Anyone ride on San Mateo Lagoon

We are probably moving to San Mateo in the Bay Area and want to know how the riding is on San Mateo Lagoon. Any info out there?

Used to live on it when Joe Montana was quarterback. Port drive. Crazy place. Really good parties. You'll have to tie your trailer onto the boat to get it behind your house. Really odd when you see it done. What else? Cant you get to the Fish House by water? I think so. We used to barefoot at dawn on butter through the steam and fog. Cool as anything I have ever done.
Probably not much help. I had never seen a wake board in those days but there was a set of slalom buoys.
I remember one July 4th weekend, nobody had their boats in because it was nutty, a jet boat came around the corner very fast, burped the throttle and went right over the sea wall. That thing was still in the guys back yard when i moved weeks later.

I never rode there myself but I met a pro boarder who had a house there with an awesome boathouse and dock. I saw lots of ski and wakeboard boats in the neighborhood. He said most everybody there rode year-round and were not the summer recreational type boaters. The place seems a good fit If you're hardcore into watersports. He mentioned it was never an issue finding flat water somewhere but be aware the water is brackish.

LUCKY YOU!!! Living in San Mateo has to be one of or the best spots in the bay area peninsula to live. Best micro climate and smack dab in the middle of the peninsula.

I live there - not on the water but across the street. What do you need to know? Butter at all times, if its blown out on one side, its glass on the other. Super/Super salty water though, also shallow - deepest part is maybe 6ft - most parts are about 4-5 ft. There are 2 areas where you can ride/ski - the foster city side, where the slalom course is, and the san mateo side, where the marina launch is and the fish market is.

Anything you need to know - let me know.

I Have a separate old beater i/o boat for the lagoon. Never would I drop my nice boats in there. If you do, make sure you have closed cooling and a power washer.

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/m...tml?1257300719

I have read that discussion and I think some of the info is just wrong. From May - Oct, the water is warm enough for a shorty, 3/3 wetsuit, or suit for sure. Also there are public beaches on the lagoon where lots of people are swiming daily and the water quality is monitored by the town. Foster city lagoon is different from San Mateo lagoon and does not allow motorized boats. SM lagoon is the only one that does. I have been there numerous times checking out the water quality when the wind was blowing 25 MPH on the bay, and it is total butter on one side or the other every time since there is not much wind on the west end and the wind is alway 90 degrees to the water. The run is kind of short though...

Yes there are people who swim in there for sure ( i cant imagine why - probably just uninformed)- I used to ride there every single day for years in trunks. I wont anymore though. Even in the dead summer, im in a dry suit. The water is MAD SALTY! Every feb/mar youll see the guys out there in hazmat suits shooting the water with chemicals - some sort of treatment.

As I mentioned, there are only 2 sides that you can ski/ride in - the san mateo side and the foster city side(they are technically both in san mateo - but the slalom course side the entire left side is all foster city homes, and the right side is san mateo homes) - which are both accessible from the launch/marina.
The waters inside Foster city are not accessible by this body of water, and no motor boats are allowable. Only battery powered boats.

The Foster city side - has the ski slalom course in it, and the san mateo side has the island turn around at the end. No matter how windy the day is, one side will be flat.

Heres a pic of me riding in the san mateo side, and an arial of the same side where you see the island turn around at the end.

I used to ride there a lot with Matt Von Der Ahe and the gang. It's okay.

The last few times I went were blown out. If you know anything about the 650, you know that it is almost always windy in the summer. The lagoon was good about 50% of the time. If you're you're living there and have a house on the water like Matt, you can't go wrong. Matt jumps in the boat when it glasses over, floats across the lagoon to pick up a neighbor, and get a set in. Dope! I seemed to have a lot of bad luck with just showing up. But I've had some awesome riding there too.

The water is super salty, often windy, and there is a lot of turning. On a good day you can get 3-4 tricks in between turns, so it's straight to business when you're on plane. I can also tell you that the lagoon is only good for one boat at a time.

The water there will also effect the performance of your boat. You're going to need a lot more weight because of the salt. You'll typically ride slower because the boat and board ride higher.

With that said, I found the SAN 210 wake to be downright nasty out there (in a good way). :-)

matt - RIPS!!!!!

Yes he does. I bumped into him about a month ago in downtown San Jo. Great guy. Incredible rider. One of the biggest heel fronts in the business. And few guys can land a hassellhoff!

Oh nice! i used to ride with him and Tony on the regular. Havent seen either of them in a while. Yeah no doubt Matt holds the crown for the mateo slough. Dude used to throw the hugest hoochies off my 1974 reinell (with airboom & boulders from the slough as ballast) back in the late 90's.

Originally Posted by migs

matt - RIPS!!!!!

+1

try and remember to always drive right in the center - when going under the bridges. Dont ever stay left or right - always smack dab in the center. There are sunken shopping carts around.

Thanks for the info. We're planning to live on the lagoon and will be riding there regularly. We'll be posting to find thirds in the "find a third section "when we get settled and start riding there. The run is pretty short, but if you compare it to a private manmade lake, its at bit longer then most of those. Can't complain to have this available so close to SF.

the run on the slalom course side(FC ) is actually a bit longer than the other side. AND usually empty.