January 10, 2009

See parts of our marine playground this Saturday morning only accessible at the highest of tides!  Let's shove off around 9:00.

This invitation is for Scullers and Paddlers mostly, though some Sweep folks may love it too. 
You've already seen that we are invited by our neighbors at Docktown to celebrate the highest tide of the year ( 10.1 ft around 10:45 am ) and the abundant flooding of Maple St . that will happen.

This is an opportunity for BIAC members to see parts of Bair Island and the Don Edwards Refuge that you can only access with a good flush high tide.  This will cure any ‘been there done that' winter blues.

The proposal is to have three groups, weather permitting:

 1) Corkscrew – for those who haven't gotten lost yet across turns 3 & 5 at a peak tide, it's fun to cut big corners. For a full description of this course, see our Corkscrew Regatta page.

 2) Inner Canals – inside of Outer Bair Island are four connected canals to explore, each about 50' wide.  Access is best from inside the east end of Corkscrew Slough approaching turn 9. There are also exits at Redwood Shores by the wires and into the Bay to the north east.

 3) Westpoint Loop – this 16K loop discovers a narrow crescent channel south near Menlo Park that leads out to the Bay for a complete loop. If the wind makes the Bay too rough for a return, we can come back through Westpoint Slough. Those who don't want to see the outside, prefer protected waters, or who can't find the narrow path out can always enjoy 100 straight channel strokes next to the park in Menlo Park at Bay and Willow.

The first two tours are self-guiding, unless someone cares to volunteer leading a pack.  The Westpoint loop I will lead in a double, with specifics to be determined on Saturday at 9:00 when we shove off and gauge the wind and waves.

Cheers,

Cajun Pete