SFBA June 95 Newsletter


The Following are excerpts from the SFBA June 1995 Newsletter:

1994 Dues Pretty Dismal Only 500 out of 1,600 members paid their 1994 calendar year dues.

This has resulted in insufficient operating funds for the Association and will critically cripple the organization. Without YOUR membership contribution: The newsletters will stop. The WindTalkers will be disconnected. The portable toilets will be removed.

The SFBA Board of Directors is committed to running the organization within the annual membership dues contributed by each of you, each year. In 1994 we made extensive efforts to reduce our operating costs by an estimated $4,000. This was accomplished due to the tremendous contributions of Dave Van Harn managing our mailing list (Northbay) and Kristin Mortimore (Crissy) managing our mailbox. Despite these efforts, increased costs from postage, cost over-runs at parties, and the ongoing costs of portable toilets & phone lines have drained our operating costs into the RED for the first time ever. Past President Burch Thomsen and current President Keith Epstein have shifted funds to cover the costs of this newsletter and current obligations. But after this, there will be no more.

We're making the renewal of your 1995 membership easier than ever before!!

Simply:
1. Peel off your mailing label & affix it to the renewal form
2. Complete your check.
3. Return (1) renewal form, (2) check & (3) ballot in the return envelope.
4. Don't forget the stamp!!

The current financial situation is kind of like being knee deep on a shortboard doing the hula with no wind, two miles from shore, in an ebb tide, the fog lowering, its getting dark . . . So please, help us get off on a screaming plane in the sunshine by sending in your membership dues for 1995.

Peninsula Chapter Growing and Active

More Parking at Third Ave

The Foster City Council gave approval to expanding and paving the parking lot at the Third Avenue windsurfing launch. The parking lot will be expanded to 100 cars (currently there's only room for about 60 cars) and the relocate d access road will allow for overflow parking along the sides. To express your gratitude, call the City of Foster City at (415) 349-1200, or better yet, send a fax to (415) 574-3483 (cities like to see things in writing). Thanks to the SFBA for organizing two excellent presentations to the City Council and showing them just how much this site means to windsurfing in the Bay Area.

Golfers...Theproposed VB Golf project immediately north of the Third Avenue launch site has been given the go ahead from Foster City. Now we will have something else to do when there is no wind. While you wait at Third Avenue for the wind to come up, practice your duck-jibes, helicopter tacks, pirouette jibes, and other transitions on the simulator kindly installed by some of your aquatic brethren

Bill Lennan

All Hands On Deck: Third Avenue Clean-Up, Fix-Up, and Barbecue Saturday, June 17

Saturday, June 17 starting at 9 a.m. (we need to catch the early low tide) SFBA will sponsor a work session, followed by a barbecue and sailing. We will be celebrating the news that Foster City will be paving and expanding the parking area and providing more overflow parking. We should also be able to admire the new SFBA-funded safety/bulletin board sign, which should be installed by then. We will be putting down another layer of gravel in the rigging area, cleaning up glass, loose rocks, etc. Most importantly, we hope to have Foster City helping us with a long-awaited effort to fix the ends of the launch ramps. The plan is to use sandbags to replace the current pile of concrete and rock at the ends. This method has been perfected by the Rio Vista Boardsailing Association over the years. We expect that Foster City will pay for the materials and hopefully provide some mechanized assistance with the larger rock moving. We will fill, hand stitch closed, and place the sandbags. You should bring work gloves, mud shoes, picks, prybars, rakes, water and rags for clean-up, and a desire to get dirty and stinky. Look for the return of the Mud Man from last year! SFBA will provide basic foodstuffs and refreshments. You may want to bring some drinks and snacks yourself to make sure there is enough for all.

Randy Anderson

Larkspur Wind Report Courtesy San Quentin State Prison!

Larkspur is unquestionably the best place in the Bay for advanced sailors who sail with a less skilled partner. Why?
1) There is no current,
2) the wind blows on-shore, so you always drift to the beach,
3) you can touch bottom in much of the sailing area and the water is warm
4) best of all, on a typical summer day Larkspur has 4.5 to 5.5 winds outside with lighter winds inside.
This means you can blast outside while your spouse or friend safely practices water-starts or harness technique without knowing you have temporarily abandoned them.

