14.5 mile Alameda to SF & back kiteboarding trip

[cserpentine]

erin loscocco you're my hero

[funkiatdabeech]

Erin, cool trip! I actually came home around 5:25 and thought the wind was kinda flaky.....well not for you my friend! cheers!

[elli]

Nice.

[average_male]

Yea, you are right up there with Columbus and Magellan dude.

If Columbus or Magellan were alive today, this is what they would do for their recreation. After doing some reseach, I found out the following fun fact:
Both Ferdinand Magellan Christopher Columbus shared the same middle name;

Ferdinand Loscocco Magellan
and
Christopher Loscocco Columbus

It must run in the blood. Whats next? Chrissy to 3rd? That trip would write you into the history books and make you an all time Bay Area Legend. Maybe I should get you to sign my board now before it's too late.

[Loscocco]

LOL.. damn... ill sign your board already... geezzzz


Well if you say that I have those explorers in my lineage maybe i should try for something more adventurous like recreate the voyage of Columbus to America on a kiteboard.

[hawaiimind]

I did a similar run last year, but from Alameda to 3rd ave. I did it solo, 1-way, with a ride there to grab me and take me back. The winds were very unstable, so going back was not an option. It was a blast though. This year several buds want to join me and we will do it round-trip. Here is the map for my journey. I used a Trackstick to record the plots. I wrote a whole bunch about the day, you can read the details here... http://sites.google.com/site/markskiteb ... eda-to-3rd

[Loscocco]

Thats pretty cool Hawaiimind.. looks like a fun ride.. I almost did that trip last summer but never ended up doing so. I like doing long bay adventures and am always up for them

[hawaiimind]

Even though being in The Bay is hardly like being in tropical and picturesque waters, it was far more majestic out there than I thought it would be. Very cool. Hard to describe, you just need to get out there and experience it. You really do feel like you are out in the middle of something very big. I had a huge smile while doing it (except for part when wind died and I feared my kite would drop from sky and I would be swimming).

When we do it this year, I'll try and remember to give you a heads up so you can join. To be safer this time (1) I won’t be solo (2) several of us will have waterproof handheld marine radios to call for help in an extreme emergency (3) short of an extreme emergency, if we need a rescue we will have a buddy standing by with a small zodiac boat in Alameda. Even though the boat would take a while to get out there, it could be used if your gear goes down and you cant swim in.

People ask me why I don’t have a boat escorting us along the way. Well, not only does it take some of the adventure out of it, but a more practical reason is that it is a lot to ask of a boat driver, to be bouncing in that chop for an hour, then turn and drive back and bounce up and down for another hour is more than I want to ask of one of my friends (or my girlfriend). You would need a really big boat to be big enough to do the run without being miserable. As long as you are a solid kiter, a solid swimmer, and you have a plan for what you will do for an exit route at various points in the trip, you will be fine.

FYI: They do this in Hawaii between islands. Here is the link. I lived there for 10 years but never did this event. I invited myself through their website but haven't heard back.
http://apemanproductions.com/?page_id=152

[tamer]

Nice work!! Sign me up!

[funkiatdabeech]

Cool trip, I think it will be great to do it little later in the season when winds are more reliable. I am in. :dance: