The San Francisco Boardsailing Association (SFBA) and the San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail are pleased to present this Bay Area Boardsailing Plan for consideration by the boardsailing community, shoreline site owners and managers, planners and landscape architects, agency staff and decision-makers, and everyone else interested in the provision of water access to San Francisco Bay.

The San Francisco Boardsailing Association (SFBA) and the San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail (Water Trail) are pleased to present the Bay Area Boardsailing Plan for consideration by the boardsailing community, shoreline site owners/managers, planners and landscape architects, agency staff and decision-makers, and everyone else interested in the provision of water access to San Francisco Bay.

• SFBA and the Water Trail hope that this plan provides useful information and recommendations for interested parties and stakeholders to consider as part of pending development projects and long range planning efforts. SFBA and the Water Trail are committed to working with all parties in a cooperative manner to advance the planning for and development of the proposed water access improvements set forth in this plan. In particular, we would like reviewers to consider the following: San Francisco Bay is one of the world’s premier boardsailing locations due to the consistent winds that occur March through September - one of the longest boardsailing seasons in the world.
• Boardsailing has a long history on the Bay, but suitable access is limited and growing use is increasing demand on already crowded boardsailing sites
• Access needs for boardsailors are unique and sometimes not well-understood by shoreline planners, managers, and decision-makers - even minor modifications of a site can result in significant impacts to user safety.
• Recent development projects and shoreline erosion have already significantly impacted use at several important boardsailing sites We hope that this plan objectively presents the importance of protecting and enhancing boardsailing access to San Francisco Bay. We look forward to working with all stakeholders in ensuring safe and sustainable boardsailing access for the benefit of Bay Area residents and visitors to our Bay.

Acknowledgments

This document draws from the collective wisdom of boardsailors, designers, and public access professionals as well as other documents that detail best practices in water access design and planning. Throughout this document’s development the experience and guidance of Bay Area boardsailors was critical to inform existing use and needed improvements associated with sites across the Bay.

SFBA Board of Directors • Tomer Petel, President • David Lyon, Vice President • Jim McGrath, Access Chair • Jeff Finn, Access, Social Media, Safety Outreach • George Israel, Treasurer, Access • Emily Prescott, Access, Communication Writer • Bill Robberson, President Emeritus, Access, Safety, Engineering
Boardsailing Plan Subcommittee • Mandi Browning • Tomer Petel • David Lyon • Andrew Sullivan	Additional Assistance Provided By: • Cavian Cav, Mapping and Photography • David Fielder, Windsurfing Review • Brynne Weeks, Mapping

Contents

1.0 Introduction

Boardsailing the Bay

San Francisco Bay is one of the world’s premier boardsailing locations. Boardsailing can occur anywhere there is consistent wind blowing over the surface of the water, but the Bay Area is truly special. Temperature differences between Pacific Ocean and the Sacramento Valley generate thermal winds that occur regularly from March through September. With seven months of consistent winds, San Francisco Bay provides one of the longest boardsailing seasons in the world.

Windsurfing has been popular on the Bay for over 40 years and, with the rise of modern kiteboarding in the late 1990s, boardsailing has continued to grow in popularity. The access needs of windsurfers and kiteboarders are unique from other types of water craft and kiteboarders in particular need sites with plenty of unobstructed space to launch and land.

Windsurfing tends to be more versatile, with an ability to launch and land from shoreline ramps, docks, and access paths. Access is primarily limited to 28 sites throughout the BayArea that provide suitable winds and space for windsurfers and/or kiteboarders to regularly launch and land their boards. Once on the water, the Bay provides unparalleled recreational opportunities.

Purpose and Intent

The purpose of this Plan is to provide a single objective source of information about existing boardsailing access within the nine-county Bay Area. This Plan also identifies opportunities and constraints for the enhancement of boardsailing access and associated facility and site improvements. This Plan is intended to supplement and expand upon the Enhanced San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail Plan and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission’s (BCDC) Bay Plan. The goal of this Plan is to ensure that protection and expansion of boardsailing access receives attention commensurate with the Bay Area’s statewide, national, and even international importance, and that the public interest with regard to improved boardsailing access is recognized.

