Alameda has two distinct seasons or sailing experiences. Summer winds and storm winds. Forget the summer winds unless you are looking for lessons. In fact it's probably one of the best places for your first time out. Water is shallow, wind is light. Not much to get excited about for a seasoned sailor. That's what the storm winds are for. When a "Pineapple Express" storm blows in - those are the warm storms that produce very high SW winds and lots of rain - look for strong SW winds and head out to Crown Beach. You'll find just a few die-hards there, on a good storm, maybe 10 to 20 windsurfers and an equal amount of kiters. The wind blows a perfect side-shore so you shoot right off the beach straight out into the bay on a port tack. Outside, the rollers provide lots of jumping and slashing opportunities. Timing is of the essence. You may find the best winds are at 7:00 in the morning, late in the day or midnite. As soon as the wind starts to shift, start planning your escape to shore, as that signals the movement of the storm past the area, when the cyclonic effect causes the winds to change from SW to NE and die. It's possible to see 6 hours of sailable winds on a perfectly timed storm.
Local Full Service Kiteboarding and Windsurfing Shop (http://www.kitewindsurf.com)