So why is Larkspur the site many sailors love to hate? Well ... first there is the bottom. To put it delicately, the bottom is very soft. Nothing yuky like the sludge at Flying Tigers in the Peninsula but just deep soft clean Bay mud to ooze between your toes. The BIG problem is the wind. Larkspur gets its share of wind. It's just that in the past it was impossible to predict when it would blow or when it would drop to zero, leaving you with a safe but long swim. Enough people have been skunked at Larkspur that the place has a bad rep in some circles. Actually it offers fabulous sailing...you just have to be sensitive to its idiosyncrasies. Local lore says that deep fog in t he gap means it will blow. Local lore is wrong! The meteorological recipe for steady winds at Larkspur is complex. For good Larkspur winds you have to mix the following ingredients in concert:

1) a moderate deep marine layer. Not too deep or Larkspur dies ... too thin and the wind stays at Crissy and doesn't funnel through Muir Gap
2) a simultaneous good pressure gradient of around .06 to .10
3) an upper level trough to produce a weak southwest ocean push. Be careful not to add any northwest ocean push to the recipe or the wind will fall unexpectedly or shift to the west around 4:30 (take a peek at the steam plume to the west to get a hint that the wind recipe is about to self-destruct).

If you are not much of a wind chef, just follow Windsight's custom Larkspur forecast on option 56 (the noon version is more accurate). In the past, placing a wind sensor at Larkspur was impractical since the only place with power and phone lines was in a huge wind hole at the Greenbrae Boardwalk houses across the marsh. So for years sailors had to drive to Larkspur and sit at the beach to assess the wind. Through nine long months of negotiations with the heavies at San Quentin Prison, Windsight negotiated a lease for a sensor location. (Imagine trying to explain to a warden that you want to put a private phone line and modem inside a prison. The sensor is the world's only windsurfing wind sensor in a state prison.) The sensor is sited in a wind channel so it reflects the stronger wind in the sailing area -- not the light wind at the launch site. The sensor is perfectly accurate for the normal southwest winds. In the less common west winds, the sensor reads high 5 knots. Best of all, Roger Jennings, Mike White or Jason Mesenburg give verbal sail size reports from the beach most summer afternoons. Windsight promises inmate wind reports next season. Call 1-800-685-9463 for details or a free demo.

Mike Godsey

Shreddin' Bettys Newsletter

Building community for women in windsurfing ... a Betty a day is all we ask! Mail your subscription ($10/5 issues) to:

Shreddin'Bettys
207 Bayview Street
San Rafael, CA 94901

North Bay News

This winter Ray Thompson announced his resignation as membership chairman for the North Bay chapter. Due to his extremely heavy work load, Ray is unable to devote as much time as in the past. We will miss Ray's valuable contributions. Thank you, Ray, for the many years of dedicated service. Gary Giacomini, our Marin County supervisor, has announced his resignation from the board of supervisors. Supervisor Giacomini has been a stalwart supporter of our windsurfing community and has helped us in maintaining our access at Larkspur. Thank you for your support, Supervisor Giacomini.

As the season is struggling to get going, the spot to sail in the North Bay has been Tomales. There have been several 3.0 days at Tomales. Rod & Gun has had some late afternoons when the Tomales winds finally make it inland. Larkspur is still the optimum beginner launch early morning to early afternoon. With the season beginning, remember to brush up on your self-rescue techniques.

Also remember some of the important safety rules at Larkspur:
1) Do not turn left across Sir Francis Drake; turn into Remillard Park at the turn lane,
2) park off the road so as not to block the bike path,
3) keep your valuables out of sight
4) do not sail in front of the ferry.
Remember to pay your dues for 1995, and have a great time on the bay.

Jeff Hickman

Flying Tigers Access Efforts Grind On -

Your Input Needed.

