Friday, April 5, 2024

TAGQ Episode 10: Cartoon Penguin Rock Stars and The Winter That Wasn't

TAGQ Episode 10:
Cartoon Penguin Rock Stars and The Winter That Wasn't

Sparky the Fire Chief

Sparky The Penguin from Tom Tomorrow (Dan Perkins)

Thursday, April 18, 2019

Day 34: Seaport Blvd to Inner Bair Island

Day 34: Seaport Blvd to Inner Bair Island
(Redwood City to San Carlos)

Circle The Bay Part 3

January 23rd 2019

11.6 miles in 2 hrs 38 mins

(Total: 372 miles in 82 hrs 20 mins)

This day wraps up my second human-powered circumnavigation of the San Francisco Bay on the Bay Trail. To finish off this bicycle trip I brought along a kayak to paddle into San Carlos otherwise known as Bair Island east of 101. I did a bike excursion of all of Seaport Boulevard and the Westpoint Harbor, then cross Redwood Creek to get to one of the two new public access boat ramps in the developments next to Bair Island. Where I switched to kayak to paddle onto and off Inner Bair Island at high tide.

Since then I've been thinking of following the Bay Water Trail around on my next circling, to kayak from boat access to boat access around the entire bay. I'm going to want a guide for crossing the Golden Gate, but paddling with the high tide into Inner Bair Island (and out after high tide) has given me some feel for the currents to expect. At least not near the mouth of the bay which is the deepest part of the bay and known for strong tides.

There is logistics to this kayaking thing. How do you get back to the car where the paddling began , or how do you get the car to the end of the paddling and get back to the start? I'm thinking of dropping off the kayak at the launch dock, driving to the pull-out dock, then running back to my boat. Seems like a good idea since I am training for some trail relays this year.

And there are stretches in North and South Bay where the distance between boat landings is greater than I want to attempt as a single kayaker. Hopefully more docks will open up in future years. But where the stretches are too long (I'm looking at you Menlo Park), I guess I'll just run as well.

Ready for Day 34

The bikepath along Seaport Blvd

Westpoint Harbor

Boatworks at Westpoint Harbor

Snowing Egrets taking flight at Westpoint Harbor

Emergency (?) Large Ship Tiedowns at Westpoint Harbor

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Port of Redwood City from the back

Kayaks to rent at the Port of Redwood City

USGS Boat

Port of Redwood City is a deepwater port

Spinnaker Sailing still had me in their database

Bike back on the car

Kayak off the car

Paddling out of the new Blu Harbor

Heading toward Bair Island

Obligatory Selfie

Snowy Egrets not taking flight

The flow restrictor that diverts water inside Inner Bair Island at high tide

The southward view from inside Inner Bair Island at high tide

End of the Trail for now

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Day 33: Adobe Creek to Seaport Blvd

Palo Alto Sailing Station

Day 33: Adobe Creek to Seaport Blvd
(Mountain View to Redwood City)

Circle The Bay Part 3

January 10th 2019

16.0 miles in 3 hrs 10 mins

(Total: 360.5 miles in 79 hrs 42 mins)

One more day left on this circumnavigation after today. I'm planning on biking to a boat launch in Redwood City, then kayaking into the heart of Inner Bair Island in San Carlos at high tide to wrap things up.

I've got to hand it to the techie culture of Mountain View and Palo Alto, there are more people out enjoying the bay, way out on the Bay Trail, than anywhere else I've seen. They are walking, running, biking, painting. Odd feeling not to be alone out there.

I sat and pondered all the waterfowl visiting the bay this, and got inspired to use their movement from slough to pond as a way of illustrating my own brand of techie culture. Keep your eye on github.com/vectaport/flowgraph if you're interested in a nature-inspired presentation of a more natural model of computation, where (like the bay) it's all about the flow.