San Francisco Bay Boardsailing Plan - Bay Area Access

3.0 Bay Area Access

This section provides an overview of the existing boardsailing locations on San Francisco Bay and identifies opportunities and constraints for the enhancement of boardsailing access. SFBA and the Water Trail have documented access at 28 locations across the 9-county region that are currently used by boardsailors. On the surface, this would appear to be a large number of access sites; however, a detailed review shows that, in their current condition, the vast\ majority of these sites would be hazardous for all but advanced boardsailors. Locations that can be used by beginners or intermediate riders are far more limited. In addition, shorelinedevelopment and natural processes have significantly impacted access at several highly usedsites. These limitations enhance the importances of existing access points, particularly at sitessuitable for beginners and intermediates.

Maintaining quality access and, where feasible, creating new access should be a priority for shoreline managers and regulators to encourage safe and sustainable boardsailing. If implemented appropriately, San Francisco Bay could become a safer and more sustainable destination for boardsailors, provide an important recreational amenity for a growing number of Bay Area residents, and cultivate a new generation of Bay stewards.

Access Considerations

Safety 

Kiteboarding and windsurfing are extreme sports with inherent risk. Kites or sails filled with wind can be extremely powerful, requiring experience to safely maneuver. Even for experienced riders, winds can be prone to lulls and gusts, which if unexpected, can send a kite or rider crashing into the beach, other people, or obstacles. Providing appropriate launch space and site-specific safety education can reduce the potential for significant injury to the rider or bystanders.

The majority of safety incidents occur during the launching and landing process. Maximizingthe amount of launch space, while minimizing hazardous obstructions and the number of other users in the launch area are important inx maintaining the safety of all users on the shore. Even with these precautions, it is important to recognize that many sites will never be suitable for beginner or even intermediate boardsailors. Encouraging a boardsailing culture that prioritizes “safety over stoke” will be critical as participation grows.

Wildlife 

Boardsailing can disturb birds, like other coastal recreational activities conducted where birds are present. A literature review conducted by the Global Kitesports Association (GKA) found that additional research was needed, but that the existing scientific literature does not indicate kiteboarding has a significant impact on birds.The report noted that disturbance of wildlife can take place at the launching site and on open water, but there are several factors that combine to limit the overall potential for impacts to wildlife:

• The requirements for certain water depths, open space, and for a minimum wind speed limit the possibility for boardsailors to enter areas with shallow or calm water, which
  in most cases are the preferred habitats for resting and feeding birds. Large parts of Richardson Bay, San Pablo Baylands, Suisun Marsh, and marshes along the South Bay are not accessible to boardsailing due to these constraints. 
• In general, the more wind exposure on open water the less birds will rest and feed in the area, and the more suitable will it be for boardsailing – and the other way around.
• The demand for specific weather conditions give boardsailing more limitations than most coastal activities in terms of when they can be carried out, limiting the overall frequency of potential disturbance. These limitations concentrate use into the windy season (March - August) and then only during daylight hours on days with sustained winds>10mph. Less consistent wind, cold temperatures, and reduced daylight causes a significant reduction in boardsailing activity during winter months, which is the primary season in the Bay Area for visiting migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway.

Recreational Use Management

As the number of boardsailors continues to grow, and as some existing access locations deteriorate, there could be an increase in people “pioneering” new access locations or people using sites that exceed their boardsailing capabilities. Left unaddressed, these trends could result in increased impacts to public safety and Bay wildlife. The Federal government has developed a guide to visitor use management1 , which provides a suite of strategies and actions depending on the issue being addressed. Management actions are characterized into the three “E’s” - engineering, education, and enforcements:

• Engineering - A common practice in recreation and natural resource management is concentration of public access in areas designed to accommodate higher levels of use. This can create a safer and more enjoyable experience for users, offer predictability for shoreline managers and emergency responders, and reduce the need for users to “pioneer” sites in more sensitive areas. A goal of this plan is to identify sites that could be appropriate for protection or enhancements to encourage intensified use.
• Education and Information - Providing information and education can modify user behavior and alter the distribution of recreational use. Providing a consistent message and sustained outreach that encourages boardsailors to prioritize safety and stewardship will play a critical role in minimizing impacts to safety and wildlife as boardsailing participation grows. SFBA and the Water Trail have significantly increased outreach in recent years.
• Enforcement / Regulation - Often applied as a last resort, regulations can include restricting access at specific locations, restrictions during particular times, or limitations on certain types of use. Regulations often require active management and enforcement at a site, which can be resource intensive for the managing agency to police. Some parts of the Bay shoreline have regulatory restrictions on public access (i.e., wildlife refuges, marine industry) that prohibit boardsailing. To limit additional regulation, education and self￾policing within the boardsailing community will be essential to proactively encourage safe practices and discourage use in more hazardous or resource sensitive areas.
• Note :BCDC Bay Plan Public Access Finding (n.): “Providing diverse and satisfying public access opportunities can reduce the creation of informal access routes to decrease interaction between humans and wildlife, habitat fragmentation, and vegetation trampling and erosion. Formal public access also provides for more predictable human actions, which may increase the ability of wildlife to adjust to human use.”

Access Overview