SF Bay sailing

[nbourbaki]

Hi all

I finally have found a boat share. 27' ericson.

I am new to sailing the bay though. Any tips on where to go not go? Websites with good info? What wind speed would you not sail at? I'm still somewhat novice. Berthed in emeryville btw

Many thanks!!

[Liam Wald]

Congrats on the E-27. Fine little boat. The SF Bay is a really great place to sail.
My only real advice is get a tide and current chart and learn how to use it. Oh, also always keep a good watch and sense of situational awareness for traffic, especially commercial and shipping.
Nice day trip is sail over to Ayala Cove on Angel Island, get a day slip and hike the island. You can go to the top of Mt. Livermore and have an absolutely fabulous 360 degree view of the bay.

[gjordan]

Winter is just around the corner, and it is a great time to learn sailing on SF bay. Light winds and many clear days make learning easier than the summer winds. You can get used to your boats sailing habits and practice docking, anchoring etc, without the semi gale that spring and summer often bring. It would be a good idea to practice reefing during your light air sailing (even though you wont need it then) so that when the wind picks up in the spring, it will be a fun learning experience rather than over whelming. It is a great place to learn. Good Luck. ____Grant.

[Paul Elliott]

Read this Guide to Bay Sailing, from Latitude 38. It has some great advice.

[nbourbaki]

Great. Just what I was looking for.

Any preferred websites for bay wind and wave/tide conditions?

[ssanzone]

beware the gate in the afternoon. :P

or get out to the gate in the afternoon, hold on and enjoy the hell out of sailing the bay

-s

[ssanzone]

oh yeah... if u r sailing south out of the gate, make sure you go out to the 4th buoy before you head south.

-s

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by nbourbaki

Great. Just what I was looking for.

Any preferred websites for bay wind and wave/tide conditions?

Here's a good one for wind: SailFlow - Search Results

If I'm going offshore I also like to look at the NOAA buoy reports. I have a page on the VALIS website that shows the wind and wave charts -- click on the links for more info: VALIS

Here's another good NOAA webpage: San Francisco Bay PORTS®

Finally, just enter "San Francisco marine wind currents" into Google and look at the results. There are a bunch.

[Stu Jackson]

Links on Latitude 38 - The West's Leading Sailing and Marine Magazine has bay area wind patterns.

Buy and "memorize" Kimball Livingston's book: Sailing The Bay. It will also teach you to read the tide & current book! What a deal!

Learn to reef.

[markpierce]

Stay clear of the skinny waters.

[nbourbaki]

This stuff?

http://images.teamsugar.com/files/up...inny-water.jpg

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by Liam Wald

Congrats on the E-27. Fine little boat. The SF Bay is a really great place to sail.
My only real advice is get a tide and current chart and learn how to use it. Oh, also always keep a good watch and sense of situational awareness for traffic, especially commercial and shipping.
Nice day trip is sail over to Ayala Cove on Angel Island, get a day slip and hike the island. You can go to the top of Mt. Livermore and have an absolutely fabulous 360 degree view of the bay.

Ayala (Hospital) Cove:



Commercial traffic:

[MarkSF]

I sail out of Alameda.

Some thoughts in no particular order :

SF Bay is one of the finest natural protected bodies of water in the world. For me, one of the great features is being able to pick your weather, to some extent. In summer, when it's blowing like crazy in the slot, you can head south under the Bay Bridge, and sail down to Hunter's Point in relative calm.

Conversely, fall to spring, when winds are light, can result in some perfect days in the slot (the area formed by the GG bridge, Angel Island, and the SF shoreline.)

Rule 1 : The slot must be respected. I won't go into it without at least one reef, and no more than 100% jib. In fact, I now have an 83% for summer that works perfectly there.

If you want to pass under the east section of the Bay Bridge, there is only one specific allowed route right now. See Notices to Mariners for an explanation. While we're on the subject, you can sign up for e-mail notification of Notices to Mariners, and I recommend you read them as the Bay Bridge demolition for the next couple of years will mean regular changes to the channel, I suspect. Just this week there is a new protective zone around the demolition.

I use this for weather (click on a spot) :

Marine Point Forecast for Latitude 37.8°N and Longitude 122.36°W

although it is quite good for the same or next day, more than 2 days out it is hopeless for wind strengths. It's often better to read the general synopsis if more than 2 days out, rather than the specifics.

Open CPN is very good for currents (and in general). It is a free chartplotter software. The charts themselves are free from Noaa. It has really good currents and tides, you click on the points and a chart appears and you can then cycle through the days. I use OpenCPN for all my route planning at home.

[nbourbaki]

MarkSF, thanks very much for the detailed thoughts.

I will sail out emeryville, so knowing that demo channel will be critical! I am embarrassed to say I didn't even think of that.

I will also admit I am a little afraid of the slot as well, and will likely err on the side of under powering. Luckily I will have an experienced cosailor at least the first few times out.

I will certainly want to visit angel island. what time do the slips tend to fill? I wont have a dingy.

Cheers,

[Stu Jackson]

Angel Island during the week is not an issue. On weekends it may get crowded. The docks, IIRC, are open sunrise to sundown. The buoys are $30 a night (yikes, I remember when they were only $7). They also charge for the docks. Google Ayala Cove or Angel Island and find out more details.

If you ant to beat the Slot, just leave early. The winds come up around noon. Read the links and books provided, they answer a LOT of your questions. When you return, keep the mainsail furled and just use the jib, it's a lot more comfortable ride.

Good luck.