The Class

Class Websites

• Byte Class International Association


• Byte Class Google Group — for class-wide announcements and discussions

Other Byte Fleets & Sites

• North American News & Racing — Must be accessed by visiting the Class home page first; look for a link to U.S. and Canadian news and events.


• U.K.


• Bermuda


• Switzerland

International Events

Weather & Conditions

Forecasts

Local Conditions in Real-Time

• Real-Time Summary of Bay Water Levels and Meteorology


• San Francisco Bay PORTS Homepage


• National Data Buoy Center's Page for Local Stations


• Animated San Francisco Bay Wind Streaklines

Straight from the source.

Very well-executed series of online quizzes that present you with a Flash-animated race situation where you pretend to be the jury. Access to answers requires you to submit an email address but is otherwise free. (Occasional newsletters from the loft are well-designed and informative; privacy is maintained.)

North Sails in conjunction with US Sailing hosts a circuit of all-day seminars, one of which focuses on rules. Not exactly cheap, but taught by real experts.

Local Resources

Gear

The Builder

PS2000 — You can email or phone them for anything and everything Byte-related. Friendly, dedicated, and incredibly helpful staff.

Local Dealer

Contact Glenn Hansen of Hansen Rigging.

Sail Repair

When sticky-back is not enough… Try Pineapple Sails in Alameda. Kame Richards will treat you with the same patience, interest, and professional respect as if you had dragged in a TP52 main.

Some Places to Buy Stuff

Disclaimer

The links below are to services that fleet members have found useful and worth returning to. It is meant to be helpful, not comprehensive, and the fleet maintains no commercial relationships with any of them.

• SLO Sail & Canvas — These folks in San Luis Obispo do high-quality fabric and sail work for lots of small boats. They have patterns for both top and bottom Byte hull covers, and they also make a great CII spar bag.

• Annapolis Performance Sailing — A chandlery like no other. If your nearest West Marine doesn't have what you want, try them. Whatever they don't have they can get. Usually quickly. They eliminated their Byte parts section, but almost everything on the boat is a stock part. (Things cost more on their Byte page than they did in the regular stock section of their catalog anyway…)


• Svendsen's Boat Works — Try them before APS if you live in the East Bay; you might avoid shipping fees. Whatever they don't have they can probably get. Not always quickly.


• Home Depot — Next time you lose your $40+ gloves buy a $4 pair of work gloves with latex or nitrile (if you're allergic) on the palms and fingers. Snip the thumb and whichever fingers you want. You'll be surprised.


• West Coast Sailing — A Portland operaton. Lots of stuff. Helpful staff.


• Zhik — Popular hiking gear from a company with a large marketing budget.


• Queensport — Australian outfit famous for their hikers. Several in our fleet have ordered their gear from them because of their ability to fine-tune fit. Good, good stuff.


• Rooster Sailing — U.K. maker of excellent hikers and other water wear; they should probably get more attention here. Believe it or not, you can learn an awful lot about technical clothing in their video library.


• Murray's Watersports — Lots of the usual stuff you can get elsewhere, and one thing you can't: Barz Optics, made in Australia for waterrats everywhere. A godsend for those helpless without glasses, and helpful for anyone getting firehosed in the face while shredding on a reach in 20+.


• Helm of Sun Valley — San Mateo ski and windsurf shop good for one thing and one thing only: batten tuners. If you lose that widget that slips over the leech end of a batten, visit them. $5 each. Ask them to dig them out of their windsurfing stock.