Outdrsmn

SE day at York Point video

2010-08-24T07:35:00.004-04:00

What better way to spend an August Sunday afternoon. SE wind Upper teens to low 20s and a bunch of friends. Dave Kashy running helmet cam chasing everyone down.
Thanks again for the video Javier.

Kashy-Cam at York Point, August 15, 2010 from Javier Garriz on Vimeo.

....and now flat water, Hatteras style!

2010-07-19T08:00:00.003-04:00

Some footage shot from a flat water session in Rodanthe a couple weeks ago. I like Javiers videos because I usually get a brief cameo. We sailed from 11:00 till 4:00 when the wind ramped up a bit but too tired (and hungry) to rerig.

Relaxed Rodanthe June 27, 2010 from Javier Garriz on Vimeo.

Wave sailing, English style.

2010-07-18T08:45:00.003-04:00

Here is a video of a friend doing doing some wave sailing on his home turf in England.

Hayling Island 15th July 2010 from Rob Solly on Vimeo.

The content lul on this blog will come to an end soon.

Trying new things.

2010-03-24T07:59:00.000-04:00

Sunday I tried out a few new things... First was a Formula board in conditions that were conducive to sailing it. Second, my new GoPro digital camera.

The formula board was awesome in the conditions, a nice steady 10 to 12 knot SW wind (at least for most of the session). Air temp was in the 70's and the water was in the low 50's warm enough that gloves and cap and booties were not necessary. Unfortunately I sailed alone so I couldn't compare what I was doing to the other sailors. I will say the ability to point up and down wind was instantly noticeable. The ease at which it planed up was also immediately noticeable.

I can sail in 10 to 12 knots on my freeride board with the same 7.8 sail I was using but it is only good for BAFing, planning is marginal and I generally wish I had a bigger sail. On this a couple pumps and I was off and running. Transitions were mostly dry thanks to the width.
All in all I enjoyed my first formula experience. Now I'll need to try it with a real race sail.

As for the GoPro I'm impressed! I don't have any elaborate mounts for it yet so I basically tied it to the tail of the boom on one side and filmed from that location only. The video quality is nice for it not being the HD version.

Attached is a quickly edited (No music) clip of the session including a nice little wipeout at the end.

YP formula 3.21 from Chris C on Vimeo.

Crab cage meet fin, fin meet crab cage.

2010-02-19T20:45:00.006-05:00

John Contos and I went out last Sunday to get in our February sail for the 12 month club. The weather was bright sunshine with a balmy 40 degree air temp and a refreshing 35 degree water temp. West wind was blowing 15 to 20. Yes it was cold but it happened to be the warmest day we had for the first two weeks of February. Being that we already had two snow events and a possible third coming down the pike it seemed prudent to get out and get it done. Who knew what the rest of the month would be like, a deep freeze, a Blizzard or it may even hit 70 degrees. With the trend being on the unusually cold/snowy side it seemed like a good choice.

The session started off nice, floaty boards, 7 meter sails, enough power to plane better than half the time. Made a couple dry jibes and even when I didn't the waist to chest deep water kept my head dry. Not that it would have gotten wet with all the protection I had on. I sailed for about an hour and went in to take a break. I needed some water and to cool off a bit. Yes, I was sweating in my suit. Figured I'd take a few photos of John too.

On the way back out the water had gotten quite shallow so I touched bottom with my fin in a few spots. Once I was in the deeper water I caught a gust and started to accelerate. Just as I was making my way into the straps my board bucked and pitched me. John had just passed me going the opposite direction so he heard the hit and subsequent splash. I knew I hit something big and unforgiving. Now I've hit gill nets, a crab pot float I was trying to jump and run aground but this felt like none of the above. I wandered back 20 feet to the murky sediment filled spot in the otherwise clear water to figure out what it was and assess weather or not the object could be moved or if it should be marked to keep the next guy from hitting it. I was expecting a piling, a boat motor, a boulder, a whale skull... Turns out it was a crab pot, not just your average run of the mill crab pot but something that looks like it was built as a maximum security prison for crabs. Were talking a steel cage made of 5/16 inch steel round bar. At that moment I started thinking about my poor fin. I flipped my board over and low and behold it was still there, cocked in the box with a nasty scar down the leading edge near the tip. Even after cleaning off some of the muck and oyster shells it still weighed a ton. We set the trap on Johns foot straps and walked it back to shore. There was no way we were going to leave it there for someone else to hit.

It took a few strategic whacks with a mallet to free the fin and to reveal a decent crack in the back of the fin box needless to say my day was done. Fortunately there was no water intrusion so the board should be able to be fixed up good as new in a few weeks.

I still rode home with a smile on my face. It was a good day of sailing prior to the introduction. I got to blast around on my big board for a while, maintain my 12 month status and I sailed in the coldest conditions yet. The 75 degree combined air and water was 15 degrees lower than my previous threshold. Now I really don't have an excuse for not sailing all winter.

Stout enough to contain the Kraken

Ouch! Believe it or not!! It did dent the cage.

Too long!

2010-01-25T18:30:00.003-05:00

It's been forever since I've had wind in my sails, at least that is how it felt. December 9th was the last time I was out on the water. Between the Holidays, snow, cold and sickness I have managed to miss every single windy until yesterday.

It was a nice day the temps started out in the mid 40's and was supposed to get up near 60. The pre-frontal winds were due to start kicking in from the SSE and top out around 20 mph. Good for a 100l 5.8 day. Becky and I headed down to sail in Aydlett as the wind was to be stronger and the water about 5 degrees warmer than in the bay. When we got there the clouds started breaking up and the sun was causing the temps to rise further than anticipated, ultimately starting the wind decoupling from the water. That is one of the drawbacks to sailing winter southerly winds around here if you get a 15 to 20 degree difference in the air/water temps The cold water can create a bubble over it causing the winds to lift off the surface. Steve and Billy were out planing on 7.5 and 115ish litre boards when we arrived but within 25 minutes they were schlogging.

I rigged a 6.7 and 140l made a couple runs out and back planning occasionally. Becky used 5.8 and 145l, only made one run due to inadequate booties but she caught a nice gust and motored on out. Billy went back out on a big board schlogged most of the way and came back to try his 9.0. I was way too much for the outside so he put the 7.5 back on. Vito sailed 7.5 and a large board He planed a few runs but the wind had finally completely decoupled only giving us teases of what it could be.