It has been a few years since the San Francisco Airport cut off access to the "Flying Tigers" launch site north of the airport for alleged security reasons during the Gulf War. We suspect the real reason is to avoid interference with real estate development plans. For the past two years Marita Daly, an attorney with the San Francisco law firm of Pillsbury, Madison, and Sutro has been helping SFBA on a "pro bono" basis, working with Bay Commission staff to pressure the S.F. Airport Commission to reopen access. S.F. City attorneys representing the airport have refused to budge on this, citing federal aviation authority that overrules the state's public access authority. The case for reopening access would be greatly assisted by public testimony about past use of the site, and interest in its reopening. If you want to see it open again please send a letter describing your past use, being as specific as possible about the dates, frequency, number of other people you saw there, races formerly held from there, etc. Send your letter to:

Alan R. Pendleton Executive Director
S. F. Bay Conservation and Development Commission
30 Van Ness Avenue Room 2011
San Francisco, CA 94102

cc to:
Marita Daly
Pillsbury, Madison, and Sutro 225
Bush Street San Francisco, Ca 94104

Berkeley Marina Lockers Still Available

The CAL Sailing Club has Sail Board Locker Memberships available. A one-year membership costs $250 and allows the member use of a compartment to store sailing gear. Compartments hold two boards and several rigs. Members have access to a large, carpeted area for rigging. The CAL Sailing Club is located in Berkeley's South Sailing Basin in front of the western-most dock. Please come down and have a look, and call Cindy Ross, Boardsailing Locker Chair for the CAL Sailing Club, at (510) 526-5010 to sign up.

Crissy Field Update

Crissy Field site design is progressing slowly but surely, and even though four draft alternative designs have been developed, the windsurfing parking, access and related facilities schemes remain almost identical in each one. In summary, the boardsailing area remains largely as it exists today, with rehabilitation of the paving & grass surfaces and removal of all buildings. Restrooms and outdoor shower & rinse facilities have yet to reach the design stage, but its a good bet they will be placed amongst the existing cypress frees that are to remain. Length of beach access also may improve if some of the East End rip-rap is removed as planned.

With regard to the Crissy Field Site Design process, the Golden Gate National Park Association (GGNA), Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) and their design consultants have been very responsive to all public input, including GGNPA's To accommodate all the various interest groups, the design process was slowed significantly from the fast-track push it received last fall, resulting in much more "interest-sensitive" design concepts. The next Crissy Field site design public workshop will be held on Tuesday, June 13th, and participation is by reservation only. As of this writing, we (SFBA) have a couple seats remaining, and if you would like to participate in one of the focus groups, please give me a call at (415) 744-1857 so I can brief you on the situation and submit your name.

The purpose of the June 13th public workshop is to summarize the earlier scoping comments, present the latest draft alternatives and to hold small , group working sessions to focus on specific details of each of the alternatives. All of the alternatives to be discussed include the following:

Improvements to enhance existing recreational uses, including off-leash dog walking, boardsailing, walking, running and bicycling. Restoration of the 1920's grass airfield, hangers and torpedo wharf to enhance the historic setting and to create a multi-purpose recreational space. Protection and restoration of natural resource values, including dune and native plant communities and rehabilitation of the shoreline edge. Modifications to existing pathways and parking to address traffic and recreational needs

The Crissy Field project area boundaries have changed somewhat in that the Army's Commissary and Base Exchange buildings immediately south of Mason Street, which NPS had planned to remove, are to remain in service for sometime into the future. This means that the project area is now bounded by the Bay on the north, Mason Street on the south, by the Torpedo Wharf on the West and the intersection of Mason Street & Lyon Street on the east. Common to all the project alternatives is an approach that deals with the vastness of the 100 acre site; its importance as the northern waterfront for the Presidio; accommodation of the current uses of the site; recognition of the site's history; and response to those qualities so loved about Crissy Field as it exists today its wildness, its simple rawness and its spectacular setting Because drawings of the four alternatives will not be formally released until June 13th, the following is a brief description of each of the design schemes for the site: including the Landform Meadow scheme, the Wetland scheme, the Palimpsest scheme, and the Urban Wetland scheme.

