I sat on the bus on the way home from my last day at work, looking out at more windsurfers and kite surfers than I’d ever seen on the bay. It was really cranking. It was sunny. I had my kite gear ready to go in the van. I had to go out. So I rushed to the marina from the bus stop, jumped in the van and hit the highway back to the city, buzzing with anticipation.
Ugh, traffic. Loads and loads of traffic. Going IN to the city at the end of the day. What was going on?! Eventually arrived at Crissy fields launch site and started to pump up my 13m on the beach. It was really too windy for this kite, but I’ve held it down in some pretty gnarly winds before and I figured I could always just turn round and come back to the beach. A guy rocks up and quizzes me about my experience and whether I’d kited there before; giving me some good words of caution against going out for the first time in a “double diamond” kite spot with a kite that’s too large … I’m so fired up, wetsuit on and ready to go, I test it out anyway and discover that my lines are the wrong length and it’s not gonna happen. The kite won’t go up and I’m not going to be able to control it. Bummer. I was so looking forward to a session.
A guy comes in toward the beach with his kite down low ready for someone to catch, so I run over and grab it for him. He comes over to take his kite and we have the usual chit-chat;
“How was it?”
“Bit gusty. You going out?”
“Nah, my 9 has a puncture and my 13 is too big”
He pauses for a second.
“Hey, borrow mine for a bit.”
Hell yes I will! I hooked up, jumped on my board and had a short but awesome session while he took his dog for a walk. I couldn’t believe this generosity. After, we got chatting, and I offered to take Ted and his lady out for a sail. They came along Sunday afternoon for a couple of hours and we had a good time getting to know each other.
I was both disappointed at myself for not having been out kiting once since we moved here, and also inspired by a complete stranger lending me expensive, dangerous kit. It feels strange, finishing full time work and moving on from San Francisco at the same time. This place is a tech hub, sure, but I’m just not inspired to get into the startup and tech scene. I suspect for me the bay area provides more in the way of biking, kiting and adventuring – that I haven’t quite managed to tap into as much as I should have done.
Maybe sometime in the future. But, for now, onward travel beckons. When I’m back, I’ll definitely be giving Ted a shout.
Road and Ocean 