My January sail is in the books maintaining my 12 month club status. Hopefully with all the cold weather coming early this winter, we will get a nice warming trend in February. I hope I don't ever have to go 46 days without sailing again.
No photos this time.....

Happy Holidays ( w/ santa sail video)

2009-12-24T08:02:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas to all.

Right on time... Here is the video of the annual W.E.T. Santa sail.

Santa Sail 2009 from Javier Garriz on Vimeo.

Something different

2009-12-16T11:16:00.002-05:00

I found this video on a WS forum and thought I'd share it.

Breaking in the new ride.

2009-12-12T00:35:00.006-05:00

Wednesday was looking like a great day for sailing locally, except for the rain. Fortunately I got the call that my new stick was in at Ride Hatteras waiting for me to take delivery. The forecast was even better down there so it was a no brainer to make a run down to Hatteras Island. Billy called Tuesday and told me to come on down stay the night and we would hit the shop in the morning then sail the rest of the day. Bob posted that he would be down in Rodanthe and sailing at his place. Everything was falling in place for a perfect day. I picked up the new board, a sweet 84l Cross II around 11:00 and were on the water in Rodanthe by noon. I sized up the straps, finned the board and rigged a 4.1 for the 30mph winds.

After the first two runs I was in love the board. It was smooth and fast. I couldn't resist launching it off the first nice ramp less than 2 minutes of it getting wet. Once I had the sail dialed in I played with the mast base position, first in the forward position then in the middle. The middle brought a little more speed and maneuverability.

I was trying to jump the board off every decent ramp I could find. I locked it out on a blistering beam reach and never felt the slightest bit out of control. I attempted numerous jibes and tacks but was only successful on a few of the jibes. The board is really short so tacking it is definitely going to take lots of practice. Finally I worked the board on the little bit of breaking wind swell we had to test it's maneuverability. The thing turns awesome and snaps right around when you want it to. All in all it is exactly what I need for high wind bump conditions and I think it will serve me well once I get out into the surf.

The rest of the crew was out on anything from 4.8 to 4.0 and 100 to 76l boards. We had Paul from DC show up, Wayne, Billy, Rob, Carl, Vito and of course Dr. Bob. We all sailed about four hours straight in December and the only cold we felt was the post session beer. Sorry Wayne, stole your line. I don't think the day could have been any better.... How often do you get a new ride and have perfect conditions to break it in the same day!

Additional photos Click here.

Billy

Paul

Carl, Duck Jibing

Billy getting air

Rob lifting off

Carl

Bob

Wayne mid flight

Vito getting ready to join the fun

Vito

Bob preparing to touchdown

A couple rare shots of me (thanks Bob)

Paul

Billy

Calling it a day

Black Friday Sale oops… Sail

2009-11-28T22:14:00.004-05:00

Sorry but my retail roots from what seems like another life made me do it. This post isn’t about shopping.

We had nice conditions anywhere from 4.5 to 5.5 depending on the chosen venue to burn off the calorie OD’s from the Thanksgiving feasts. The day started off chilly and sunny with winds pushing into the low 20’s. As the day progressed the clouds slowly gathered the wind increased slightly and temp hovered in the low 50’s. The sailing was done at two venues Willoughby and Factory Point.

I hit Factory around 2:00 by then the clouds were darkening and the winds were fluctuating quite a bit. I checked on the guys already out on their 5.2’s and 5.3’s and it seemed like they were having on and off runs. I thought a 5.8 and 85l would do the trick, actually other than 140l that was my only choice as my good intermediate and small boards were damaged by a tree limb during Nor-Ida. I put on my wetsuit and started rigging when the first of two heavy squalls came through. The wind speed in the squall jumped up well over 40 and blew everyone off the water. There was a guy kiting with us fortunately he kept it under control till it backed off enough to land and secure the kite. Now we have been through squalls while out sailing but this one had a surprise for us in the form of sleet. The exposed skin took a painful pelting for a few minutes as the worst of it blew over.

After the squall the wind died and slowly started to rebuild as it usually does. About the time it became sailable again the next squall started bearing down on us. This squall came through with similar results 40+ mph wind, 40 degree air and sleet. This time we all rode it out inside our vehicles. Once it passed the sun came back out, the sky cleared but the wind didn’t return. Everyone else de-rigged I ended up pulling out the 140l and putted around with the 5.8. for a half hour or so. Normally I would have re-rigged but it was already getting late and the wind was even marginal for my largest sail.

When I returned home I read that the Willoughby crew battled the same sleet squall but also had to deal with a small waterspout. From the report it sounds like some of the guys were still out when it hit and had a close call with the spout.

I only took a couple photos because of the weather and desire to sail.

A little bit of carnage from Nor-Ida.

Nice way to end the day

Remnants of Ida bring epic conditions to Tidewater.

2009-11-12T12:03:00.008-05:00

Today in the tidewater of Virginia we saw Epic conditions from what was left over from Hurricane Ida. These conditions will continue through Friday and possibly into Saturday morning. The day started out dreary and rainy with a 20 mph wind blowing out of the NE. I loaded up the small stuff and headed out to Factory point hoping to catch the early portion of this storm. When I got there conditions were perfect for rigging 4.5 and and 85l board the water was low so there wasn't a whole lot of chop. The only problem was that no one else was there Everyone had committed to sailing York point or Buckroe. I didn't even rig, there is no way I would go out in high winds without a sailing partner.

I rode over to Buckroe to find Glenn and Tom B. de-rigging they had been out on 3.7s and 80l boards and had already had enough Keith was still out so I snapped a couple shots then headed to York Point. When I arrived the wind was already up over 30 the tide was rolling in and the waves were in the 2 to 3 foot range surprisingly there wasn't much chop just smooth crumbly waves. I waited till a couple guys went out before deciding to rig. Everyone went out on 3.7 to 4.0 they all did well except for one guy who I will not mention by name so that he may save face. He had a hard time getting started and was rapidly drifting down wind and away from the launch. York point is just that a point and NE winds are side shore but they make you drift into deeper and more sheltered water. Once you are in there you are at the mercy of the current unless you can waterstart and get upwind. If you can't then you will eventually wash up on the other side about a mile away. The kicker is to get back to the launch you now have better than a 15 mile hike. I wasn't going to take that chance so my gear stayed on the truck. Eventually the guy previously not mentioned found his groove and was able to work back upwind of the launch.

