Great idea, Rikki! I went to Point Reyes recently and it was really nice. I'm always up for a trip there.
I think my heart might be in Half Moon Bay, though, to help out all those businesses that have been suffering since Devil's Slide was closed. We'll not only be visiting some great places (Moss Beach, Maverick's, etc.) to shoot with our friends, but we'll also be helping a local economy that could really use it right now.
Hey, gang, I'm back! What a good idea. Time for another GTG, indeed. Another suggestion: 3rd Avenue in San Mateo is the place to be for wind & kite sailors these days. I just checked the tide tables (see below) and it looks as if it might be good on the weekend of 15-16. But (disclaimer) I'm no expert at this stuff. Might start out at Half Moon Bay/Princeton and ride over to 3rd Avenue in San Mateo in the afternoon.
I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. I'm expecting to be out there the weekend of the July 22nd. If it happens to be that weekend, I'd like to join in.
Hey, gang, I'm back! What a good idea. Time for another GTG, indeed. Another suggestion: 3rd Avenue in San Mateo is the place to be for wind & kite sailors these days. I just checked the tide tables (see below) and it looks as if it might be good on the weekend of 15-16. But (disclaimer) I'm no expert at this stuff. Might start out at Half Moon Bay/Princeton and ride over to 3rd Avenue in San Mateo in the afternoon.
Tides for San Mateo Bridge (west end) starting with July 15, 2006.
Day High Tide Height
/Low Time Feet
Sa 15 High 3:41 AM 7.6
15 Low 10:33 AM -0.3
15 High 5:13 PM 7.8
15 Low 11:20 PM 2.0
Su 16 High 4:46 AM 6.8
16 Low 11:19 AM 0.4
16 High 5:55 PM 8.0
M 17 Low 12:34 AM 1.6
17 High 6:04 AM 5.8
17 Low 12:07 PM 1.1
17 High 6:39 PM 8.3
I windsurf out there. Tides have little to do with whether or not windsurfers will be out. Check iwindsurf.com if that is what you want to shoot. Do you guys mind if a newbie comes along?
[quote=sfalice]
I windsurf out there. Tides have little to do with whether or not windsurfers will be out. Check iwindsurf.com if that is what you want to shoot. Do you guys mind if a newbie comes along?
Yeah, you windsurfers wander all over the place. And, wow, are you people good! But I noticed those kiteboarders don't seem to want to do tricks when the tide's out and the mud's in.
Windsurfing and kite boarding are great for photos, but are you sure they're going to be doing this right down the main street in San Mateo? ;-) I'm not sure what you're saying about 3rd Street, Alice, but I'm sure the misunderstanding is on my end.
Also, I'm not sure the name of it, but there's a great beach for kite boarding on Hwy 1 south of Half Moon Bay. It's right by where those huge cliffs are on the east side of the road. There are always people out there, so that would be a great place to go for photos on a sunny day.
Windsurfing and kite boarding are great for photos, but are you sure they're going to be doing this right down the main street in San Mateo? ;-) I'm not sure what you're saying about 3rd Street, Alice, but I'm sure the misunderstanding is on my end.
Also, I'm not sure the name of it, but there's a great beach for kite boarding on Hwy 1 south of Half Moon Bay. It's right by where those huge cliffs are on the east side of the road. There are always people out there, so that would be a great place to go for photos on a sunny day.
3rd Avenue not 3rd Street, Philip... From San Francisco, take 101 south, exit at 3rd Ave, go East almost as far as you can, bordering a nice bayside park to the left, until you see the fenced in golf driving range on the left. Take a left there,(it looks as if you'll drive right into the fence) bend around to the right and go into the parking lot, unless it's full of sailors' equipment. I like it because it's possible to get action with a fairly short (200mm or more) lens. More is better, of course.
(Kitesailor at 3rd Ave)
I think I know the spot you are talking about, south of HMB, near Davenport? Big Basin Park area? (Waddell State Beach) I'm told the Big Boys come here to play when the weather's right.
Also, there's some surfboarding at Princeton, but the sun will be behind the players in the afternoon. Of course, for surfboarding, Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz is a great place to be.
Since this is July 29, 30, maybe we should all put this on our Watch Lists and check back??? I'd do this one even if it wasn't a GTG.
Who:
Highline Kites of Berkeley
What: 20th Annual Berkeley Kite Festival & West Coast Kite Championships
When: July 29th & 30th, 2006 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Where: Cesar E. Chavez Park at the Berkeley Marina
Phone: 510-235-KITE (5483)
E-Mail: Fest@HighlineKites.com
Web Site: //www.HighlineKites.com Cost? FREE!
Of course I'll also be at the 3rd Avenue (San Mateo) Venue in July. Because this really is the best time of year for the action. But maybe even our intrepid Bay Bunch won't want to do two GTGs in one month.
Rikki 07/02/2006 03:10:12 PM
that's a great schedule Alice. I'm in ;)
md8speed 07/01/2006 09:05:49 PM
I'm game!
Does this mean you guys are ready do two TWO GTGs in July! Wonderful!
For my schedule this means a nice choice of either July 15/16 for 3rd Avenue, San Mateo, and (unfortunately) for me only the 29th of July for the Berkeley event.
I'm guessing, that for the kite boarders, tide would be good around 2:00pm, so something could work out for earlier at Half Moon Bay if people like. (Barbara's Fish Trap in Princeton for lunch @ 11:30 when the doors open, a little walk through Half Moon Bay for nice buildings, or a walk on the beach at the Maverick's area until time to shoot over on #92 to 3rd avenue) Contrary to what you read here, I don't know every square inch of the road between SF and points south of here, but some 40 years of appreciation does allow some of it to sink in...
In any event, let's try to coordinate something...
GeneralE might want to take the Berkeley event and run with it...
I was going to post a map/directions to the Berkeley site, but the browser ate my post. I'll re-post later.
The event starts at 11 -- parking is always ferocious in Berkeley. Do people want to get there early and watch the set-up? I don't know what time they really get going because I've only caught the "tail end" (pun intended) of the festival in the past.
There are other photo-ops around the marina area as well, including a long pier pointing straight at Alcatraz and the Golden Gate, and views of the Richmond-San Rafael and Bay Bridges as well. There's a really cool kids play area with all kinds of improvised play structures, and sailing and sailboarding clubs. There's also a pedestrian bridge over the freeway if anyone wants shots of ten lanes of traffic, which ends up at Aquatic Park, where there are often a lot of birds.
Someday we should take a tour around (the eastern half of?) Oakland's Lake Merritt ... that ringed-in area on the right of the aerial photo is a bird sancuary, the oldest officially-designated wildlife refuge in the US. There are also several historic and/or government buildings on the streets just off the lake. Preservation Park (restored Victorian district) is about 12 blocks up the road, after passing through Chinatown and the Downtown corridor.
Another fun place is the albany waterfront. It is right behind the horsetrack and is full of sculptures and art from old debris. I used this spot for two challenges, and and you can see a few more images in gallery on my portfolio. I'll look into those dates too to see what I can do if ya'll don't mind ;).
Does everyone know about the Photo Fair at Fort Mason July 21-23? I'll definitely be going sometime that weekend and would love to meet up with anyone else who's planning to go.
