The winter pineapple express is here! Wind, rain, flash food, and total mayhem! I'm ready though for the next 10 days as the storm is blowing south wind and luckily I'm going the same way! Per the national weather service:

"So far, little change is seen on incoming model data. Rain is expected to begin this evening, and winds are expected to ramp up as well. The initial burst of rain is only a pre-cursor and not
directly associated with the atmospheric river. Expect periods of rain on and off Saturday but generally light to moderate in intensity."

"A high wind watch has also been posted for the area hills starting at 4 am Saturday and lasting
through Sunday morning. Model data shows strong southerly winds at 925 mb in the strong warm advection pattern. Wind gusts from 50 to 60 mph in the coastal hills will be possible. Wind will likely lull for a time Saturday afternoon but then wind speeds are expected to ramp up again Saturday night and Sunday morning as the next wave moves onshore."

Saturday, we're paddling from Redwood City to Coyote Point and Sunday Coyote Point to Oyster Point. Hopefully we'll get some good waves! 1/10/17 and 1/11/17 are still undecided, I may not end up going all the way to Kirby Cove. It could be a long paddle all the way to Sausalito on 1/10 depending on the weather.

1/7/2017 101 Surf Sports in Redwood City to Coyote Point Yacht Harbor- 10 Miles

1/8/2017 Coyote Point Yacht Harbor to Oyster Point Point Marina - 7 Miles

1/9/2017 Oyster Point Marina to McCovey Cove, San Francisco - 10 Miles

1/10/2017 McCovey Cove, San Francisco to Kirby Cove - 9 Miles

1/11/2017 Kirby Cove to Bluerush, Sausalito - 5 Miles

1/12/2017 Break

From San Leandro down all the way on the east side of the South Bay, put-ins and take-outs are rare and hard to reach because there are so many wildlife reserves for birds. Camping is also prohibited by the US Fishing and Wildlife Service. If you want to see the wildlife, you can easily paddle along the coast before San Mateo Bridge, explore and return to San Leandro Marina.

On January 2, 2017, Stephanie Siaris and I paddled the stretch against some headwind to San Mateo Bridge, and I continued onto Don Edwards Wildlife Reserve while she paddled back on her OC. Stephanie paddled twice of the speed as my fully loaded inflatable SUP and looped around me probably 4 or 5 times. Click on the picture below to see the full map.

Conditions: It was a cold day in the low 50's and the wind was 10 knots S/SW.

Hazards: There is very little boat traffic on this stretch. Paddling under San Mateo bridge can be a little intimidating because the tides/waves get constricted between the pillars, so best to paddle through the bridge with some speed. Or try to take a picture and fall in the water if it's warm. Low tides can also be an issue if you decide to pull over, it could be a several hundred yard grind in the muck before you can paddle.

Put-in: San Leandro Marina is a really nice marina with lots of parking. The public ramp and dock is on the south side of the marina. There's a port-pottie there also.

Take-out: It's extremely hard to find a good take-out point around here. The best one I've found is where Alameda Creek meets one of the bridges but it will increase your paddle distance by several miles. I elected to camp instead.

Camping: As previously mentioned camping is illegal along the wildlife reserves. But you could find a small seashell beach and camp using leave no trace principle while not disturbing any of the bird life. Be careful of the clay along shore, they can be very slippery during loading. Low tides are also issues as mentioned before.

The storm is coming and I'm going paddling! 1/7/2017 to 1/12/2017

Day 2: San Leandro Marina to Don Edwards Wildlife Reserve 8 miles