Since I wasn't sailing I took hundreds of photos. It turned out to be a regular jump fest. There were people flying everywhere there was even a loop attempt. I was hoping to get a loop sequence on the camera but shortly after Rob threw the only attempt of the day he came in and ended up with a huge gash in his foot requiring 15 stitches. The wind steadily ramped up and the crew pulled out their pristine looking 3.3 and 3.5' s. There were only a few runs made on those sizes the previous several hours of sailing and the 45 mph gusts were taking their toll.

I've perused the photos and here are some of the shots. Some are good some are fuzzy but they depict the conditions quite well.

Link to Public facebook album where there are more photos

This is the actual wind from a sensor upwind of York Point.

Keith Knight at Buckroe around 11:00am

Dave Kashy and Rob Spurgeon

Rob and Carl

Carl

Bob R.

Rob Solly launching huge air all day.

And the loop attempt.

Kashy

This is one of my favorite shots

Rob Solly

Contos

Spurgeon carving a wave. What a tiny sail.

Inspecting the pier.

What a sunset.

2009-10-25T23:17:00.004-04:00

Sometimes being Outdrsmn isn't about doing something outdoors. Sometimes it's about doing nothing. Just sitting on the pier, having a beer and watching the sun set.

What a sunset it was.

Update to "I've been a slacker lately"

2009-10-21T00:26:00.003-04:00

In my previous post I've been a slacker latley I mentioned there might be a video floating around with some footage of me sailing. It turns out Javier made me the star of the little clip. I don't know why, there was far better sailing going on than what I was doing but here it is anyway. This will be a momento of the infancy stages of my sailing progression... One of my first chop hops, a terrible attempt at a shortboard tack and a dry jibe.

Thanks Javier.

Click here to check out some of his other windsurfing videos on Vimeo.

Chris Coyne at Factory Point on a gray afternoon. from Javier Garriz on Vimeo.

Anyone for seconds???

2009-10-18T22:04:00.003-04:00

I was. Yesterday was just a warm up session. Today was the real deal.
I checked the wind meter that corresponds to the Factory point launch and it was reading a few miles per hour stronger than it was the day before. I knew it was going to be a good day.

I rounded the corner at the launch and water was covering the road. The little creeks that fan out through that area had overflowed due to the high tide. I popped out of the pine grove and caught my first glimpse of one of the small creeks. It had white caps so I knew it was on. I immediately called Billy to pass along the on site conditions and rally the troops. I think "honkin" was the word used to describe the conditions.

I was waffling on rigging a 4.1 or a 4.6. Finally I went with the 4.1, 85l combo. In hindsight I would have been happier on the 4.6 when it lulled but the 4.1 was more than sufficient in the gusts.

The water was rough, or chop-a-licous depending on how you look at it. It took me a while to get in tune with the board. I haven't sailed it since August so just getting to the straps was a challenge. I had one massive catapult as a result. It must be a sight. Here I am getting pitched over the bars, legs flailing skyward then crashing head first into the water with a massive explosion of spray and the first sound anyone can hear as I surface is laughter. Anyway, once I remembered how to sail it I started to make good use of the terrain. A small jump here, a slashing turn there, blown jibe after blown jibe after blown jibe. There were times that it got rough enough that I wished it were 70 liters. Thank god the water is shallow I would have worn myself out just getting going again.

A couple of the jumps I made felt pretty good. I was actually getting air measured in feet rather than the inches I typically feel like I'm getting when chop hopping the 102. I was starting to feel pretty good about them until I saw Billy clear what looked to be about 8 feet off the same little patch of chop I had been using. Amazing!!! How does he do it?

The cold finally took its toll and I had to call it quits for the day after a good 4 hours on the water. At least the next 45 degree day won't be as much of a shock to the system. A shout out goes to Billy, Vito, Keith, John Q, Matt Yvette and Peter for sharing the day. Unfortunately Yvette and Peter didn't get wet. The conditions were a little more then they could handle with their gear. I'm sure they will be ready for the next time.

Sorry no photos today.

Got to love Coastal lows.

2009-10-17T20:50:00.004-04:00

We have been in a prolonged period of storm activity with coastal lows spinning up just off shore and heading out to sea. That means we have had bit of wind over the last week. I finally got out today and sailed Factory Point with a 5.8m2 sail and 102l board. NW is usually good at Factory and brings out the crew. With most of the W.E.T. contingent sailing all week in Avon no one was there. I thought I was going to end up sailing alone but Matt the guy who runs the Windsurf Resource website showed up as I was getting ready to rig.

It wasn't epic just a good hone your skills day. The wind swell from today's NW and the leftover swell from all the NE wind the previous couple days combined to make it pretty rough. Not exactly what I would call psycho chop but pretty close. It made straight line runs interesting and every once in a while a nice peak would pop up in front of you for a little air. Jibing was most definitely a challenge but it helped me work on keeping my weight forward to smooth out the transition. I even managed to plane out of one or two. There were also quite a few that felt like rodeo rides so I blew my fair share.

Matt went out on a 6.6 and 145l board so he experienced a bit of jostling. He did well though and was planning quite a bit.

The wind is picking up as I type so I expect I'll be out on small gear tomorrow. Hopefully the sun will show itself and take some of the chill off. If not, Oh well. It wont be any worse than sailing in January or February. I do like sailing this time of year. The wind kicks in and the water is still relatively warm so the colder air isn't usually a problem.

4 days of solid wind on tap

2009-10-16T00:17:00.004-04:00

Seems like we have gone from summer to winter in the last few days and skipped fall all together. Sunday it was in the mid 80's. Today we will be lucky if it gets over 50. I like the warm weather but I also like the consistent winds of the cooler months. I guess I'll have to break out the thick wetsuit a few weeks early this year. The water temp should be decent for little while longer. I guess it could be worse I could be on Long Island. Michael the Peconic Puffin is already talking about drysuits, hoods and fleece for this wind event. Yikes!!!

Here is the forecast graphic. Nice 5 to 6 meter sailing for the next 4 days.

I have been a SLACKER lately!

2009-09-23T20:42:00.002-04:00

Not really!!!

I can't believe it's been two months since I've posted anything. It's not that I haven't been sailing I have, I've been taking tons of photos too. It's just between work, a drastic change in my home life and recreational activities I'm too drained to post anything. Facebook hasn't helped any either. So for those of you who have been asking for some content and some picks here you go.

I don't know where to start. I've had so many sessions over the summer with significant things to blog about. If I did my normal thing and talked about each session in detail, I'd have to write a novel. I just can't bring myself to torture any of you with crappy writing and poor sentence structure for that long so I guess I'll just touch on the highlights.

