From: jaime@netcom.com (Jaime Cordera)
Subject: Re: Windsurfing at Shoreline in Mountain View CA?
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 92 03:15:20 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Distribution: ba 

In article <1992Sep22.214355.29736@odin.corp.sgi.com> clw@sante.corp.sgi.com (Cathy L. Wallace) writes:
>IF you've had experience sailing at Shoreline Park (the man-made I think
>sailing lake) could you tell me what its like?  I have always been against
>sailing there do to the small size and reputably toxic water, but went by
>there yesterday and it seems bigger and cleaner than it used to. 
>Comments?
>Hows the water? Wind? do you need a wetsuit? whats the best time to sail
>there?
>cost to launch boards?

Useful facts to know about Shoreline: the area is 55 acres, it is approximately
20-25 ft deep, dropping off rapidly from waters edge (i.e. there is not too 
much shallow area to stand up to practice water and beach starts in).

The water is pumped in from and out to the Charleston slough (i.e. 
San Francisco bay) and is supposed to be charcoal filtered and 4x cleaner 
than bay water. I'll leave that to your judgement as to whether that is
clean or not. There has, in the past, been some concern about the possibilty 
of bacteria concentrating 
in the lake, but this has been checked out, and last report I heard, was ok.
It is regularly checked by the city (I believe, but it might be some other
agency. I forgot to look at the guys uniform when I was talking to him).

The park is owned by the city of Mtn. View and is the site of the old Mtn. View
dump, as is the nearby Shoreline Amphitheater and gold course. There is no
charge to enter the park, but there is a $3.00 launch fee for all craft,
unless you rent there, in which case it is included in the rental fee. There
is a season pass for $100, but in my opinion, this is a bad deal. Better to 
pay the fee each time. The lake itself used to be a salt pond and has been
dredged to its current size. Oh, by the way, no power boats or craft over
14' and absolutely no catamarans.

The city requires that life jackets been worn while on the water. In addition
to windsurfing, there are canoe, small sailboats, kayak, and paddle board
rentals.

From the beach, the sailing area (summer) is from the beach to the left and
towards the golf course at approximately 45 degrees to the beach. That is to
say, the wind is side on-shore. Most of the lake is not that usable for 
shortboard windsurfing, but long boarders can use the whole thing.

The summer sailing for all but beginners generally starts after 1-2 in the
afternoon, with winds from 10-20 knots, generally right around 15 knots or so.
The beginners class ends at 1:00, so if you need some light winds to warm up
in, you can come before lunch.

In the summer it is generally crowded in the parking lot and on the water. If
you can work upwind you will be in a lot less traffic, as most of the sailors
can't. If you are at all advanced (i.e. can waterstart, or are trying to learn),
I recommend Coyote Point, 3rd Avenue, or, the Palo Alto marina (at high tide),
as better wind, less crowded alternatives.

For more details, call Spinnaker Sailing, the company that runs the
concession at the park, at (415) 965-7474.

Jaime

DISCLAIMER: I teach windsurfing at Shoreline.
-- 
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Jaime Cordera                                                  jaime@netcom.com
6'0"" 200lbs
9'4" Bic A. Rock, 9'0" ASD slalom, 8'8" ASD Wave, Waddell Race and Surf/Slalom
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: '89 Mistral Screamer for sale
Newsgroups: rec.windsurfing
Distribution: ca
Keywords: FOR SALE


'89 Mistral Screamer for sale, $550

Used <12 times by a 120 lb. person at a sailing site with a sandy bottom, this 
board is in excellent shape -  no dings or dents.  It's a 9'2" DCS construction board with 205 lbs. of bouyancy (103 litre displacement).

I have reached the conclusion that a 8'6" sinker board is the right one for a 
woman my size.  I havenUt sailed this board in over a year.  This board is 
great for a 150-180ish man, but it's way too floaty for me.  It's time for me 
to clear out some more space in my garage.  So I'm selling it for 
$550 (hull & footstraps only).

For more info, respond to this account or call Mary at (510) 975-4519 (days).

(Posting for a friend:-))

Newsgroups: rec.windsurfing