
key is having a parking space for the car.
SF has bizarre parking situations..
good luck and look at it this way... if it fails you can always go back.
I have survived 10 years to date
florida transplant 1997