Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Central Bay kiteboarders. (Max Eissler)
Sacramento River once again beckoned to whales, this time an injured
mother and her calf.
Signs of nature abound in the bay for those ready to see them. Most
locals have admired flocks of ducks paddling air as they lift of the water
and the glistening domes of seal heads noodling offshore. Tourists come to
marvel at the sea lion colony lolling on San Francisco's Pier 39 and to visit
the Aquarium of the Bay. Here, a walk through an underwater tube reveals
the Armored Sturgeon, Skew-eyed Halibut, and flashing schools of her-
ring that live below the bay's blue surface. In the region's shoreline parks,
visitors can see curlews and peeps poke their beaks into the mud for good-
ies, and pelicans and terns dive-bomb for fish.
Of course there are many more up-close and personal ways to experi-
ence the bay. Emma Macchiarini's father belongs to the South End Rowing
Club, one of several thousand residents who have joined open water
swimming clubs in San Francisco. Just as many enjoy catching bay waves
and winds with kiteboards, ketches, catamarans, and boogie boards, or
indulging in the age-old pastime of fishing.
Jim McGrath races formula boards, the latest and lightest type of wind-
surfing rig. In a good race under the right conditions, this retired port
environmental manager can skim from Berkeley to San Francisco and
back again in an hour and a half. He has raced in the confines of Washing-
ton's Columbia River and through what he calls the “organized” waves off
Hawaii, as well as in the big warm swells off Florida. To him, the bay is
rougher, bigger, more unpredictable than those locales. Experienced
