by proposed by the National Park Service and Coast Guard for sailors at
Crissy Field. Below is a response written by me and the Board of
Directors of the SFBA. It will also appear in the next issue of
"Windtracks" magazine. Thanks again.....Jeff Bunch.
CRISSY FIELD RESCUES ON THE RISE IN 1994
MAY RESULT IN NATIONAL PARK SERVICE IMPLEMENTATION OF SPECIAL USE PERMITS
FOR WINDSURFING OFF CRISSY FIELD
By Jeff Bunch
Due to the rise in rescues being handled by the Coast Guard and SF Fire
Department jet ski patrol last year, the San Francisco Boardsailing
Association (SFBA) attended a joint meeting on October 22, 1993 between
Coast Guard, Fire Department and National Park Service officials. At this
meeting the SFBA discussed the coordination of rescue response between the
three agencies, and discussed safety protocol that windsurfers must follow
when an emergency arises.
Unfortunately, 1994 did not prove to be much of an improvement. Things
did not start off well when a beginner sailing off Crissy Field during the
winter got caught in a flood tide and did not know how to self-rescue and
get himself to shore. This individual spent the night floating on his
board inside the bay and was eventually rescued in the morning. There
have been incidents where individuals have simply sailed until they were
too tired and were unable to get back in and required a rescue. Others
have been caught too far out when the wind died and required rescue
assistance.
The SF Fire Department reported that their rescue jet skis had made more
rescues between April and June 1994 than they made in all of 1993! The
Coast Guard has also reported with frustration that there have been
situations of reported emergencies but then no follow-up even though the
individual got in safely without assistance. This results in the very
unfortunate situation where the Coast Guard boats must continue their
search until nightfall, wasting time and limited resources. There has
also been a situation where an injured windsurfer was rescued by a private
boat but his equipment was left on the bay. Neither the windsurfer nor
the rescue boat reported to 911 that the windsurfing equipment was left on
the bay, and when another boat saw the equipment without its owner they
reported this to the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard had to search through
the evening to be sure the individual was not still on the bay needing
rescue. (continued......)