Lost gear graveyard(s)? Where did you find your stuff?

[smellsfishy]

I lost my litewave board off of 3rd last week and came across the goggle map of the kite graveyard on the 3rd ave cam site. I'm noticing that there are only 4 postings of gear found there. I plan on renting a kayak and paddling from the San Mateo Bridge down to the Dumbarton to see if I can find my board.

What I'm wondering is, has anyone else who lost their gear in the water at 3rd, found their lost gear at any other locations besides the east bay shoreline between the san mateo bridge and the dumbarton? Any tips? Thanks!!

[ianwallace14]

A stand up paddle board would have the benefit of a higher vantage point.

[motorcyclemark]

For what it's worth, my recent adventures with losing a board: I lost a new board at the beginning of this season at 3rd in fluky wind and it was found one and half months later by a ranger at Coyote Hills Park down at the east end of the Dumbarton Bridge. I actually had walked the accessible shoreline there a couple days after I had lost the board with no luck, but the ranger said I would have probably never seen it as the board had somehow traveled upstream (via tides I guess) in one of the connected creeks, where it was found lodged against a fallen tree or wooden pole with a shrimp living in one of the bindings! Board was in fine shape, although a little dirty. It may have taken several days if not more for the board to get over there given tidal action, so maybe it was still in transit when I walked the shoreline. I also spent a fair amount of time on the west side of the SM bridge on my standup paddleboard looking south of third, and it was kind of a pain. It gets REALLY shallow near shore at low tide, requiring you to take your SUP fin(s) off, which makes it nearly impossible to go against the wind if there is any. Furthermore, I discovered that there are an absolute ton of little nooks and crannies in the shoreline where a board could wash in and lodge, many of which you cannot see into easily from the water. On the bright side, I saw a bunch of seals, and it was a good workout. In hindsight though, I probably should have just chalked it up and hoped that maybe a fisherman (or ranger) would find it and call. My adhesive label with my name and number, covered in clear packing tape, looked like new when the board was recovered, and I label all my boards that way now. I was REALLY surprised to get the call on that board, but others on here (kitedancer) have similar stories of lost boards being found weeks later. Would be interesting to know what percentage of lost boards are eventually recovered, but there ARE cases where it happens, so there is hope! Good luck!!

[smellsfishy]

Thanks for the input so far. Sounds like everything really does gather up over by the union city shoreline, especially near the Coyote Hills park area. I think a SUP would definitely give me a better vantage point but I've never been on one and I'm assuming it requires a little practice to not loose your balance and end up in the drink constantly?

Either I sit around and do no kiting, spend $45 on a kayak rental and try to look for it, or cough up at least $400 for a new board (cant seem to find one used anywhere thats in the 140 - 145 size). I can't just sit around and not kite, so it looks like I'm going to pay one way or the other :(

[nexus]

Just rent the kayak, hit the area on a flood tide so that you best your odds for seeing the board at the high water mark where it's likely to be sitting. If you find it you're stoked. If you don't then you had a fun kayak exploration.

BTW when I lost my board at 3rd a few months ago it turned up south of the SM bridge near redwood city somewhere. I was lucky that a friend was able/willing to look for it on a ski and got lucky enough to actually spot it.

[behindThePeak]

I think a SUP would definitely give me a better vantage point but I've never been on one and I'm assuming it requires a little practice to not loose your balance and end up in the drink constantly?

SUP is as easy as walking. Go for it.

[shred_da_gorge]

Sounds like someone needs to launch a LoJack service for kiteboards.

[smellsfishy]

Sounds like someone needs to launch a LoJack service for kiteboards.

I was actually considering throwing a GPS beacon into the bay near where I lost my board and seeing where it ends up. My hope would be that it'd float on over and meet up with my board.