As boardsailing continues to grow in popularity, and as the overall population of the Bay Area grows, ensuring there is adequate, safe access distributed across the Bay Area will be critical. Meeting this demand through protection and enhancement of existing access sites, as well as construction of new sites, will help ensure that use is concentrated in locations that are suitable to higher levels of use. If adequate access is not accommodated, it can result in people launching under increasingly hazardous conditions or seeking out and launching in areas the contain sensitive species and habitats.

Bay Access

In 1963, only about four miles of Bay shoreline were being used for waterfront parks. The Bay was rapidly being filled for development and waterways were highly polluted. Thanks to decades of hard work from passionate citizens and implementation of forward-looking policies, significant progress has been made to improve water quality, protect and enhance recreational access, and expand habitat for wildlife. Today, the Bay and its shoreline are key recreational resources to millions of Bay Area residents and visitors, providing unique opportunities for fun, education, and adventure. Recreational activities on the Bay and along its shoreline inspire an appreciation of the Bay and motivate people to participate in the responsible management and protection of the Bay.

San Francisco Bay Plan

The McAteer-Petris Act of 1965 created the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC). The San Francisco Bay Plan was completed and adopted by BCDC in 1968 to implement the provisions of the Act, namely to reduce filling of the Bay and to increase recreational access to and along the shoreline. From its studies of San Francisco Bay, BCDC has concluded that ”shoreline areas suitable for priority uses-ports, water-related industry, airports, wildlife refuges, and water-related recreation-exist only in limited amount, and should be reserved for these purposes.” Additionally, BCDC is required to ensure that “each new shoreline development increases public access to the Bay to the maximum extent feasible, in accordance with the policies for Public Access to the Bay.” 

The Bay Plan and BCDC continue to play a critical role in the protection and enhancement of this public access through long-range planning, site design review, and regulatory enforcement. In 2006, BCDC completed its “Recreation and San Francisco Bay” report and updated the Bay Plan to recognize the then relatively new sport of kite sailing (now known as kiteboarding). The information and recommendations within this Boardsailing Plan are intended to assist BCDC staff and decision-makers regarding future projects and strategic management of boardsailing as an important and growing public access resource.

San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail

The California legislature established the San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail (Water Trail), finding that “with loss of public open space, the public increasingly looks to the Bay, the region’s largest open space, for recreational opportunities.” Boardsailors were instrumental in the passage of the San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail Act (AB 1296, Hancock) on September 22, 2005.

The Water Trail strives to enhance access to San Francisco Bay for people in human-powered boats and beachable sail craft. The trail promotes safe and responsible use of the Bay through education and coordinated, strategic access planning and funding. The Water Trail Plan guides trail implementation for agencies and organizations that develop and manage water trail access points and programs. Recommended policies and procedures in the Plan define how the Water Trail takes shape over time by encouraging and funding enhancements for existing access sites, working with shoreline regulators and stakeholders during new development to accommodate appropriate water access, and working with local users to ensure access is safe and sustainable. Sites voluntarily join the Water Trail through a designation process that encourages and elevates quality water access.

The Water Trail Program regularly engages agencies, the public, and private entities in planning and site design review for water access projects. The Program recently completed the Water Trail Design Guidelines, which provides best practices and standards for water access facilities including kiteboard and windsurfing launch designs.

San Francisco Boardsailing Association (SFBA)

The San Francisco Boardsailing Association (SFBA) is a not￾for-profit organization incorporated in 1986 to ensure that windsurfers and kiteboarders have quality access to the San Francisco Bay. The SFBA mission includes creating and improving boardsailing launch sites and facilities and promoting andenhancing boardsailing safety and related education. In order to achieve this mission, SFBA initiates and builds consensus for and contributes to launch site access improvements and enhancements. SFBA regularly participates in the planning processes and has provided funding for development, reuse and redevelopment of public and private properties adjacent to San Francisco Bay. SFBA also actively sponsors safety, outreach and special events and engages in all activities which may impact, threaten or enhance the recreational uses of windsurfing and/or kiteboarding in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.