Facilities and improvements - beyond parking, bathrooms, and showers:
- The most important feature at Pt. Isabel would be improved access
to the water[1] and some kind of rigging site that was "off-limits"
to dogs. (ie. carpets or a pea gravel area.)
It would also be useful
if there were a "downwind" ramp for those people that get stuck down
by the dog walking area when the wind dies[2].
Details for better water access:
- As far as what kind of thing to build,
the steps at Marina Bay Park
just across the water from Pt. Isabel are ideal. As far as windsurfing
goes that launch is pretty ideal except for the limited parking.
Dogs and sailboards:
- It would be nice if there was an obvious place for people
that want to throw tennis balls in the water for their dogs
to go and one for windsurfers to get in/out of the water.
Right now there is really only one spot and there is the
potential for conflicts when people don't understand how
fast windsurfers go and how invisible a dog swimming in
the water is. Also, you sometimes get people fishing
right at the windsurfing launch.
On-site storage:
- I think this is an extremely low priority. Pt. Isabel
is not consistant enough that any windsurfer I know would
want to keep their gear there. People serious enough to
windsurf constistantly after work tend to chase the best
wind around the bay and have a fairly significant volume
of gear ( 2-3 boards, 4-5 sails). It wouldn't work for
me and I'm having a hard time thinking of anybody I
know that it would work for.
-Everybody I know brings their gear to work. Also, Pt. Isabel tends
to have the best winds around 2-3pm and often dies off around 5pm.
Sometimes it will come up again late in the day, but I think the
windsurfing "load" at Pt. Isabell is primarily on the weekends
when the conditions favor that site.
- Booker C. Bense
[1]- Wide steps with no guard rails.
[2]- Perhaps the "water dog" area and the downwind bail area could
be the same spot. Basically, you would only go there if the wind
dies so running over dogs is not an issue.