https://the-half-flood-prince.com/tags/tides/ Recent content in Tides on The Half Flood Prince's Guide to SF Kiting Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us Wed, 30 Sep 2026 23:24:14 -0700 https://the-half-flood-prince.com/p/half-flood-princes-guide-to-kiting-crissy/ Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://the-half-flood-prince.com/p/half-flood-princes-guide-to-kiting-crissy/ <p>This is a guide written by crissy regulars to help you get the most out of your sessions. Crissy is one of the most magical spots to kite in the bay, with a stunning backdrop of the city, an abundance of marine wildlife, strong lofty wind, and kiting around the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. Safe and responsible kiting at crissy ensures continued access for everyone.</p> <p>However, Crissy is also an advanced/expert kite spot. A good rule of thumb is to have at least 100 sessions under your belt or 3+ seasons of going regularly to spots in the bay. You should be proficient in kiting in ultra light wind, recovering from a myriad of kitemares, self rescuing, assessing conditions, and ideally rescuing others (we all look out for each other out there). Carrying a charged marine radio and knowing how to use it is non-negotiable.</p> <p>Hazards</p> <ul> <li>Commercial shipping channels. Large ships cannot turn and avoid you, and may not see you. Equipment failure while in their path has high consequences. Constantly be aware of ships around you and stay well clear of them. You’ll be looking downwind and see them with plenty of heads up. Make sure you look upwind for incoming boat traffic. Sometimes you can smell their exhaust. The ferry’s do short laps out the gate. The biggest ships are the cruise ships. Don’t get stuck on the leeward side of them as it’s a major wind shadow. But also don’t cut in front of them too close in order to get on the windward side. If you see them leaving, move over early towards the San Francisco side of the bay. We don’t have right of way over any of the boats. Stay well out of their way. I’ve seen experienced kiters cross in front of a boat and eat it. Don’t be that guy.</li> <li>Wind line moving off shore. The wind is typically light and holey a the launch. Most times, you launch and get to the far side as quickly as possible. Returning at the end of your session, the wind will be light. The wind line can move far off shore. You will likely need to downloop repeatedly. It can be easier to come in lower, beneath Anita. It’s tempting to come in high because you wont be able to stay upwind in the light wind. But the wind can be better lower. There’s no blanket rule for this, keep an eye on what’s happening to the people who returned to beach ahead of you - that’s your best telltale. Failing that, try to look at the windsock by the bathrooms, or if the wings look powered. Be prepared to swim. There are techniques on how to swim back in more effectively, as it’s not uncommon to be unable to relaunch your kite. Once we enter the late seasons (late July / August) think twice about being on the water past 6 unless you know what you’re doing. Most dangerously, the wind can remain strong on the far side while the wind fades near shore and the wind line moves further off shore, trapping you out there. The wind on the far side can be up to 10kts stronger than at the beach.</li> <li>Strong currents. Crissy can experience up to 3 knots of tidal current. That means that on a strong flood, spending one hour on the water you’d need to upwind over 3 miles. Ride well powered on a flood or you may not make it back to where you put in. Crissy has fairly limited last chance beach options. There’s on just above the st Francis club, and another at the tip of the spit. If your equipment fails on an ebb you can get swept out. On a flood, you probably can’t self rescue to shore independently</li> <li>Nearly 2 mile traverse from the launch to north tower where we predominantly kite. If anything goes wrong, it’s not possible to self rescue back. You need to be able to address kite issues like an inverted kite on your own, in heavy swell and strong wind.</li> <li>Highly variable conditions, even on back to back days. One day it might be strong, the next weak. It can be choppy one day, and mirror flat the next. It can fill in to the beach and have a far find line the next.</li> </ul> <p>Regular crissy kiters will show up, assess conditions and be open to the possibility of not going out. You cannot force a crissy session, sometimes it is purely a bad idea.</p> <p>A note on coast guard rescues</p> <ul> <li>it’s not a taxi service. Swim. Dress for the swim. Only a last resort.</li> <li>Know how to use the radio</li> <li>don’t out stay your welcome. Get back to shore early so you can kite another day</li> </ul> <p>Tips</p> <ul> <li>Low fog in the presidio -&gt; come back</li> <li>Monitor water surface texture near shore. If there are white caps you’re in good shape probably</li> <li>Ebbs have more white caps for the same amount of wind. Don’t be deceived into it being stronger</li> <li>Wind sensors to watch: Anita (for launch wind), TI, Pt Blunt (reads higher than reality).</li> <li>Tends to be lower quality wind when the coast is on (spring)</li> <li>Wind tends to be stronger downwind from north tower, but you can get flat water at north tower</li> <li>Look for roller waves. Don’t hit them as kickers, the back side can be smooth flat water</li> <li>The floating buoy is a sign of the current near shore</li> <li>The current is non-uniform and not the differential of the tide levels. Check the current 0.4m east of gg bridge, or use sail drone to get a visual of the minor current eddies that form.</li> <li>Give plenty of berth to the south tower when crossing down wind from it. You’re safer entering from above</li> <li>Give wingers on waves right of way under south tower. It’s hard to predict which days are going to be good there, but sometimes you can get a magical day there with strong wind, and big smooth roller waves</li> </ul>