Here we go.

I spent a good bit of the summer sailing weekends with few odd can't miss weekdays thrown in for good measure. I sailed quite a bit locally and made a couple trips down to NC to sail at Rodanthe, Avon and Aydlett. I was glad I have extra gear because most of the weekends I had an instant sailing buddy. She ( yes I said she ) is from Germany and had done some sailing. While here she progressed quite rapidly, She learned beachstarts in one day and the next session a highwind day in Rodanthe she started making some waterstarts.

My accomplishments over the summer included hitting about half my Jibes ( though the last couple sessions I seem to have regressed) low volume shortboard tacks, making jumps and I even ventured into the waves out on the bar at Factory Pt. Unfortunately I still struggle with the sail positioning while trying to waterstart. I also have to get the obligatory catapult out of the way the first 20 seconds of a session.

The memorable moments consisted of.....

A vacation in Avon with an old friend from high school where I took my first ride out to the reef 2 miles out behind Island creek. The wind direction wasn't ideal for waves out there but I now know what to expect getting there.

A session at Factory point where I managed to Jibe dry most of the day until Javier pulled out his video camera. I think I did make a couple that were caught on tape maybe even a couple small chop hops. It was strange because the last time Javier brought out a camera was the first time I ever made a Jibe, now he pulls it out and I regress???? When I get the link to the video I will put it up on here.

Another was my first small wave session with Pete out on the bar at Factory Pt. It was a 5.8-100l day with little waist high wind driven waves breaking in the shallows. I had a bit to much power with my sail so I wasn't able to stay on the waves but I did learn a little about how to get over them. Made a couple jumps while pinching upwind and I was able to catch a wave from behind, de-power the sail and use the wave to gain momentum. I even managed to catch 2 or 3 by using the wave face to jibe off of.

The Rodanthefest at Bob's was where Becky started hitting waterstarts. She impressed me so much with handling the higher winds and her progress. A true natural. To give an idea she started on a 4.6 and my big board in 18mph winds and ended with the same gear with it blowing steady around 28mph. That's significant because she can't be a pound over 100. It is amazing that a few tips here and there from someone as unskilled as myself and she is able to make it happen. I started out the day riding 5.8-102l and stayed on it all day. The last hour I was insanely overpowered. At the end of the day when Becky was done I took the 4.6 and went back out on the 85l board. Even then I was over powered. I still can't believe she was able to hold it down. She should have been on a 4.0 or 3.5.

Now for the Present....

The last couple weeks we have had a persistent NE flow. That's very unusual for this time of year, there was a 5 day stretch where it blew 20+ every single day. I was able to get out on the best of those days for an after work session. 4.1-85l in upper 20 to low 30 mph NE wind. Unfortunately I forgot my boom as I hurriedly loaded that morning. Glenn saved me from not being able to get wet by loaning me one of his. But the damage was already done. My head just wasn't in the game so I floundered in the swell trying to waterstart and get back to shore. It didn't help that I completely screwed up rigging my sail and over downhauled the crap out of it.

We also had a bit of a rescue take place that day Peter B. was sailing along on his 6.5 and 100l board when all the sudden he blew up on the water. It was taking entirely too long for him to get underway and we were starting to get a rescue party underway thinking something must have broke, that's when we heard the shouts. Apparently the mast base wasn't tight enough and had come loose from the board so Peter was stranded rig in hand and the board heading downwind. he decided to ditch the rig and swim for the board but he couldn't swim fast enough to catch the board. So he was out there with no board, no sail, no wetsuit. Normally that's not a problem at Factory because the water is shallow enough that you can pretty much walk in from near where he went down. But because of the 3 previous days of NE wind the tide was running around 5ft so everywhere was overhead.
Keith who was out on the water at the time also heard the shouts spotted the board and spotted Peter swimming. He sailed over and grabbed the board and kept it stationary by holding his own rig in the waterstart position. I didn't realize you could essentially hover in one place like that. About the time Peter made the swim to Keith and his board John had finish preparing his Kona for the rescue. Seeing that Peter was safe John set out to find the rig which we were all sure was now settled on the bottom of the boat channel he crashed in. Amazingly John sailed that beast of a board out in 30mph+ conditions. What was more amazing he spotted the 2 inches of Peters sail that stayed above the surface. He tied it onto his back footstrap and drug it back to shore. The whole thing turned out well.... Windsurfer safe, gear recovered and nothing broken.
While John was searching for the sail it was interesting that the experienced guys said Peter should have stayed with his rig and waited for help. Their reasoning was that with the wind direction, the enclosed space that the Back River is and knowing there is really no way to catch up to a free floating board in 30 mph wind, He was at more of a risk of losing the rig to the bottom than of losing the board. The lesson of this story is don't go out in heavy wind without making sure everything is tight. Plus it is a good idea to think about what you might do for any given problem you may have taking into account the location, wind direction, currents and speed of rescue. A secondary observation is a 2 bolt base would have prevented this.

I too had a rig separation at a little fun race we were having just three weeks prior but mine was due to a mast track failure on my long board. I immediately went after my board and caught it after a 20 yard hard sprint. I paddled back for the sail and secured everything well enough and sailed back in without any trouble.

Current Week......

I was able to get in three sessions at 3 different venues. A nice after work NE 6.7 145l session at Dave Kashy's. Dave was on his formula gear with a 10.6 being that it was lighter winds. The water was 3ft above normal so I got plenty of waterstart practice even in the areas where it's typically waist deep. Because the water was so deep I also took some nice photos of Dave sailing near the dock.

The next was a short lived 5.8 102l session at Factory, again out on the sandbar playing in the waves. The wind went from nothing to to 18 to 20 and dropped back down to the low teens in about 2 hours time. IWS predicted it perfectly except for the timing, fortunately several of us kept an eye on the actuals and watched the wind band slide down the bay. We timed it just right and were able to catch the sweet spot. Once it lightened up I rigged a bigger sail 6.7, after about three runs it was even too light for that. Peter let me ride his kit, a 148 Techno and 8.5 retro which I was able to zip back and forth on. I did get a bunch of shots that day. It was great to have 16 of us sharing a great day at arguably one of the best multiple terrain launches in the area.

That's all for now I'll post up some photos I'm torn between posting the best ones. I've been getting better at using the camera so I'm starting to get some decent shots. Shots that might one day look good in print. Well they are as good as I can get with an inexpensive telephoto lens.

