San Francisco Bay offers year round sailing opportunities. The Bay is not large by comparisons to worldwide seaports, though for sailing it offers vast a range of conditions unparalleled.
Land and water movement create mountains, valleys, coastlines,
bays and deltas. Theoretically, tetonic plates or land masses
push and slide against each other to, well, create California.
Watersheds
flood into valleys, deltas and rivers. The gravitational pull
of the Sun and Moon pull water and create tides. Dramatic physical
attributes play a role in weather, surrounding hills around
the Bay, the narrow entrance known as the Golden Gate and warm
inland valleys are placed in the path of cool water and wind
weather that forces cold wind into a venturi blast toward warmed
hills and temperate climates. These microclimate variations
or localized pressure gradients result in pockets of windy weather-
known as the "air conditioner."
From
the Coast to the Bay to the Delta, the conditions vary daily
- variations are the common theme. Variable temperatures in
close proximity generates wind-generally speaking. Here in the
SF Bay Area, we take advantage of the differential in conditions
to find wind as the temperature gradients move. Daily, it's
possible to predict fair weather in some locales while gaurenteeing
wind in others. For kiters, this is California Gold. Leave nice
temperate weather to drive a short distance to windy weather.
The variations are unfathomable. In 10 miles it's possible to
find a 40 degree temperature variance. It's all well and fine
unless you forgot your jacket because when you left it was hot
and now it's cold -- freezing cold.
The
SF Bay's microclimates work to your advantage and even guides
your life. "The weather tells you where to go" says
one rider. "I don't even think about second guessing the
wind pager." "Don't argue with the facts," says
another. I say, "it's windy let's ride." And we do
nearly everyday.