Landform Meadow Alternative:

The landform meadow scheme creates a Crissy Field Landscape comprised of native grasses, subtle landforms, dunes and paths. Moving from east to west, the east meadow area is comprised of a series of low landforms that appear to have been formed by the wind across the site. Next comes the boardsailing area, which remains largely as it exists today, as described above. The central meadow area is also seemingly windswept landscape of landforms with native meadow grasses, crossed at a few points by paths, and provides passive recreation, respite from the wind, and native grassland habitat. The historic airfield becomes a large multi-purpose grass recreation field - with low grass and a few cross paths connecting the beach to the historic airfield buildings south of Mason Street. The airfield extends along the promenade, which runs east to west approximately as it exists today, flush with Mason Street as its southern edge. The west meadow area between the hangar buildings and the torpedo wharf becomes a naturally sheltered picnic area, with a landform screening the parking along the base of the bluff and providing views over the airfield and to the Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. This is consistent in all the alternatives. Bicycling traffic is accommodated along Mason Street, as it is in all four schemes. Also in all four alternatives, dogwalking under voice control is accommodated along the promenade, the grassy areas and most of the beach (except in dune restoration and habitat areas).

Wetland Alternative:

The wetland scheme differs from the landform meadow scheme in that it provides a 13 acre tidal wetland south of the promenade between the boardsailing area and the grassy airfield. This tidal wetland is connected by the Bay by a buried culvert to the west of the existing big-pipe. (The big-pipe outfall anchors the west end of the main boardsailing beach.) The wetland is crossed at two points by boardwalks with hand rails.

Palimpsest Alternative:

The palimpsest scheme retains most of the elements of the existing site (thereby its name), layered with the restoration of the grassy airfield and the creation of landform meadows. It is similar to the landform scheme except that it retains more flat areas in the site, particularly at its south edge along Mason Street. It also retains the existing mature trees at the west end of the grassy field, and it retains the centerline of the existing paved airstrip as a 'marker' (a conceptual link between the historic grassy airfield and the present strip) as well as a physical connection to the central meadow.

Urban Wetland Alternative:

The urban wetland scheme creates a 4.5 acre tidal water element south of the promenade in the center of the sire, west of the boardsailing area. It would be connected to the Bay by a buried culvert west of the big-pipe, and it would "recall" the wetlands that once comprised much of Crissy Field. The tidal water element would provide some degree of habitat value, but it does not attempt to re-create a natural system common to thriving, natural wetlands. As a result, the wetland feature becomes an interpretive and educational element to be used as an indicator of the historic and present context of Crissy Field. The wetland is entirely accessible along the terraced promenade edge, and by paths at points along the more natural southern edge, which itself is to the north of Mason Street.

The Future

All of the alternatives allow future expansion south of Mason Street, in the event the Commissary and the Exchange are removed, and at that time this would enable establishment of a naturally functioning, self-sustaining, 30 acre wetland restoration.

Stay tuned, more to come, including graphics. If you have any questions or comments, I can be reached at (413) 744-1857 day and (413) 885-4357 eve.

Bill Robberson
Crissy Field Committee

Calendar

June Sat 17 - Third Ave Cleanup & Party 9:00 AM.
June Sat 17 - Windsurf Warehouse Swap Meet 10-2 (415) 588-1714
June Sat 24 - Helm Windsurfing Swap Meet 10-1 (415) 344-2711
June Sun 25 - Barry Spanier/Neil Pryde Sail Design seminar 11-2 at Windsurf Warehouse
June Sun 25 - ASD Highwind Clinics - Waterstarts, Jibing Call for times (415) 348-8485
July Sat 29 - Helm Windsurfing Swap Meet 10-1
July Sat 29 - ASD Highwind Clinics (Call for times)
August Sat 26 - Helm Windsurfing Swap Meet 10-1

Season Opening Party a Great Success

Despite a late mailing of the April newsletter, the SFBA-hosted Season Opening Party at the St. Francis Yacht Club was a huge success. There was great music, food, and fun. Windsurfers from throughout the bay attended, making it one of the biggest windsurfing parties to date. We apologize to any who missed the party because their newsletter arrived too late, but hope you'll join us for the season ending party later in the summer. We'll keep you posted in future newsletters.

SFBA in a Nut Shell

The SFBA is a 100% volunteer non-profit organization. Your annual membership dues (think of it as a donation) go entirely to support boardsailing in the Bay Area. NOBODY GETS PAID!! The Association is run totally by boardheads, for boardheads. The Board of Directors, who tirelessly give their time, would much rather be sailing than worrying about mailing lists, newsletters, and account balances. Many of them have to take precious vacation time to meet with government officials. It is very unusual for Board of Directors to show up at an evening board meeting with dry hair because they're always shredding up to the last minute before. So if things don't always go right: windtalker's down, check hasn't been cashed, or the newsletter is late, PLEASE BE PATIENT. We're doing the best we can.

