Boardsailing Safety: When common sense counts

While banning boardsailing on San Francisco Bay would be akin to requiring a candy-free Halloween, testing the patience of the U.S. Coast Guard is never wise.

After the coasties were pulled to action on Sunday to rescue 25 boardsailors near Crissy Field when the wind died, concerned about their stranded position being in the shipping lanes, the boardsailing community is eager to avoid any draconian decisions.

“With the USCG doing so much to keep us out of harm’s way,” noted local sailor Dennis Deisinger, “the least we can do is heed their advice and make it easy on them, or anyone finding some gear floating around, to make sure people are okay.”

After the U.S. Coast Guard responded in 2012 to over 250 search and rescue cases involving boardsports and kayakers, the agency issued a safety bulletin to provide safety guidelines that would have aided or prevented their rescues.

Click here for the bulletin.