Where We Sailed Today

[windward1]

Wilson Looks happy and the "phone" is still in place, so no Coast Guard calls.

Sailed Natural Bridges today. Four sailors out at various times. One was out for the first time in 15 years! On a SeaTrend and Gaastra 5.0 sail. Said his previous board was shot, but found the SeaTrend on a stack of stuff outside of someone's residence with a "FREE" sign on it.

Welcome back, Bob.

W1

[Jrobb]

Sailed Dillion Point/ 12th street/ not sure the official name.

Found myself in Benicia and having no idea this was here decided to give it a try.

135l Rocket 7.5 Retro and I was off and having a great time. Sailed 2:30-4 powerd up slightly gusty to slightly op’d. First time on this gear. I could have added downhaul but I was already gassed.

Love the retro and rocket. Retro has a big tuning range I’ll have to play with.

One other sailor and a couple kitefoils. When I left a couple other sailors went out.

I was told the conditions were better than expected.


J

[windward1]

Launched from Scott's Creek for the first time. Two other windsurfers with me. And one kiter was there. Kiter on an 8M and said he needed smaller. He flew in from Utah to kite for the day. Had just come from a session at Waddell. I was on a Quatro Quad and a Ezzy Panther 4.7. One of the other windsurfers was on an Ezzy 5.0 and the other on a 5.8. Roadside parking near the launch is a little sketchy, plus fighting the blackberry thorns and what not on the path down (and up), but it was a heck of a lot of fun sailing there. Water color on the outside was just beautiful. This deep turquoise blue that was truly gorgeous. Wind hits the beach hard and there are no upwind cliffs creating wind shadows. However, there is a bluff which one can rig comfortably behind at the beach.

[ctuna]

Windward1
How did you get past the highway 1 shutdown do to the Iron Man.
Why not Wadell or Davenport?

[windward1]

The report was for yesterday. Today was the iron man and Highway 1 & West Cliff shutdown. In fact it kept me from getting out to the good wind at Natural Bridges today. So Scott's Creek was my 90th session for 2018. Still chasing Bert.

Wanted to try Scott's as I have been to Davenport and Waddell hundreds of times. The only time I have windsurfed Scott's before, I sailed up and back from Davenport Landing. Wanted to try launching right there at Scott's. As reported, it is not the easiest or most convenient place. Probably what makes it uncrowded.

W1

[gerritt]

I haven't sailed Scott's proper in 20 years. Like Windward, I've sailed up from Davi and back, but haven't launched from Scott's in a good long while. Perhaps, I need to go back before the year's out?

As for 9/9, I was torn at 3:30 between reported 20 second long period south swell and 24 avg reading at the 3rd Ave Channel with an ebb tide running. Per the Google machine, traffic to the coast was reported to be light. So, I pulled away at 3:45 and left wind to find wind...

An hour later, I arrived at the spot to find strong wind and waves in the head high zone. Sailed to sunset on a 4.5 with 80 liters. Mostly wind swell coming through, but the occasional ground swell sets did roll through at about head high, allowing for multiple turns. Too many rides to count. Fall daze ahead...

[dllee]

Berkeley didn't blow over the weekend. I like Gazos for punchy power waves and Pigeon Pt. for medium to high tide long swell riding on bigger days.

[gerritt]

I've never seen anyone windsurf Pidgeon Point. I know someone who sailed it north of the lighthouse this past winter, but not south. Occasionally, I'll see a surfer or two sitting near the rock just south and inside of the lighthouse.

We've all seen those very smooth, very offshore, windswept waves breaking just south and inside of the lighthouse. The problems are: access (where to launch and how to get your gear down to the beach), and rocks (those waves break onto numerous rocks. So, sketchy!

Please advise, oh well traveled one. I know you've surfed and sailed many breaks from the past.

As far as Gazos, calling it punchy is putting it mildly. Crunchy is more like it. I've done it alone and with others probably 10 times over the years. North of the rock on the beach is a better launch. Mostly, it breaks left. So backside riding tends to be the wave wants you to go. Going frontside right for an off the lip south of the rock with size takes balls and timing, as it breaks top to bottom. I watched Bruce Dilbeck (he's got balls and timing - at 65 - and is one of my heroes) do two perfect off the lips along a wave and on his third attempt on the same wave, land in the pit and get destroyed. His two piece mast became a 5 piece mast.

I've considered sailing way upwind from Gazos to the lighthouse, but have never done it. Were and how did you make it happen?

[dllee]

If you drive S from Pigeon along the dirt pullout area, you come to a V cut before the "cliffs", they're maybe 20' high mostly, turn to face the longswells. That is the launchsite, and a windprotected rigging beach at low to medium tides. Beachstart from there with a uphaulable board, the wind usually much steadier than launching at Davs or It's. Slogpinch just downwind of the shoulders of the long soon to be J Bay rights [1,500 years from now], usually planing by half way out, then pick your wave to jibe onto. The waves break easy like PSC, so you really never get punished for mistakes.
Yes, I've sailed KB beach N of Pigeon, Bean Hollow, Pesca and Pomps in my search for waves with wind.
I worked at a surfshop for 15 years before I tried windsurfing. You can see 4 of my shapes hanging from the second floor of Wise's.

[dllee]

And yes, I've sailed N of Ano at the cattlegate and walk to the lone tree, 4 mile, 2nd Point Ano, Greg, Tun, Martin's, Snowwhite and all those beaches up to Distillery, but not Montara nor Mav.