Better photos require......
Better lens = more $$$$ or
Extra $$$$ + upgrade gear = more fun.
Life is full of trade offs.

Here are the photos captured as video slide show.
The first one has shots from July and August. The second has shots from the beginning of September.

Very basic.

This one has music.

Today is the kind of day you hate to miss.

2009-07-15T21:21:00.004-04:00

Unfortunately that is exactly the way it turned out. Any other day of the week and I would have been all over it.

It's not that a SE 20 knot day is rare around here it is just that they are rare this time of year. July and August only see maybe one or two days like this. To top it off this was at one of my favorite SE launches. York River Seafood and the tide was going out. When that happens you end up with a glassy smooth transition area behind one of the marsh islands, a semi flatwater transition in front of the launch and some nice rolling swell in between to play on or jump if you so desire.

Here is the graph....

Mini Gorge session

2009-07-11T21:39:00.004-04:00

Not really but I thought that would get some ones attention.

Sailed at my parents place today (mini gorge). The wind never got above 14 but I did get my 145l/7.8 combo up on plane once. The timing couldn't have been better either. It was just as a Cigarette boat with some attractive ladies onboard went by. I was able to come across their stern and zip over their wake and give a little wave. Rather than bobbing like a cork and falling in. Hopefully I represented how cool windsurfing is.... LOL!!

I pulled out the longboard and continued the session. The tide was running in pretty strong so even with the light winds there was some small rolling swell coming down the river. 1 1/2 to 2 foot. The way it was working you could catch it and use it to get on plane when headed outbound. Coming back had there been more wind it would have made some nice ramps.

It was nice to sail there today even though conditions were much better over at the York River Seafood launch. I didn't have to drive far or do battle with OBX bound I-64 traffic plus I was able to watch the Eagles and their young flying around while I was sailing.

Chris

Fathers day session. Paying some dues.

2009-06-24T23:01:00.007-04:00

Well I spent a couple hours in the morning figuring out what had happened to my truck, Torque converter failure and lots of metal going through the internals. Going to have to pull it and get it overhauled.

The wind was strong so I decided to take a trip down to Ft. Monroe to check out the Sunday sail. I had missed the field trip down to Avon on Saturday thanks to the mechanical issue. I was really looking forward to it but there isn't much you can do about Murphy. The beginners attending Sunday sail had been cautioned that the conditions weren't conducive to progressing their basic skills so there weren't too many expected to show up. 30 mph gusts and newbies really don't mix well.

When I arrived around 3:00 there were only a hand full of sailors and most were experienced. The wind was holey now so I decided to hop over to Factory Pt. to find better wind and see who was there. Being that I was showing up late and it was Fathers day I didn't know what to expect in terms of who would still be sailing. Pete T. and Tom B. were just getting off the water with small 5's and saying it was backing off. I rigged 5.8 and got some nice planing runs on the 102l. The weeds would sneak up and get you every now and again. I almost got launched over the bars on two occasions thanks to some exceptionally thick floating mats. There never was a problem with water depth, even with the tide being at the lowest part of it's cycle there was plenty of water everywhere. Before Pete left I asked him to snap a couple photos of me. Thanks Pete.

The wind shifted NNE and faded a little so I pulled out the 145l big board and made a couple on and off runs with the 5.8. Peter and I were the last ones there we were talking about his gear and his need to get a weed fin for summer sailing around here. We were just about to pack it in when the wind picked back up so we went back out. I stayed on the big board expecting the wind to fall off again, it never did. The wind just continued to strengthen and shift back to N then NNW. It got to where I was way overpowered and the board was just too big. I really wanted to stop and get my smaller board back out but I was tired and I was only going to make a few more runs anyway.

The wind felt like it was blowing in the mid to upper 20's with higher gusts. I kept getting air off each wave peak I hit. I finally decided I'd had enough but I was out in the Long Creek channel heading toward the sandbar when the wind ramped up even more. I new if I tried to jibe or tack in those conditions, on that gear I would blow it and then be stuck in overhead water wrestling the board and rig into position then waiting for a lull to waterstart. Then I thought I could continue on out to the sandbar, I could give the sail some more outhaul and downhaul and sail back in relative comfort.

Lets just say I misjudged where the bar actually was. Too much sail, too big a board and rough water = a slow drift into Long creek a swim and a long walk around the point to get back to the launch. Don't get me wrong I tried to waterstart, did it twice only to end up crashing after about 30 feet. I tried to uphaul the sail. It might as well have been a tied down piece of plywood, the wind and the swell kept me from getting it upright and sheeted in. I did manage to get part of the way across the Creek by uphauling till the mast tip was about a foot and a half off the water and clew dragging in the water. That allowed the wind flow create a little forward motion.

It took me a little over a half an hour of walking and swimming to get back to the point so that I could sail back to the launch. I'll chalk it up to dues paid.

Here are a couple of the pics Pete took of me.

Not in focus but I was flying.

Jibe sequence. Now I can see some of what I'm doing wrong.
In this case I'm not keeping my weight on the carving rail.

Setting up for a waterstart

This guy was fishing near the bar, He had a pretty tough paddle back in after the wind picked back up.

This can't be good.

2009-06-21T13:35:00.003-04:00

That is what is inside the transmission pan on my truck. Doesn't look good!

I'll be turning wrenches the next couple days.

Nature Therapy

2009-06-17T01:03:00.008-04:00

Today started out like any other day get up and get ready to do some work. That's not a bad thing I really enjoy what I do. I did my morning ritual of checking email then the weather and Iwindsurf for the forecast. There was a pretty good chance of wind so I loaded up a couple boards and sails thinking I would finish up @ 3 or 4 and spend the rest of the day sailing.

I started working and in between jobs I noticed I had a small hole in the lower radiator hose. Now I haven't had the best of luck lately, it seems Murphy has a real grudge against me. Anyway when I noticed the hole I restarted the truck hoping the pressure and the leak would subside as the coolant did it's job flowing through the system. That worked so I allowed it to cool for a few minutes then popped the cap relieving the pressure and wrapped the hole with one of the best inventions ever Duct tape. There was enough coolant in the system to safely drive it to the auto parts store and buy the supplies I need. Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to make it back home or to the shop so I had to change it in the parking lot of the store.

