Kiting around Sonoma

panzerfaust · Post by **panzerfaust** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 11:02 am

While on the way to and from a wine tasting trip I noticed that the wind was blowing steadily at about 15mph-20mph give or take a couple of glasses :). Has anyone tried to find a spot around there?

dewey · Post by **dewey** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 8:54 am

I always look at the water out there. I think anyone who has driven through thinks the same thing. So far I haven't heard of anyone trying it. Where did you go wine tasting?

Pablito · Post by **Pablito** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:04 am

LMG did a post on Sonoma on Ikite awhile back. I don't remember how far north of Bodega he went, but there's some details in there.

dewey · Post by **dewey** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 12:38 pm

Not in the ocean, in the butter flat marsh all along 37!

jjm · Post by **jjm** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 12:42 pm

If anyone wants to spend some time exploring some weekend, I'd help out. I'd love some closer toll-less access...

(the powers that be are cracking down on my Hamilton Field access, convenient spot for some kitegroundboarding (even if only with a skateboard))

Pablito · Post by **Pablito** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:21 pm

Now that I know what we're talking about ](*,)

I'm glad you guys brought it up, 'cuz I did a little research. The entire area along the Napa River east and north of 37 is owned by the state, Fish and Wildlife -- the same department that controls the water's edge at SI. They "encourage" recreation in the area. So, no "trespassing" issues. (those marshes are off limits, though, at least during nesting season).

There's not alot of improvements in the area, just a few boat ramps. But it seems like you could access the river fairly easily from the service road just north of the river/Mare Island and west of the new overpass. There are some "unimproved" trails down to the water's edge, probably made by fishermen. Some weekend this winter I'm going to bushwack around the area to see if there are any good sites for laying out lines, launching, etc. The good thing is that the river there is fairly close to the road, but the wind is always blowing side shore(away from the road), so there are no safety isues with it. And you'd be launching downwind of the bridge and Mare Island, so no issues there. No problems downwind, either, although you might have a pretty long hike back along the side of the freeway if you dumped your kite downwind and had to bail out.

Looking at a map, the Napa River there is even wider than the Sac river is down by Sherman. Could be a nice warm-water alternative to the Delta on those crowded summer weekends.

jjm · Post by **jjm** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:29 pm

Any concerns with water quality?

The Skier · Post by **The Skier** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 5:01 pm

I actually just went down there and scoped it out about a week ago. It looks like the sickest flat flat flat flat water spot in the bay. The launch would be side onshore and high tide is probbaly best. I sail boat race out of vallejo all summer and the winds are usually 15-20 knots durring the summer. If you want to check it out sometime drop me a PM.

Pablito · Post by **Pablito** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 5:45 pm

One of us will repost the topic in the spring and get a group to meet up one day -- definitely something that would be best to try out with a couple of people. Skier -- did you get close enough to the water's edge to scope out a launch site?

The Skier · Post by **The Skier** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:29 pm

I got about 20 feet from the water, but the boards that somebody put out there didn't go all the way to the levy. The ground is kinda marshy at high tide but not too bad maybe 2 inches of water. I am going to try and go back out there this week. Someone I know has windsurfed there and it can be kind of shallow at low tide so it may be a high tide only spot, but he said that was 10 years ago so things may have changed. I'll give an update on what I find out.

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Kiting around Sonoma

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