Alameda Today: Pure Awesomeness!
Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2013 12:46 am
I'm as quick as anyone to jump all over Alameda for its temperamental low wind/no wind fits, so when things are good I feel obliged to give it its props.
Does it get much better than today?
--Wind cranked up early (pre--3 pm)
--Warm and Sunny
--Enough wind to ride my 9m
--But not crazy gusty
--Lots of friendly fellow kiters, but not so many that I had to arm-wrestle someone to win a slot in the launch zone
--Swells were manageable (unlike the last few days)
--No fire trucks or emergency vehicles or kites making a beeline for Bay Farm Island
There is a legitimate question amidst all this obsequious blather. I rode my 12m on Sunday--I was comfortable most of the time, maybe a little overpowered towards the end. After the session, friends told me they were lit on 9m's. But they rode up towards the point--I was much further downwind. Today, I headed upwind and it was light there--much stronger downwind.
So ... does Alameda actually have "microclimates"? Is there a way to determine which area is going to be windier on a given day? Or is it all just the randomness of Mother Nature?
Does it get much better than today?
--Wind cranked up early (pre--3 pm)
--Warm and Sunny
--Enough wind to ride my 9m
--But not crazy gusty
--Lots of friendly fellow kiters, but not so many that I had to arm-wrestle someone to win a slot in the launch zone
--Swells were manageable (unlike the last few days)
--No fire trucks or emergency vehicles or kites making a beeline for Bay Farm Island
There is a legitimate question amidst all this obsequious blather. I rode my 12m on Sunday--I was comfortable most of the time, maybe a little overpowered towards the end. After the session, friends told me they were lit on 9m's. But they rode up towards the point--I was much further downwind. Today, I headed upwind and it was light there--much stronger downwind.
So ... does Alameda actually have "microclimates"? Is there a way to determine which area is going to be windier on a given day? Or is it all just the randomness of Mother Nature?