On the way to the store I remember thinking this detour would kill any chance of being able to windsurf. I went in and bought the supplies radiator hose, coolant a drip pan to catch any old coolant from the system ( can't have that coolant just pouring on the ground ). I figured I have to wait for the truck to cool down so I could fix it. Then I remembered I had start pulling the engine out of the race car for tech inspection within 10 minutes of bringing it off the track for a race. I could deal with the hot coolant get this done and go about my business. Well I got the hoses swapped and the truck ready to go in less than 15 minutes. With the hour and a half of downtime I could still get everything done, then spend a couple hours on the water and that just what I did.

There was a decision to be made about where to launch and talking to Glenn about Buckroe's shore break made my mind up. I showed up a Factory Point around 5:20 several guys were on the water Billy, Dr Bob, Pete T. Javier and Larry. Glenn had arrived fresh from Buckroe to say hi and Marcy had just left with a most contented look on her face. Billy, Bob and Pete were all on the outside past the sandbar. They were all well powered on the sails they had, every now and again you would see somebody launch a nice jump off the breaking swell.

I went to set up my board and I saw that everybody was coming in. I walked back over to chat and see what they were on so I could select the proper rig. They were all dialed in on low to mid 6 meter sails and 100l boards. I figured I could get away with a 5.8 and 100l as I'm lighter than most of them. Once I rigged I headed out solo. The combo was perfect I made a bunch of runs out and back hitting little jumps off the swell breaking on the bar. I'm going to have to get some pointers on jumping it seems when I really try to pop the board and get air I just skim over the top of the ramp. It's when I don't really try that I can usually get a little bit of air. I just don't understand how it is done. It is nothing like trying to jump a wakeboard. Though I did get some air on 2 jumps in quick succession. The first one my back foot came out of the strap but I still kept going the second one both feet came out, the board flipped and I came close to landing on my fin.

I had to come in for an adjustment on the mastbase once to settle the nose down on the speed runs and I had to come in once again to tighten my fin screw. I could actually tell that it was slightly loose because of the way the board was feeling. Other than those two instances I spent 2 1/2 hours on the water. I worked on my jibes at each transition. I'm so close but I keep fumbling the foot switch and or the sail flip. I'm going to do a little dry land simulation to build some muscle memory so my feet land in the right spot when I make the switch. I was also able to figure out how to get some speed out of the board in the flat water and how to surf the swell breaking on the bar. Mind you these weren't even what most would call waves maybe 2 feet but I could feel the acceleration on the face, I could sail out ahead of it and cut back to it. I know it isn't much but I figure it will help me prepare for the real thing.

I sailed up until the sun started to set. I didn't have any of the stress left in me from earlier in the day just an nice dull burn from the days work and the windsurf session plus a permanent grin on my face from the fun I just had. One of the crew likened it to an orgasm and I can understand the analogy.

It is not often you get a day this good so close to home, usually you have to go to Hatteras for these conditions. ( steady around 20 from SE ) The best part is there might be more on tap for tomorrow.

No action photos. But here is the sunset that ended the day.

First Sunday sail of the summer at Mill creek and more....

2009-06-15T12:55:00.000-04:00

Wow it's been a long time since I have posted anything. It's not like I haven't been sailing it's just that I've been to busy to post. Since I last posted there was a great weekend trip to Billy Mckendree's in Aydlett. A day trip to DR Bob's, a session at Dave Kashy's place, a nice high wind day at Factory Point and finally today a nice rare June NE day at Mill Creek.

Let's go in chronological order starting today.

6-14... Today was the first Sunday sail of the summer at Mill Creek. The Sunday sail is a planned sailing day sponsored by W.E.T. so the new sailors who have taken the Intro to Windsurfing Class can continue to practice the sport. It is set up so there is at least one instructor and a beginners board there for use by the students. Other Sailors are encouraged to show up and join in, give pointers and if they have extras, loan out gear. It is also helpful for the newbies to see experienced sailors out there doing their thing.

The wind was great it started NNE and light, built to @ 18 mph and ever so slowly backed off into the low teens. This allowed the students to get a real taste of what it is all about. I came out to loan out my gear and give pointers. I rigged up a 7.8 for me to use and a 4.0 and 5.8 to loan out. I brought the Hifly and my new acquisition an old circa 1990ish Fanatic 370 long board. Becky, visiting from Germany for the summer had her sight set on using the Hifly so I set her up with the 4.0 first then the 5.8. She has some experience sailing in the Canaries so the 4.o was just too small for her. The 5.8 worked much better, I still think she could have used a half meter more.

I sailed the 370 and 7.8 combo. I originally had a long board when I started sailing but I sold it to buy the Hifly because I thought it was limiting my progression. Turns out it was me limiting my progression. The 370 sailed quite nicely. I learned more about sailing a long board in those few hours than I had in the 6 years I owned the previous one. I had it flying across and down wind. Chugging upwind dagger board down and railed up I even tried to coax it through a few planing jibes. If it wasn't for the sail flip I would have nailed them. At the end of the session Bruce counted 5 students 4 instructors and a handful of experienced sailors.

Once the windsurf gear was stored Javier, Bruce, Pete, Becky and myself did a little bit of Stand up. Bruce had his RRD longrider and Javier had a Starboard SUP. I was able to ride both. the RRD was good but the SUP was smooth and stable. We finally called it a day and headed over to Marker 20 for dinner. Nothing better than ending great day with a cold beer excellent food and good company.

Remember to click the photos to enlarge.

A few shots of the WET hirarchy.

Are we having fun yet???

Javier and Pete making it look easy.

Becky cruising along.

What's this a rare photo of me!

I don't want any comments on my form

5-17... The Factory Point session was a strong north wind day in the 23 to 30mph range. It was supposed to be day 2 of the WET regatta but the high wind and frequent heavy rains canceled the competition. A group of about 9 diehards did sail, figured what the heck we were going to get wet anyway. Among those were John Q, Contos, Jack, Tom B, Chris L, Keith, D-man, there were a couple new faces to me as well. I can't for the life of me remember their names. I rode the Cross 102 and the 85l Fanatic with a 4.6m sail. I got plenty of jibe and waterstart practice the waterstarts are getting to be fairly easy now especially on the smaller gear and I made 3 or 4 jibes. No photos due to rain.

5-9.... The York point session at Kashy's was a late afternoon power hour session. I was on the 102 and a 5.8 and Dave rode his Formula to start with then then switched to his slalom gear, a 106l and 5.8. No photos.

