MEEKER BEACH,richmond

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kief
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MEEKER BEACH,richmond

Post by kief » Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:06 pm

not sure about the name of this beach...C-DOG?input...

This is ANOTHER very little used beach,by anyone,providing access to the
wild winds of the isabel - richmond corridor,it's a narrow strip of beach but
with a good downwind buffer zone.
the wind,when it's good blows onshore,but even at a high tide it's shallow
for a ways out and at a low tide, way,way out,nice sandy bottom...
really a fantastic spot
this week has low tides in the afternoon,so it's a good time to check it out.
do short tacks,so as not to put yourself too close upwind of the rock jetty(s)
as you work upwind,it opens up,work south for great swell,or west for epic flat-water.
please be conscious of shipping traffic if you go into richmond harbor.

Park at shimada-friendship park(windsurf launch)walk your gear about 5 mins
east on the bay trail to the beach.
don't even think about launching at shimada,please.
nor pumping up and walking an inflated kite down,wont work.
if your advanced,and lazy,go to vincent park.
meeker beach is available for upper-beginner/intermediate kiters.
And should be a prerequisite for anyone thinking they might be ready for
emeryville/racetrack
as it has a very similar set-up,onshore,tight beach,gotta go up-wind right away.
but no bystanders,distractions.
this beach is,in my opionion,destined for popularity,and should be claimed for by kiters!
nobody else uses it.

this beach is NOT good when it is a true west wind(when emeryville/racetrack are ON)
works best with SW,S winds,and we have been getting tons of that!!
i have a static self launch set up just back from the beach on the tidal marsh
rope wrapped around some concrete block...get out there,be safe and enjoi!!

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=37.9087464&lo ... 17&l=0&m=b

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meeker_Slough
Last edited by kief on Wed Jul 13, 2011 8:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
peace,unity,love & havin' fun.
-Afrika Bambaataa

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Re: MEEKER BEACH,richmond

Post by CdoG » Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:23 pm

I call it clam beach, its full of shells
good to come in here if blow down wind from vincent
it can get very holie and hard to get out to the better winds from here
id say race track frist then what ever
use good judgement
be nice to locals

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kief
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Re: MEEKER BEACH,richmond

Post by kief » Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:35 pm

this season the winds have been hitting this beach,STRONG.
isabel sensors a pretty good indicator,not too far away.
but not at the beach either.
i hit meeker a couple days last week,and firmly believe the winds were
better than vincent,and way better than racetrack,berkeley was glass,crazy.
peace,unity,love & havin' fun.
-Afrika Bambaataa

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Re: MEEKER BEACH,richmond

Post by rvv » Tue Jul 12, 2011 5:18 pm

The East Bay is totally AWESOME sooo many cool spots to get busy at. Thanks Chris!
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Re: MEEKER BEACH,richmond

Post by wimboweb » Wed Jul 13, 2011 2:03 am

Ten years ago, we used to use "shell beach" to safety-land our two lines kites, after dealing with the "unusual" Vincent park wind conditions.

Not as reliable - wind-wise - as the racetrack and definitely not good on W/NW conditions.
Occasional hikers/bikers/fishermen use the beach to stroll on and hangout.

Like CdoG mentioned, race track is a better bet for a good outing on various wind directions.

Be safe and have fun.

Wimbo

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Re: MEEKER BEACH,richmond

Post by kief » Wed Jul 13, 2011 8:18 am

every season is different,this has really been the "year of richmond"
winds have been trending very south-southwest
vincent park is a dicey launch,very advanced only,
and this beach is an option for joe-kiter.
and i believe a lot more than just a "last chance beach"
this is a legit spot and extremely underutilized.
i don't know if i'd put out a blanket statement "winds are better at the race track"
yeah,sometimes.sometimes, not....
> i see a lot of posts "done w/ alameda what's next"..blah,blah....go to 3rd. :roll:

meeker/clam and robert's landing, san leandro are super cool spots....no one goes to.
maybe because you have to walk your gear out,are we that lazy?
these spots are waiting to be claimed....adventures await.

where else can you walk out 200+ yards in waist deep water w/a sandy bottom(at low tide)?
most that launch at vincent,myself included,rarely ride downwind of vincent.
isabel has a long history as a great windsurfing site,the SSW wind really screams in there
this beach can give access to that legendary wind and nice wind swell at times.
there are some hidden flat-water spots around isabel,and at high tide meeker slough
becomes glassy flat-water bliss..that has to be seen to be believed.

how many times have you launched at the racetrack and done a tour over towards
brooks is. and said "wow!, the wind is great over here"
peace,unity,love & havin' fun.
-Afrika Bambaataa

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Re: MEEKER BEACH,richmond

Post by Jeb Mud » Wed Jul 13, 2011 12:00 pm

Nice launch. Most folks too lazy to walk 5 min so I think it will remain a lonely launch
Watch out for crazy WWII era semi submerged debris check it out on a low tide

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Re: MEEKER BEACH,richmond

Post by paulbuck » Wed Jul 13, 2011 1:10 pm

I'd love to give this spot a try. Do you have a reliable wind sensor that you look at to know when it's blowing?

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Re: MEEKER BEACH,richmond

Post by wimboweb » Wed Jul 13, 2011 5:12 pm

Adding my two cents to the "stating the obvious" part...

Every season is different... this season hasn't really been any different than previous ones at richmond... some S days, some SE days, quite a few SW days, a lot of W days and NW days... pretty soon we'll have some Northerlies and NE days, so everyone will be covered, somewhere...

Not so obvious...

Shell beach has lots of debris underwater... a few huge cracked underwater pipes... some big tires and very sharp objects that can only be visible at low tide.

Since it's not a great wind spot on the inside, you'd want to get out of the hole anyway, to do some kiting without running into some nasty things just below the surface.

There is a reason why it's not a popular spot... and it's not because people are lazy...

But, everyone has a different opinion on what makes a "good" session, so my extra two cents...

Check out the place at low tide - first - to make a mental map of where things are...

Then go and have fun.

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Re: MEEKER BEACH,richmond

Post by amlerner » Fri Nov 04, 2011 5:29 pm

Is the static launch always there, or should I bring my own setup?

I bring my gear to work in Hercules and stop at the racetrack on the way home if I see kites from the freeway (or if it's obviously blowing). Is there some combination of wind speeds at the Berkeley, Isabel and Potrero Reach sensors that might mean better wind at Meeker? It would be a pain to stop at Meeker to have no wind then have to head on to the racetrack.

Just dreaming about next season...

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