The SFBA has been very active in the last few years. The Association was formed in 1986 and originally had 400 members and now the membership stands at 1,600. The recent re-activation of the Peninsula Chapter lead by Peter Lui and Bill Lennan combined with the activity of the Northbay Chapter and Crissy Field Alliance, have contributed to a recent surge in membership. The local chapters of the SFBA are where all the energy lies and where most of the issues threatening our access are addressed.

Northbay Chapter
San Francisco Chapter
East Bay Chapter
Peninsula Chapter

These chapters are organized to best represent all the boardsailors' interests in the Bay Area. You don't need to join any specific chapter, but if your interested in contributing something back to the sport that gives you some much enjoyment, your help would be greatly appreciated. Get involved and help make windsurfing more enjoyable for everyone. The Association's goals are:

  • Promote Safety
  • Provide Education
  • Ensure Access
  • Improve Facilities

Facts About the SFBA

  • California not-for-profit organization with federal & state tax exempt status.
  • Active Membership of over 1600 members
  • Regular Newsletters during the sailing season (April through October)
  • Provide liability insurance for many local races
  • Support network for all the chapters SFBA

SFBA Accomplishments

    San Francisco

  • Boardsailing safety signs & bulletin boards at Crissy Field.
  • Crissy Field Windtalker located at St. Francis Yacht Club.
  • Windsocks on the beach
  • Beach Cleanups Racing Events
  • First Class Parties at the prestigious St. Francis YC
  • Portable Toilets at Crissy Field
  • Sponsored several educational presentations on boat safety with the Coast Guard, Hornblower Yachts, and the Harbor Pilots Association.
  • Provided input into the Golden Gate National Recreation Area to ensure boardsailor's interests were reflected in the Crissy Field Park plan.
  • Working with the San Francisco Fire Dept Jetski water rescue program.
  • Helped to coordinate efforts of the USCG, GGNRA, & SFFD for rescues.

    East Bay

  • Berkeley Marina Windtalker
  • Promoted boardsailing improvements to the South Sailing Basin at Berkeley Marina, which includes: Restrooms & showers, Longer Docks, Additional Docks, Larger, Paved Parking Lots.
  • Ashby Avenue Beach Clean-ups
  • Monitoring City of Berkeley's Task Force for the North Waterfront Park Development.
  • Evening Racing Series

    Peninsula

  • Palo Alto Yacht Harbor Boardsailing Access Station Plan Approval - City of Palo Alto
  • Defeated San Mateo County's plans to eliminate the Season Pass for parking.
  • Installed boardsailing safety signs and bulletin boards at Coyote Point
  • Held annual beach clean-ups and put down pea gravel at Coyote & Third Ave.
  • Supported permit approvals for pending beach improvements at Coyote Point.
  • Monitoring Burlingame Hotel project located northwest of the Coyote Point launch area.
  • Amendments to the Candlestick General Plan to ensure Windsurfing access Candlestick Windtalker
  • Increased parking spaces close to the launch area at Candlestick.
  • Working with Gov. Agencies to remove the access restrictions to Flying Tigers.
  • Provided the first site specifically for boardsailing at Third Ave in Foster City.
  • Lobbied Foster City Officials to increase parking at Third Ave.

    Northbay

  • Monitoring Larkspur Landing access issues resulting from the San Quintin Prison expansion plans.
  • Beach Cleanups
  • Portable Toilet

These are briefly some of the major accomplishments for the SFBA in past several years. As the association enters its second decade there will be many more accomplishments, but not without the support of the boardsailing community in the form of active, interested individuals and a large supporting membership.

Burch Thomsen Awarded Honorary Boardmember

Burch is the founding father of the SFBA. Back in 1986 when windsurfing access was threatened at Crissy Field, Burch along with several Crissy Field regulars formed the SFBA. His tireless efforts to promote safe boardsailing won him boardsailing's first Man of the Year in 1987. With his steadfast guidance, the SFBA has thrived and grown to four chapters and the energetic activism that the Association now enjoys. With almost two decades of involvement in the sport of windsurfing, Burch has really demonstrated his dedication. The Board of Directors would like to thank Burch for all his work and wisdom. We know Burch will remain in touch in his Honorary position.