5-3... This was a Sunday day trip to Dr Bobs. It was a classic Rodanthe type day just a nice steady SW wind that kept building throughout the day. I rigged 5.1 and 4.1. I made a couple runs on 5.1 and 102 liter, it was too much. Come to find out most were on 5.0 even the bigger guys. Bob was the only one on larger. Bob, you can hold down more sail than you think... Anyway, I went to the 4.1 and new to me 85l F2 style. I sailed that combo for about an hour till the wind got even stronger. My hand held anemometer was sustaining 29mph with gusts to upper 30's and lulls in the mid 20's. I decided I wanted to go again before I packed up. Most had pulled out their 3.7 and 4.0's, since I was already sailing my smallest combo I had to ride what I had.

I have sailed wind like this before but not in big water. The terrain is much different and the wind more steady so you really have to be on your game. There was no time to get comfortable and relax. Had to concentrate the whole time. Up wind was fine and I could stay in control. The off the wind runs were scary fast so I avoided it as much as possible. About every third or fourth reach you really didn't have a choice it was either a hair on fire down wind run or a reverse walk of shame. All in all I handled it pretty well got in a few small jumps and didn't hurt myself. Except for some non-skid burn on the shins. It was an incredible day, actually the wind blew like that for a better part of a week.

Look at everyone enjoying the 20 mph breeze.

About an hour later all but the best kiters were blown off the water

4-25/4-26..... The Weekend trip to Billy's place in Aydlett was a W.E.T event consisting of Fun races, camping, horse shoes, Foosball, a board toss, an excellent BBQ dinner and good company.

I arrived late on Saturday afternoon. The crew was out on the water running the fun race that was planned. I rigged up but by the time I finished the wind was all but gone. The social festivities commenced soon after the gear was stowed for the evening. John G, and I got spanked playing horse shoes. Food was ordered from Currituck BBQ and it was outstanding. The Mosquitoes starting getting pretty bad so the gathering moved inside it garage for more socializing and a game of darts the the Foosball tourney started. I thought I remembered being able to play a pretty mean game but I looked pitiful against everybody go I relegated myself to the gallery. The final event of the evening was the board toss. It was a heavy unbalanced old board but I held the mark for the longest throw through several rotations till John G. came out and managed to get it about a foot further.After a couple more attempts my shoulder let me know it was time to quit and John went down in the record books as the first Aydlett fun race board toss champion. John C, John Q, John G his sister and myself all set up our camping gear and turned in for the evening.

The sun rising over the sound was a beautiful. We were treated to a pancake sausage and fruit breakfast by our gracious hosts. The wind was squirrely and off shore most of the morning but it did finally get to where we could sail big floaty gear. I used my 7.8 sail and I took the opportunity to try out several different boards a Prodigy, Kona style and a Fanatic Ultra Cat. I spent most of the time of the prodigy and was able to get that thing moving at a pretty good clip I was even able to keep up with Mary on her S Cross. It certainly wasn't easy she is fast! The differences between the Kona and the Cat were numerous but each board worked as it was designed the Kona is more surfy and sticks to the water till it planes up. The Cat was light and stiff a bit harder to maneuver but much faster. Over all I think the Cat and the Prodigy were better for the conditions that day. John Q rode his formula and was flying all over the place Billy took us out on the boat and we followed behind John for a while and got a sense of just how fast he was moving. The day ended as the wind shifted and fell off.

There wasn't a whole lot of wind but there was enough to make the trip fun. I look forward to the next one. Billy, Mary, Barry, Robin and Steve thanks for the hospitality.

Hey Billy this is great

Cheering section

Robin giving it her all.

John accepting his prize

Green Skies

2009-04-22T00:32:00.007-04:00

Dave called Tuesday around quitting time to see if I was up for a session. Winds were blowing steady out of the SE 20 to 23 at the closest sensor to his house. I had to beg off due to sinus problems from all the pine pollen I inhaled working last Friday. I did warn him to keep a wary eye to the sky if he ventured out.

An hour later my neighborhood was in the crosshairs of tornadic thunderstorm. Funnel clouds had been spotted, damage was reported, the radar was showing a classic hook echo and Doppler was indicating strong mid level rotation and no sign of weakening. You didn't have to have all that information to know something was up. One look outside and you could tell bad things could happen at any moment. The swirling clouds and green skies were all the indicators you would need. I've heard of the green sky phenomenon but I never actually experienced it until now. It was certainly eerie. We did get a really strong blast of wind and quiet a bit of dime to nickle sized hail. Thankfully we didn't have to go see the wizard.

The curious person I am just had to go out and snap some photos and here they are.

No color enhancement. Too bad they don't do it justice.

This is a poor shot of what was either a dissipating or forming funnel

Gear for sale....

2009-04-15T12:27:00.006-04:00

EDIT: Some of this is on ebay now, high bidder gets it.

I need to sell off some of the extra gear I have so I can help finance a few new or at least new to me items.

I wanted to offer them through here first before I post on Ebay & IWS. Hopfully someone local or someone passing through on their way to or from Windfest Hatteras will get themselves a good deal.

Contact me through ccyne2 at hotmail dot com if interested

Click to enlarge Photos

The sails do come with their bags and are in
B+ or better condition

2005 Simmer Style 4.5 $125.00

99 Bic Saxo 264 Free Wave 85l
Stickers are peeling off. No straps (They were junk) I will include the screws and anti twist plates. The board has some checking on the bottom outer layer of skin from the roof rack and a small ding in one rail. No leaks though. Structurally the board is sound.
$$ Make a reasonable offer....
Ideally the fin should sell with the board but I will sell it separately if there are no takers on the board.

Friday April 3rd, Afternoon session.

2009-04-05T09:24:00.006-04:00

I bailed on work about 2:00 to meet Dave for an afternoon Session. When I got there the wind was in the 17 to 22 range with higher gusts. 5.1 and 102l was going to be the call. I had a nagging feeling that was the wrong choice.

Greg showed up while I was carrying my gear over to the rigging area. He decided to go 4.2 so I changed my mind and went with a 4.6 instead of the 5.1, figured I'd split the difference. It ended up being a good decision. I stayed mostly powered to overpowered, at times I wished I was on the 4.1. I did pull out the 85l and try it again. It is just not the board for me so I will be officially putting it up for sale, cheap. It just needs a bigger sail, 5's to low 6's. I just won't use it in that capacity, I have the Cross for that sail range. I'll continue my search for a board in the 80-85l range that works with 4.0 to 5.0. Sure wish I could afford a new one, I'd find another Cross.

