Mon April 8, 2013

[androka]

On site report at 11am
Berkeley, Point Emery mid 20's but north direction with very little beach
Toll Plaza mid 20's onshore with whitecaps right on shore. Just me here, someone come out and play

Alameda webcam looks dead, but will probably pick up. Maybe that's the most reasonable East Bay spot today?

[friggin old guy]

Use caution today....(not pimping a brand here).

Gusty punchy gnar.....anytime you see the gust/lulls separated by 10-20mph, lookout! Waddell reading 23-41 average 31, holy crap.....Alameda should be a bit more manageable in terms of gusts but still tweaked a bit more north than usual so don't get fooled and rig the wrong size or you'll get tweaked........

[buckler12m]

Hey All,

I am stoked to go out and ride today at 3rd ave, but need help figuring out what exactly to expect.

My smallest kite is a 9m and I weigh 225 and have ridden in just over 30 with the 9m before and handled it fine. The reports of gust strength are pretty disparate between human forecast, windfinder, and windalert and I can't quite figure out if the gusts are going to make it too dangerous.

If the answer is a definite yes, please let me know and I won't even bother going out today. If its more of a wait and see, I'll probably stop by to check it out and make a decision after watching the conditions and other riders.

Any help would be appreciated.

[le noun]

Just got out of the water at third. Was fine on the 12 from 11 to 12:15.
Then it got too much.
9m weather right now.
By 4pm you might need smaller than a 9.
Even at 225lbs...
But who knows. It might stop ramping up and stabilize.
Just use caution once you get there.
If you get to the beach and you see people being blown away on 6s, then don't even pump your 9.

[friggin old guy]

A lot of folks will disregard the disparity between gusts/lulls and let their jonesing do their thinn'in on a day like this. Personally I don't like getting ganked around too much, and especially on a day like this prefer to rig for the gusts instead of the lulls.......a game of conect-a-gust is entertaining.

But if the lulls have your kite hindenburging between gusts, I just say screw it.

Looking at 3rd right now (9-26, with the channel gusting to 29) I'd be tempted to give it a pass on my 9. Doable but not very comfortable. Can't really tell unless you're there, though.

[le noun]

FOG, I don't know where you are looking for your data, but I was at third earlier and this looks pretty consistent to me.
I agree though, I've been on days with lull at 15, average at 25 and gust at 30 and it was NO FUN at all. Kinda sketchy actually. :?

[dealbst]

Berkeley sensor says 13MPH right now. I was down there at Noon just observing and almost got blown off the beach! WTF?! Is it because the sensor is not reading correctly with this more North wind? Hell, 13 to 30 is just a regular day at Bodega. Yes, Will rig for the gusts. =-

[Sonny]

It was fun on a 9m at 3rd AVE. Some beginner was on a 11m and he was so lit that he couldn't get his board even though the water was only waist deep. I had to retrieve the board for him.

[keithdkd]

I hope nobody tried to kite Ocean Beach today:

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/H ... 417568.php

"
Gusts of 75 mph were recorded off Ocean Beach in San Francisco, said Steve Anderson, a forecaster with the National Weather Service.
"It was the highest wind ever recorded there," Anderson said. "One of our weather spotters called in (from Ocean Beach) and said, 'It is really windy and my front window just got blown out.' "
"

[dealbst]

Nice Beekeley sesh on the RRD 10.5. Caught the 420 wind for an hour or so. I'm okay with traffic now...