Tidewater Boating Center is located on the Oakland side, and is just across from the Oakland Estuary from the southern end of Alameda Island. From here, you can choose between four directions to paddle in. The first is to go north past Coast Guard Island toward Jack London Aquatic Center; the second is to go south into San Leandro Bay and possibly MLK Regional Shoreline; the third is to go southwest, hugging the shore of Alameda until it veers northwest to Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach and beyond; the last possibility is to also go southwest, but hugging the shore of Bay Farm Island instead, and continue southeast until you reach the Oakland Airport or beyond (perhaps to Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline).
This is a trip from the Tidewater Boating Center to Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach in Alameda, the third option that I listed above. The total distance is about 7-8 miles, and likely to be more since my SUP doesn’t ever go in a straight line =P. There was a low tide of -0.06 ft at 7:08am, and a high tide of 5.84 ft at 1:54pm. Since I launched around 10am, the tide level was about 3 ft when I paddled out into the bay. As is usually the case for most locations in the bay, there was very little wind early in the morning, and the same could be said of this day. There were many rowers coming back from their session when I was about to launch, and many more were rowing on their ergs in the facility next door. Everything looks very new here, from the dock to the building to the sidewalk. The parking lot, on the other hand, is a different story. With the exception of 4-5 handicap lots, the rest is not paved; instead, the rest is on gravels, and whenever cars rolled by, they’d kick up lots of dust for me to inhale in.
From the parking lot to the launch dock is a short walk of less than 2-3 minutes. The dock is very long, and there is plenty of space for many different groups to make use of it at the same time. Just 5 to 10 minutes before I launched, a couple of girls also went out on their inflatable paddleboards; and before them, there was a guy who went out on his hardboard. I think paddle boarders were well represented here at Tidewater on this day.
There are two ramps leading to the dock, with the larger one more suitable for kayaks and bigger watercraft. I have seen kayakers using wheels to bring their kayaks to the dock.
From Tidewater, I crossed the water to the other (e.g. Alameda) side of the channel and hugged the coast until I reached the bridge connecting Alameda and Bay Farm Islands. There are many waterfront houses and plenty of shorebirds for me to gaze at. Other than the two girls I mentioned previously who decided to stay within San Leandro Bay, there was no one else that I could see on the water for this paddle out to the bay. It was a different story on land, however. I’d see an occasional landscaper or homeowner working in their backyards. And once I paddled past the Alameda – Bay Fair Island bridge (Doolittle Dr.), I’d soon encounter many beach goers picnicking along the long shorelines of Alameda. Even the waterfowls came out in force, too. There were just so many of them here, and it was not even winter yet. I have read that during the winter migratory season, this entire area would be full of migrating birds seeking warmer weather. I look forward to a paddle or hike later in the season to have a better view of them =D
Oops! It seems like this post isn't published yet. Stay tuned for updates!And then I got stuck in the mud not too long after passing the Doolittle Bridge mentioned earlier. Apparently even with a 3-foot tide there may still not be enough water to float my board with the standard fin installed. Luckily it was flood tide at around this time, so I just kept paddling left and right, and in about 15-20 minutes I was out of the shallow water and was able to move on. Now, had I done my preparatory homework correctly, from Google satellite map I would have noted the deep channel close to Bay Fair Island, and that the water next to Alameda is very shallow and is full of mud. This is something to keep in mind the next time I paddle out in this area.
This is a long stretch of beach, covering some 2+ miles from near the Doolittle Bridge all the way to Ballena Bay. Throughout the entire paddle, and especially on sunny and warm weekend like this one, you are sure to encounter many people sunbathing, swimming, or otherwise playing on the beach. And in the far distance you’d get a glimpse of the San Francisco skyline when the fog is not present. Occasionally you’d also have a group of Canadian geese or pelicans flying overhead as well. This paddle has the perfect mix of urban environment and wildlife galore.
Oops! It seems like this post isn't published yet. Stay tuned for updates!If you look carefully in the above photo, you can hopefully see that I was trying to photograph 3 gliding pelicans. My GoPro Fusion 360 photograph doesn’t handle details of faraway subjects very well, so here is the photo taken from my iPhone 6 =D (It’s 2022 by the way, so my iPhone 6 doesn’t have much use around the house nowadays; as such, I’m refurbishing it into this role as my go-to camera on the water).
When I arrived at the Robert W. Crown State Beach, a group of windsurfers were playing in the water just in front of the Boardsports California shack. There were two instructors, and maybe 5-6 students learning from them. A couple of the students fell into the water multiple times while I was there. Windsurfing is definitely a hard sports to pick up. About five years ago I had tried my hands on it as well at the Berkeley Marina, and never did successfully learn. I prefer my SUP to almost any other paddling craft, as it allows me the freedom to stand up, sit down, lie on my back, etc. whenever and wherever I want =)
I hung out at the beach for a bit, grabbing my lunch snack (cashews, yum!) and observing the windsurfing session being conducted in front of the BIC board shop. The water looks beautiful in the photo above, but in reality there was a red hue in the water throughout my paddle from Tidewater to this beach. And at the time of writing this, I had read that many fish and crustacean died in Lake Merritt and elsewhere in the SF Bay Area. It seemed that this is a major algae bloom that is centered around Alameda Island, and spreads as far out as San Mateo and beyond. Swimming is definitely not recommended right now, but other water activities where you are “on” the water are considered to be generally safe. Hopefully this will pass soon.
Getting ready to go back to Tidewater!
My paddle back was also in calm water and very light wind. Near the Doolittle Bridge I encountered two kayakers observing birds along the shore. I nodded hello to them and continued on my way. I had a planned meeting with a Craigslist seller in San Leandro to buy several old PS4 sports games from him/her for $10 total (mostly NBA 2K games, and a couple of WWE games). I was supposed to text the person at 1pm, and time was tight.
In case you haven’t noticed, SUPs are generally slower than Kayaks, and especially so when I’m paddling =P I have seen many paddling meetups where they won’t accept SUPs, Oru’s (foldable kayaks), and inflatables. Since my RED is an inflatable SUP, I guess I’m doubly unwanted =D The two kayakers I saw previously overtook me soon after I crossed under the Doolittle Bridge into San Leandro Bay, and never relinquished their lead. It turned out that they launched from a waterfront house just across from Tidewater, for that’s where they ended up at. As for me, I made it back around 1:20pm, texted the seller, and never got a reply from him/her. The person ghosted me, and I returned to Richmond without my PS4 sports games =( I have had bad luck in obtaining these NBA 2K games. Previously I had bought a copy of NBA 2K17 on eBay, but it failed to install. The seller assured me that it was working before she sent it out, and as it was only $3, I didn’t have the heart to leave her a bad review. I guess I will continue to keep a look out for cheap copies elsewhere.
