Crissy Field to Berkeley Downwinder - July 11th, 2009

[hawaiimind]

I have a google map here that you can click on and get distance. One path is straight (9 miles) the other is screwing around (35 miles)...

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie ... 1b23b&z=12

I also have some weather nuggets posted here...

http://sites.google.com/site/markskiteb ... ly-11-2009

[Tony Soprano]

Launching at Crissy:
Please keep your kite low, not at 12oclock.
Get off the beach right away, no standing on the beach with kite in the air loitering. Suggest lots of De-power going out so your kite will not stall and fall in the water when going out, just fly aggressively to make power.

No civilians down wind of you and the water.


Thanks...ask locals for help....

[cassidyimaging]

Thanks to Mark and Evan, I'll be on one of the escort/rescue boats shooting you guys. Hope you all have a blast.

stan-sample.jpg (144.53KiB)Viewed 3464 times

[OliverG]

Ok, well, it looks like maybe the pattern from the past week is transitioning and/or being broken. For this time of day Berkeley has decent numbers and could get windier, but without making an assertive or positive statement, things look OK. But who knows really? ;)

At 1:40 Crissy is 14 W, TI 19 WSW, Berkeley is reading 14 WNW (good direction), and Pt. Isabel an indicator of racetrack is 14 WSW.

Sat. image and animation: http://sat.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/loops ... vis&size=1

Not much fog to back it all up, but it's anybody's guess. Launching at Crissy will be lighter, launch toward the water, keep your kite low and go and get out quickly. You'll find better and stronger wind as you start to get out and head downwind. Past Alcatraz, and if you head over to Pt. Blunt and then all throughout down to TI you'll find good wind.

It may get lighter toward Berkeley, but may pop and be good too, that's unknown. On the other hand, on the other side of the pier toward Racetrack and Pt. Isabel, the wind will likely continue to be stronger.

If the call is made to go as planned to Pt. Emery, just make sure you come in at the proper beach which is on your right, don't come in at the center Frontage Road beach!

When you land at the small beach at Pt. Emery, right away roll up your lines and move your kite to the rigging area by the parking lot and pack it up.

It will be a high tide, so normally at this kind of tide, the beach can barely support a half dozen kites, so pack it up and make way for others!

Overall, unless something crazy happens, it's a coin toss and either/or situation, so probably no reason to change the landing destination...

Just my opinion, let's have fun!

We'll probably launch at Berkeley and head upwind to see you guys out in the Bay.

[Sonny]

I would like to thank Live2kite and Kite415 for sponsoring this event. I also would like to thank all the people who didn't kite today to support this. I had so much fun and I'm looking forward to next one. Please support these guys by buying from them and promoting them.

[mephastopholes]

I second that :) Today was a lot of fun even with the little swimmin' at the end. Thanks to everyone involved w/ the logistics of it all and putting together such a great and fun event for all of us riders out there today. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. This should reinstated as an annual event!!!

[OliverG]

Today was super fun. We went to Pt. Emery with the intent of launching and heading up to Central Bay to meet up with everyone and get some kiting in ourselves, but we like to see somewhere between 19-22 at Berkeley to launch (we're snobs), and it was 17 or so, but we took the chance to enjoy the beach and do a major beach cleanup (will post pics, it was productive and fun!) and receive the first waves of kites. The top three to land were greeted with a cold beer, and we kept landing kites, disconnecting lines, moving kites up to the rigging area, deflating and going back for more kites. It was fun!

[pososhok]

Wow, this was awesome! Even with pissing off some Crissy locals and a little bit of kite swimming happening in the end, I think the event was a groundbreaking success. Amazing turn-out and it seems most everyone had a blast.
_HUGE_ kudos to Evan, Live2Kite and Kite415 crews and others involved in organizing this. I hope there will be more events like this in the future. Thanks!

[kailuakiter]

Thank you to all the organizers, it was great! Will the pictures be posted somewhere?

[funmilton]

Thanks to everyone who helped out, great time. Glad I had a surfboard...