Crissy Field to Berkeley Downwinder - July 11th, 2009

[alamedanick]

awesome event Evan. I'm glad to have Live 2 Kite in Alameda. Good people!

Will be in yosemite this weekend, wish I could go. It looks like great fun.

[mayhem]

Bummer, I can't make it this weekend. I'm doing the 37 mile walk to raise money for the Avon Breast Cancer Society. We will cross paths as we will be near Crissy Fields... I'll take photos of you guys leaving as I'm limping across the Golden Gate Bridge :) Check it out at http://www.avonwalk.org/goto/mayyam

Any chance you'll set up another downwinder later in the year?

Mayhem

[adamT]

Anyone want to post a nice goggle view of where we are landing, or where the bus will be parked? I looked at map and have been over to Emeryville a few times, and the marina area is pretty rocky and the one beach I've been to over there, Ashby ave, is pretty much a 1 kite beach..

Adam

edited

[Loscocco]

Anyone want to post a nice goggle view of where we are landing, or where the bus will be parked? I looked at map and have been over to Emeryville a few times, and the marina area is pretty rocky and the one beach I've been to over there, Ashby ave, is pretty much a 1 kite beach..

Adam

yep thats the beach. just make sure you roll up and put away your kite immediately after landing if not before in the water just before.
And try not to land on the freeway just behind... kites and cars don't mix well

[funkiatdabeech]

This is going to be a cool run, thanks Evan!
It looks like it's gonna take about 2 hours or so. Erin, did you do this one before?

[wjb]

What is the landing beach like? Lots of barnacle covered rocks that would make boots a good idea?

[CdoG]

Seems to me that
most of the wind has been slanting more south west lately
pushing into the race track.........and missing the small beach at berkeley
all I'm saying is........... if TI ,and pt blunt, Angle island......
point to the race track then go with that flow

wade the race track has a bigger beach and huge parking lot
NO free way
yes the rocks along the east bay are full of barnacles

[OliverG]

Hard to say how it's going to go today, might fill in at Berkeley, might not. Problem is, if the flow is more SW and filled in toward race track, and it's light at Berkeley, by the time you know, it'll be too late to come in on top of or through the pier to go hit racetrack.

Central Bay NWS: WSW wind 13 to 20 kt.
East Central Bay NWS: SSW wind 13 to 16 kt

Satellite: http://sat.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/loops ... vis&size=1

From iKite forecast: "Late in the day SW flow ramps up at 18K ft as a Cut-Off Low makes a move on the Gorge. This ups the East Bay & Sherman Island wind late today and Sunday. "

This means the wind may miss Berkeley. It's still early now, but current readings all indicated a general S & SW flow, which if holds true, and the general pattern from the last week continues, it may be almost impossible to come in at Pt. Emery.

I don't know what will happen today, but based on all forecast info, current readings and patterns from the last week, I'd be prepared to make a call at Crissy before setting out to maybe change the landing point to the racetrack.

[CdoG]

well i wouldn't say impossible....
just hard
and most likely
some will
drift in ......

[OliverG]

Yes, if there's still some wind you're right, but if it starts getting light high up and shuts down inside, to 10 or less...