[Fwd: Re: Need Foster City Lagoon History re. Coyote]

From: Karina O'Connor (karinaoc@earthlink.net-DeleteThis)
Date: Fri Feb 19 1999 - 21:18:22 PST


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Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 21:18:22 -0800
From: "Karina O'Connor" <karinaoc@earthlink.net-DeleteThis>
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Subject: [Fwd: Re: Need Foster City Lagoon History re. Coyote]
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FYI - another opinion about sailing in Foster City and Redwood shores
after construction of upwind buildings from Glenn Taylor (sailing since
1982)

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Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 09:44:16 -0800
To: karinaoc@earthlink.net-DeleteThis
From: Glenn Taylor <gtaylors@mindspring.com-DeleteThis>
Subject: Re: Need Foster City Lagoon History re. Coyote
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Karina,

The building across from FC's Ryan Park Lagoon did not have much impact on
the sailing conditions during summer months. The usual wind direction
there is WNW and the building is almost directly N of the water. Most of
the wind travels across the relatively low bank building on the corner and
the intersection and streets that are closer are wide and allow the airflow
to return to surface level. During North winds the turbulence downwind of
the tall building is noticeable but, because of the relatively great
distance that the building is from the water, it is not as significant as
the turbulence that is created by lower, nearer structures such as the
small amphitheater next to the water at the NE end of the lagoon.

There is another body of water in the area that has had it's sailing
conditions much more severely impacted by upwind development. I opened my
Windsurfing school at Redwood Shores in 1975. For the next four years I
operated off the beach that was located at the N end or off the large dirt
fill lot that was on the NW side that Marine World used as overflow
parking. During the next four years that I operated there it grew in
popularity until on a typical summer weekend there would be perhaps 40 to
70 board and small boat sailors there from noon till dusk. The beach and
the grassy area N of it was often completely filled with sunbathers, most
of whom were not Redwood Shores residents. I had many discussions with
Mobil Oil's architects about how they could preserve the sailing qualities
of the lake and they seemed interested in doing so but the man at the head
of the project, Don Warren, was a rower, not a sailor (actually a former
college rower), and I think that he thought it would be better to reduce
the wind on the lagoon (that was then used for rowing competitions
occasionally). The buildings that were placed on the upwind side (NW) of
the lagoon did a pretty good job of preventing sailing there. These
buildings are right on the water or actually over the water. The best
'blocker' has its highest side on the water side.

The architects had produced a few sketches that embodied ideas that I
thought could preserve sailing. These ideas included: placing the parking
lots next to the lagoon, and placing bushes and trees on the upwind and
downwind sides of buildings that would help lift the airflow up over the
buildings and then bring it back down again, and placing the buildings so
that their most upwind part would be a corner instead of a flat face.

When Redwood Shores Estates did produce the plans that led to the current
development I approached the City of Foster City and gained permission to
begin operating my school there. I moved in 1979. The Redwood Shores
Lagoon is just about unusable for sailing of any kind now and even
residents of Redwood Shores who own sailboats rarely will take their boats
down to the main and widest part of the lagoon, the part that is downwind
of the buildings.

In the days before development no sailor would have chosen Foster City's
lagoon over Redwood Shores. The average wind speeds at Redwood Shores were
always much higher than Foster City (as much as 10mph) (I think this is due
to the natural structure of the hills in the West) and it was about 10
degrees warmer as well!

I hope you have recruited some astute politicians to present your case!
Good luck!

Glenn Taylor, Certified Windsurfing Antique
650-851-3057



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