I am going for holiday to California this summer

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If there is any chance for flat water windsurfing there?
Looking at the Google maps this spot looks promising , but if there is really somebody windsurfing ?
Any rental shops ?
or should I rather now have a quick crash course in wave windsurfing to be prepared for California ?

San Diego has a reputation for poor wind.

Their summer June July? If I were going I would check out San Francisco, and make a special effort to check out the Columbia River Gorge on the border between Washington and Oregon. Ask the locals about flat water.

^ +1 San Francisco Bay.
The gorge is far, over 1000 kms away, rentals available at both.

www.101surfsports.com/index.php/san-francisco-windsurfing

www.bigwinds.com/wind/rentals

I'd second that. You won't see much wind in San Diego during summer. I spend 3 weeks there around November / December several years back. Great surf almost every day and we had a few days of good wave sailing but come summer time everyone seems to head up further North.

I live in Los Angeles, about 3 hours north of San Diego. As far as I know, only formula sailing in San Diego. Couple of guys wave sail their SUPs. No windsurfing rentals available.

In LA there are windsurfing rentals available from Captain Kirks in San Pedro (and other places, can't remember where right now). LA has a wierd fog bank in June called June Gloom, so don't expect much windsurfing in June. By July the summer thermals kick in and you can expect 18-20 mph breezes 5 out of 7 afternoons at Cabrillo Beach. Mainly slalom, freestyle and freeriding, very occasionally some wave sailing.

BUT, if you are in San Diego your best bet is to go to Punta San Carlos in Mexico. Wait for a south swell to show in the forecast and then head down. Glam camping is available at Solosports, else you have to take everything including water as you are camping in a desert. PSC gets epic winds all summer long, just have to wait for decent swells.

Mate sails at Berkeley San Fran Bay, I'll be there in August hopefully get some wind.

Baja?

fugetaboutit, no wind there.

If you are in San Diego head to mexico .

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philn said..

I live in Los Angeles, about 3 hours north of San Diego. As far as I know, only formula sailing in San Diego. Couple of guys wave sail their SUPs. No windsurfing rentals available.

In LA there are windsurfing rentals available from Captain Kirks in San Pedro (and other places, can't remember where right now). LA has a wierd fog bank in June called June Gloom, so don't expect much windsurfing in June. By July the summer thermals kick in and you can expect 18-20 mph breezes 5 out of 7 afternoons at Cabrillo Beach. Mainly slalom, freestyle and freeriding, very occasionally some wave sailing.

BUT, if you are in San Diego your best bet is to go to Punta San Carlos in Mexico. Wait for a south swell to show in the forecast and then head down. Glam camping is available at Solosports, else you have to take everything including water as you are camping in a desert. PSC gets epic winds all summer long, just have to wait for decent swells.

Is PSC solosports good? I'm thinking of doing the Matt Pritchard clinic.

Is mid August or late September best for waves?

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Yuppy said..

Is PSC solosports good? I'm thinking of doing the Matt Pritchard clinic.

Is mid August or late September best for waves?

Matt's PSC clinic is awesome. Matt really helped my wavesailing progress. PSC is also a really good venue for the clinic as the waves don't smack you around too hard even when big, so easy to work up your confidence.

I haven't been in August or September, but I've been told that is the nicest time of the year as the water is warmer then. PSC relies on south swells coming up from the southern hemisphere, so August especially should be a high probability time of the year for waves.

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Mark _australia said..

Baja?

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philn said..

BUT, if you are in San Diego your best bet is to go to Punta San Carlos in Mexico. Wait for a south swell to show in the forecast and then head down. Glam camping is available at Solosports, else you have to take everything including water as you are camping in a desert. PSC gets epic winds all summer long, just have to wait for decent swells.

I've heard (not sure if it's true) , when you cross the border in to Tijuana, make damn sure the gas tank is full and don't stop for NOTHIN' until you're 200 miles from the US border.

Been lurking here for awhile, from the USA, finally joined, so I could respond to this thread.

I was born and raised in San Diego, and it sucks for wind, kites maybe, but for windsurfing, pfffft.
For a summertime vacay, go to San Francisco, as mentioned above, many flat water places to sail on the bay with some good chop at some spots for getting a bit of air, Coyote Pt., Candlestick, Crissy Field, just to name a few. And from there you can go inland, following the American River to Rio Vista for some river sailing, kinda like a mini Gorge, very fun. If there is fog in San Francisco, then Rio Vista is firing, you can't miss, summertime is perfect for those places.

Happy trails.

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philn said...
I live in Los Angeles, about 3 hours north of San Diego. As far as I know, only formula sailing in San Diego. Couple of guys wave sail their SUPs. No windsurfing rentals available.

In LA there are windsurfing rentals available from Captain Kirks in San Pedro (and other places, can't remember where right now). LA has a wierd fog bank in June called June Gloom, so don't expect much windsurfing in June. By July the summer thermals kick in and you can expect 18-20 mph breezes 5 out of 7 afternoons at Cabrillo Beach. Mainly slalom, freestyle and freeriding, very occasionally some wave sailing.

BUT, if you are in San Diego your best bet is to go to Punta San Carlos in Mexico. Wait for a south swell to show in the forecast and then head down. Glam camping is available at Solosports, else you have to take everything including water as you are camping in a desert. PSC gets epic winds all summer long, just have to wait for decent swells.

Aside from this I bekieve Long Beach..forgot the puplic park..can have flat water too..or go north for Lake Isabela or Castaic maybe Philn can correct me it's been that long..regards

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Yuppy said..


Is PSC solosports good? I'm thinking of doing the Matt Pritchard clinic.

Is mid August or late September best for waves?

Hey Yuppy, i am booked for Matt Pritchard Clinic at PCS but not been before so can't comment on conditions

I was there in 2011.
Coyote pt on San Francisco Bay looked like a good spot, especially if you are renting gear as there was a windsurfing shop right there at the water's edge.

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Mastbender said..

Been lurking here for awhile, from the USA, finally joined, so I could respond to this thread.

I was born and raised in San Diego, and it sucks for wind, kites maybe, but for windsurfing, pfffft.

Happy trails.

Just in case I want to try, If San Diego Bay is free to sail or any restrictions for windsurfers ? Looks nice 2 km across at least, maybe on bigger board ? Is it clean water there ?

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Macroscien said..

Mastbender said..

Been lurking here for awhile, from the USA, finally joined, so I could respond to this thread.

I was born and raised in San Diego, and it sucks for wind, kites maybe, but for windsurfing, pfffft.

Happy trails.

Just in case I want to try, If San Diego Bay is free to sail or any restrictions for windsurfers ? Looks nice 2 km across at least, maybe on bigger board ? Is it clean water there ?

What is shown as San Diego Bay in that pic is actually mostly a Military harbor, Navy mostly, with restricted areas which are even larger ever since 911. The water quality can be a bit iffy in areas, many large ships that can bring their own variety of stuff. The harbor has only one entrance to the ocean (Point Loma) so the water doesn't get that good of circulation.
Mission Bay, just to the north (between Mission Beach and Bay Park, on your first map), is more sail friendly, you can sail anywhere, windsurfers favor being out in front of the Hilton Hotel on the east side of the bay, but you'll need a very big board and a very big sail to even get going.
San Diego is famous for it's sail regattas, America's Cup and all that, but we're talking big sailboats, which is a far cry from windsurfers.
I fear you'd be disappointed, but San Francisco is a slam dunk, you'll get blisters from sailing so much.