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Local Knowledge

Known as The Delta, Sherman Island, or Rio Vista (Rio for short), the entrance to the Sacramento River Delta, near the town of Rio Vista, is the most popular sailing site in the Bay Area for sailors looking for strong warm wind in the summer. If the Bay is fog-in with the Golden Gate lost in clouds, think Rio Daze and head to the Delta for warm air and hot sailing! On an ebb tide Sherman offers steep 3-6 foot chop / swell with great starboard ramps. The reaches are short so the action is intense and in your face. A great place to watch the local grommets rip it up! During floods or on lighter wind days there is fast slalom sailing to be had.
For driving directions click here.

Windsurfing on Sherman Island is possible due to the continuous hard work of the RVWA - the Rio Vista Windsurfing Association. RVWA maintains most of the sailing sites (sand bagging, portapotties, & cleanups), works with the County Parks and the State Parks to plan and provide access by leasing land for sailing sites The Sign & The Access, as well as funds and builds spots such as Windy Cove. They are very deserving of your support and with your membership you will get a tide chart for the area - please consider joining them.

Check out the area map - property of iWindsurf.com:

map

The fresh water is much warmer than the Bay. The currents are strong at all sites except near the Access beaches. If you are not good at staying upwind be aware of what's going on when sailing a flood. If you can not get back to your launch site go in at the next one down current. Once you are swept past all the launch sites it can be hard to exit the water and you will have to carry your gear on a road with traffic. With membership to the RVWA you will get a tide chart for the local conditions.

For bump and jump sailing the ebb is the time and the Powerlines or Sign are the most popular places. For less confident sailors, the Access has a tiny sandy beach for launching, tulles for stashing gear, and a grassy or sandy rigging area. Powerlines and The Sign offer plastic sand bags over rocks with rigging on grass and carpet. The swell is probably the best on the river at The Sign.

Parking at the Access can be extremely crowded with many sailors spending the weekend camped out here. Powerlines and the Sign also offer camping and usually do not fill up as quickly as the Access.

Sherman Island is not a particularly scenic location - but it still has it charms with a very relaxing atmosphere and little chaos from the surroundings. At the Access there is a great sense of community and car traffic is slow, perfect for the family. At the Powerlines and Sign there is great viewing but the traffic is a bit too fast for comfort, if you have kids. Porta-poties are located at most sites but you won't find much in the way of drinking water or food unless you bring it yourself. In the spring and fall, when cold fronts pass through the wind usually blows from North (the opposite direction) making Windcove the best place to sail. It is the widest section of river and can tolerate weird wind directions better than any other site. The flood is the preferred tide as this will now create bigger swell.

QUICK OVERVIEW
Season:	May-August
Water:	Warm, muddy
Average Sail:	4.0 - 5.5
Ability Level:	Beginner to Advance
Familiness:	Watching, camping, blackberry picking
Launch:	Beach, sand bags, or rocks