San Francisco Bay is quite rightly famous around the world for its strong summer afternoon winds. It’s not uncommon for the wind in the Slot to reach 25 to 30 knots by mid-afternoon.
Published: December, 2008
Day after day, from late April to late October, one of the greatest playgrounds in the world for sailors is right here, available to all of us. People come from all over for the opportunity to experience just once what we get to enjoy almost daily for six, or sometimes even seven, months each year.
As a rule, San Francisco Bay sailors enjoy vigorous physical outdoor activity, so it’s not surprising that many also ski. Skiing is a wintertime activity, of course, and most of us are constrained by limited funds and time. Hence, many people give up sailing during the winter months. Because of that, I’m afraid they miss out on the Bay’s other, gentler mood. I’ve often heard people say, You can’t sail the Bay in the winter. There’s no wind. While it is true that the winds tend to be lighter in the winter—except during storms, but more about that in another column—I’d like to argue that some of the best sailing days of the year are in the winter.
Sure, beating to weather in 20+ knots is exhilarating. You’re focused on what’s happening right now, the phone isn’t ringing, you’re not thinking about the office, and the cobwebs are blown out of your head. Sailing out of Berkeley as I do, this is a very regular experience. Everywhere is upwind from Berkeley. After many months of this kind of intensity, I for one am ready for a change. Winter gives the change I am looking for.
As I write this, I’m thinking about the sail I had on a December afternoon. The wind was from the north at about 15 knots. The boat was sailing at hull speed, the deck was dry, and I didn’t need to put in a reef or wear foulies. The concentration of summer sailing has been replaced by a comfortable mellowness. The lower angle of the sun gives everything a richer hue. The fogs of summer are gone, and you can actually see the hills that surround this beautiful body of water on which we are privileged to sail. I sailed past a large flock of migratory birds, and the lighter winds allowed me to hear the marvelous sound they made when they all took off together. Among the seasonal visitors to the Bay, there is also a pair of loons. This is the fourth or fifth year that I’ve seen them wintering in the Berkeley Marina.
Yes, the days are shorter in the winter. It will be full dark by 1730, but, then again, the afternoon high temperature was 67 degrees. I ask you, how often do you have a day like that in the summer? It’s the day after a storm, and the air has been washed clean by two days of rain. The visibility must have been about 70 miles, because I was able to see Mt. St. Helena, up at the north end of the Napa Valley, from out on the Bay. From Berkeley today, everywhere was a reach out and a reach back.
All in all, I’d say that this was one of the best sailing days of the year!
Ray Wichmann,
is a US SAILING-certified Ocean Passagemaking Instructor, a US SAILING Instructor Trainer, and a member of US SAILING’s National Faculty. He holds a 100-Ton Master’s License, was a charter skipper in Hawai’i for 15 years, and has sailed on both coasts of the United States, in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Greece. He is presently employed as the Master Instructor at OCSC Sailing in the Berkeley Marina.