While our unique boardsailing community is a sum of it's parts, certain members of our community play a large role in shaping its culture to make it safe and fun and, in some cases, even possible, for us to enter the water and experience the stoke that our wind and waters offer.
While we will be formally recognizing these special members at our season celebration on October 16th, we want to recognize these individuals here:
Our Lifetime recognition award goes to Jeff Finn for his stewardship of the Crissy Field Beach and his outreach with the US Coast Guard. We thank Jeff for his years of service and dedication to keeping everyone safe.
As part of our year end celebration we will be recognizing Clay Schmitz for his creative contributions through Clay Island, which is some sort of combination of Steven Spielberg and Carl Sagan for Bay Area wind sports. Clay's creative genius will be on full display at our October 16th Film Fest.
We could not be more stoked on King of the Cove and have much gratitude for Dylan Brown for making it happen. The King of the Cove is the only legit big air mega loop competition on the entire West Coast. Would you like to see some big air now? Do that here.
If the future is in our youth we owe some thanks to Michael Vare. While we celebrate him this year its really been his dedication over the past few years for supporting for Grom Sailing. With kids like these the future is bright.
Organizing racing is a tough and sometimes thankless job. We correct that here by thanking Geoff Headington for his support for racing at St. FYC. This years race season was jam packed and included the first ever West Coast Championships. All we have to say to Geoff is MORE PLEASE!
Tight spaces, Rip Rap Beaches, Power Lines, and big winds make Sherman Island an adventurous place to sail. We have to say thanks to Peter Jones, David Everett, Scotty Levy and Ludwig for managing safety at Sherman Island.
From leading trash pickups to filling sand bags Terri Henderson is literally the anchor of the Rio Vista Wind Sports community. Throw in her selfless dedication to managing Rio Vista Windsurfing Association (RVWA) and Sherman Island Kiteboarding Organization and we all owe Terry a great big "Atta Girl!!!!!!!"
The South Bay scene is a strong one and its tight night community centers around the love Cavian Cav puts into it. Cavians efforts in creating a connected community over the years have resulted in a rich, vibrant, inclusive and diverse group of folks that has made the South Bay a better place.
If you Kiteboard in the East Bay it's almost guranteed that you know Michael Ellie. Michaels work organizing the Kite community is a template we've leaned on in defining what it means to be an ambassador for your sport.
We'd be the first to admit that Candlestick Park has had a rough few years. With that said the work of Frank Hsieh & Elena Ufimtseva has not gone unnoticed. Frank & Elena and thier band of volunteers are dedicated to getting Candlestick back on its feet.
3rd Avenue would simply not be the space it is without the tireless efforts of Steve Gunn & Owain Chilton. Their work in navigating politics is an example of what we call "unlimited patience". Their single minded focus on making 3rd avenue safe and accessible for everyone gets a nod of gratitude. A big one.
What is a Site Steward? We answer that by pointing our finger at Pablo Thai. Pablo's efforts over the years are a model for the kind of ambassadorship that makes our community what it is.
While the world is essentially on information overload we single out Josh McCulloch & Erin Lossocco as the filters that keep our community connected and informed. Through multiple platforms they sift through mundane and highlight the important. You may not realize it because they are often behind the scenes but this is an everyday job that requires diligence and attention and is truly the definition of community service.
This year we officially welcomed downwind foiling into the folds of the SFBA. That is largely due to the work of Andy Forquer & David Bloch for their advocacy and advancement of downwinder sports. If you haven't read their Downwind Foiling Guide you are simply missing out.
Our connection with the Coast Guard is a critcal partnership that keeps everyone safe. We owe much thanks to Jesse Stewart and Peter Thorners’ work on proactively engaging and training the CG on rescue protocol. On the other side of that has been the incredible leadership and constructive relationship building of Commander Michael 'Leo' Zapawa, CG who is the assistant Command Center Chief responsible for board sports search and rescue efforts. The true definition of a partnership.
While we owe Jim McGrath thanks for literally decades of contributions of protecting and expanding access for wind sports we single him out this year for his work at Treasure Island and the Berkeley Marina. Jim's knowledge of process is married to a rolodex that is deep and wide and when Jim calls the phone gets answered.
We have our challenges on Treasure Island and we admittedly wish we could be doing more to help Ross Libenson and Tom Gandesbery for all their work trying to improve Treasure Island. It's going to take the long view to get Treasure Island where it really should be as a crown jewel of sailing spots but we know with these two on the case it's going to happen.
We thank Tony Parsons for his one man towing service. His efforts to keep an eye on everyone and then consistently hauling them back to shore has been invaluable. I know if you have been towed by Tony (and there are lots of you) you'd say what we want to. Thanks Tony!
We close our 2024 thank yous' with perhaps our biggest one. Through active involvement and inclusive outreach we thank Jane & Rebecca of Boardsports. Since 2002 their focus on building community is a model for us all and their commitment to entrust the SFBA with a major amount of funding will lead to site improvements all across the Bay for years to come. Actions speak louder than words and these two were really loud this year in the best possible way.
We most certainly have left some people off this list and for that we apologize ahead of time. If you have a hero you'd like to recognize drop us an email at
We also say thank you to all our dues paying members. Your annual contributions are what make our work possible. We are entirely volunteer based so please keep your memberships current and get all your friends to do the same. We'll keep up our end of protecting and expanding access while promoting safety on San Francisco Bay just like we have been since 1985! Not a member? Join us here.
In the meantime go write your name and phone number on all your gear and then immediately after grab some tickets to our October 16th event before they sell out.