WindSURFINGthe Internet

Compiled by Kelly Wee

Correction: Our last newsletter erroneously reported Windsight's Web address. The correct one is: http://www.gorge.net/windsight

Also, check out the SFBA newsletter & a cool tide program for Windows users at: http://www.outdoornet.com

Wind speed information is now available over the Internet. I would like to encourage SFBA members to utilize the wind_talk bulletin board to post rescue stories. The SFBA monitors this bulletin board and is compiling a list of rescues conducted (whether or not emergency agencies are called) from around the bay. We hope to use this information to help prevent rescues and demonstrate that the boardsailing community is proactive and conducting many rescues without the assistance of emergency response agencies. So if you know of a rescue that was conducted, perhaps you personally towed someone in, get a message to wind_talk. If you don't have access to Internet, have a friend post a message. We'd appreciate your help.

    Windspeed mailing lists maintained by listserv@jr.hpl.hp.com: Courtesy of Ken Poulton (poulton@opus.hpl.hp.com)

  • wind_afternoon - Automatic hourly wind reports from noon to 6 PM daily
  • wind_thresh - Automatic wind reports when the wind is over 15 knots (during daylight hours).
  • wind_24 - Automatic wind reports every hour.
  • wind_talk - Discussion other than current wind reports.

To subscribe, send mail to listserv@jr.hpl.hp.com with the contents: subscribe [name of list].
To unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@jr.hpl.hp.com with the contents: unsubscribe [name of list]
For more info about these mailings, the data and listserv, send mail to listserv@jr.hpl.hp.com with the contents: info [name of list].

You can also get windspeed reports on demand - simply send a message to windreport@opus.hpl.hp.com (the contents don't matter). But please do not poll this hourly; it loads the machine too much and can cause all the wind reports to stop. (This is way cool, ed)

Tid Bits Reprinted from Internet:

Mike Godsey, Windsight

Self Rescue??

We thought the following story (reprinted from the Internet) helped to demonstrate the importance of the buddy system:

Yesterday (6/15/94) I was sailing at 3rd. I got on the water about 5:00 with my 8'8" Haut with a 3.9. It was really wild on the inside and even crazier in the channel. I was out for about 15 minutes looking for {my friend} to buddy up with when my life got immensely complicated. My board separated from my rig in the middle of the channel. It became very clear that the board was moving quickly down wind and I ditched my rig and started to swim like hell. I was gaining on it for about 3 minutes when it caught a wave and surfed another 25 feet ahead. I pulled off my booties for a better kick and stuffed them in my wetsuit. I swam as hard as I could for 30 minutes but the board kept surfing out of sight. I gave up on getting the board when my legs started to cramp up. At this point I knew I was totally f#$%. I put on my booties and spent a couple of minutes working out the cramps I'm glad I kept the booties.

I almost ditched them in a panic to swim for the board. My legs felt a lot better and started a survival swim for the San Mateo bridge. I was hoping to god that I could make it before the tide started to ebb. I swam on my back for 2 hours. When I got to the bridge I was able to climb some bolts on a maintenance tower. This tower had a boat suspended from the bridge on the east side of the main span. Once on the platform I realized how borderline hypothermic I was. I couldn't get to road level because all gates were chained shut. I noticed that the maintenance. boat that was hanging under the bridge had a VHF radio in it. I was able to break in and trace the power to a main switch in the engine compartment. I called the Coast Guard and asked them to call CalTrans the get me out. About 45 minutes later CalTrans and the fire department got me and checked me out.

"It's a dog-eat-dog world and I'm wearing milkbone underwear" -

Norm Peterson

Please tell us your comments, complaints and questions about the SFBA: SFBA Membership includes receiving the periodic SFBA Newsletter (3-4 times each season) and occasional news mailings for your local SFBA Chapter. All new members will receive the SFBA Welcome Letter (with WindTalker phone #'s) and the SFBA Windsurfing Safety Guide to Bay Area Sailing Sites. Please make check payable to SFBA, and mail to:

SFBA
1592 Union Street, Box 301
San Francisco, California 94123.