Sunset Sailboards San Francisco

One thing that makes the San Francisco Bay area such a great windsurfing spot is its consistency.  Given a flexible work schedule and a predilection for driving, I can pretty much count on windsurfing almost every day during the season which spans roughly April through September... and that's for "normal sized"gear (I typically run my sail quiver from 3.7 to 5.6).  Outside of our normal season things get a little more dicey.  Fickle fall thermals in October transition into offshore flow and Indian Summer conditions in November which are better suited to surfing than windsurfing.  Then winter comes and who knows what will happen.  Some years we get frequent storm winds that range from steady and mellow 5.6 outings to epic 3.7 overpowered survival sessions.

Wind this winter has been particularly sparse.  I can't remember a year with so few windsurfable storms, so it was a nice treat finally to get some storm wind and sail spots like Half Moon Bay, which doesn't work on our normal in season weather pattern.

A few of us on Monday actually checked out Linda Mar, a surf spot that rarely gets windsurfable wind, but it seemed so gusty/holey, that we opted for surfing instead.  There was one guy out on a 4.7, planing intermittently and trying to pick up a few turns.  The waves were better than the wind, so I think we made the best choice, but it still would have been fun to rig up and try it out anyway.

The next day, the wind cranked up a notch and went straight offshore at Linda Mar, so we drove south another 20 minutes to Half Moon Bay where 25mph SE winds were already happening.  Not a rain drop in sight and nice steady wind was perfect for my Maui Sails Legend 4.2 and New Wave 81.  Days like this are really fun and help get me through my windsurfing withdrawal.

The following day showed some clearing and a more regular SW slant to the wind.  I made the drive over to Berkeley where my buddies were out on 4.8/4.9's.  Of course the wind died by the time I actually rigged up and got on the water.  Should've left earlier, but at least I snapped a few pictures.  I always like seeing the cranes of the Port of Oakland in the background.