Back to the session.... I got a lot more waterstart, jump and gibe practice. The waterstart with the small sails seem so much easier. Trying to start the 5.8 and the 6.7 become a real struggle, what is strange is the 7.8 cammed sail I use is fairly easy to start. I'm thinking it might have something to do with the skinny masts. I made a few more small jumps, most were intentional. I have to work out the timing I keep trying to pop the board the same as I did wake boarding and it feels all wrong. As far as the Jibes. The footwork seems solid, I'm able to get nice carves but the sail flip is still hanging me up. I'm either too early or too late or a gust hits at the wrong time. I'm so close but it is still just out of reach.

Saturday was another good West wind day. I had to miss it to make up for the work I didn't finish on Friday. The forecast for Monday and Tuesday is looking promising but I expect this week will be the usual craziness work wise. Easter Sunday's right around the corner have to get the yards looking good.

I'll post up some pic's later.

Cabin Fever and a York point session.

2009-03-30T20:43:00.013-04:00

Sunday turned out to be a good early spring SSW day. The morning started out with a threat of thunderstorms. By mid afternoon it was sunny skies and warm winds. My day began at an event called Cabin Fever. It is the second annual gathering of a bunch of local outdoor clubs. The purpose if the event is to showcase the each clubs particular sport or recreational activity. Bruce, John C. and Jack were manning the booth promoting W.E.T and trying to get curious people passing by interested in our sport. They had a land trainer out there, a fully rigged shortboard and John's extensive collection of toys. During the time I was there 4 people received tutorials on basic sail handling and lots of fliers were handed out promoting the two introduction to windsurfing lessons planned during the summer.

The W.E.T. experience, Cabin Fever 2009

Jak giving a quick land trainer lesson

See how much fun, hopefully she will be at the intro.

Couple of WET guys. Dave T, Jak, John Q, Bruce.

The wind was beckoning and I had yet to get in my March session for the 12 month club so I had to bail around noon to go sail. I headed on over to York Point as that was the closest SW launch. When I got there Dave had just come in from a 5.9 86l run. Pete had just arrived as well and we both rigged 5.8. I went with the larger volume board at 102l and rigged with extra downhaul. Before I got out I snapped some photos of Dave buzzing the pier. The way his pier comes off the point allowed me to get some nice up close and personal shots.

Winds were S to SW air temp was 60-70 and water was low to mid 50's.

Once I hit the water I found there was a little rust to knock off, it had been over a month since my last session. The wind was wild, the board and sail combo ended up being perfect about 65% of the time, 15% was underpowered and 20% way over powered. I got slammed quite a few times in the gusts, After about an hour it seemed like the wind was getting stronger, well at minimum the gusts were. I went in and rigged 5.1 and changed to a smaller fin. Had I brought the 85l I would have pulled it out. The chop was getting pretty rough for the 102l. Thank goodness the Cross has those dual density pads, they made the ride tolerable.

A couple cool things happened this session. I made my first jump. It wasn't anything to write home about but it was significant to me because a saw the ramp, steered to it and consciously made the attempt. I do know I cleared the fin because when I landed I spun out. That in itself was another accomplishment as I was able to recover without crashing. After a rest and a tour of Daves new construction I headed back out for one last sail. The wind seemed to have backed down some so I grabbed the 5.8 and hit the water again. In the gusts the combination of the bigger sail the chop and the small fin kept causing me to spin out. I did finally adjust my stance and sheeting angle to stop it from happening. The final accomplishments for the day were completing my first tack and first jibe on that board. Only one of each though.

The wind came back up again but I had enough, my body just couldn't take any more. So I pulled the camera back out and got a few more shots before packing up and heading home. All in all it was a great YP session Dave had his highest head count with 8 sailors enjoying his launch.

Looks like another good couple days on tap hopefully I can find time to get in another session. Maybe with the air being warm the water temp will come up enough so the shorty can come out of the closet soon.

Jump sequence Dave Kashy

George

Dave and Greg

Kashy fins Hydrofoil???

Todd

Pete

Sanity Maintenance.

2009-03-15T10:10:00.000-04:00

It's been almost a month since the last time I was on a board and it is really starting to get to me. It's not been for a lack of wind either. We have had at least two days a week that have been sailable but work or some other commitment has kept me busy those days. The bad part is sailing for me has become a integral part of how I relieve stress and not being able to get out there and glide across the water, harnessing what nature provides is adding to the stress.

Early on, reading through the other blogs and message board posting gave me a much needed vicarious rush but now it's not having the same effect, it too is becoming part of the problem. Seeing the photos of tropical locations and reading the session reports is fueling irrational thoughts of jumping on a plane or in my car and disappearing to one of those perfectly windy locations. Thankfully, knowing I have to take care of my responsibilities has kept me grounded. Sometimes it sucks being a responsible adult.

Oh well, I guess I'll just have to resign myself to dropping everything the next windy day that comes along and just get out there. Maintaining ones sanity has to become a priority at some point.

Survival sailing is fun!

2009-02-18T20:00:00.000-05:00

I was lazy so you get two sessions in one post.

Wow!!! Thursday was a great day for high wind sailing, almost too good at times.

Factory Point was the call Glenn, Bob, Jack, Billy, Tom and I hit it around 10:00. Chad and John C. showed up later. We were treated to steady 60+degree, 25 mph west wind and an incoming tide for the first hour or so. The water had actually warmed up quite a bit, mid to upper 40's, thanks to the unseasonably warm days we have had for the past week.

Most rigged low 4m sails and 80 to 90l boards. Tom rigged a 3.7. I used the Bic Saxo 85 liter for the first time and a 4.1. Everyone was powered nicely.

I had a time getting used to the board. It is very different from my other two larger boards the mast track and straps are further apart which made getting into the straps difficult. When I did get a foot in, the board was a little too loose for my taste. So most of my day was spent sailing strapless. I couldn't really push the limits, but I did find that smaller boards really are so much more comfortable in rough water. I think with 5.5 to 6.0 conditons in rough water this board would be perfect. That is just not what I need so I will likely be looking for a different high wind board.

The wind shifted toward NW and picked up while we sailed, it also became quite gusty. I had started a run out after making an adjustment to my outhaul and got flattened. I assumed the adjustment caused it until I surfaced and got ready to go again. The sail was ripped out of may hand and the board and rig did a cartwheel across the water. I raced for the board and grabbed it. This was when I realized it was a nasty gust that was causing the trouble, the water looked like snow from all the whitecaps and the spray was obscuring the shore on the other side. Now I understand "liquid smoke". I walked my gear back over to the launch area and tried to wait it out in the water. The board kept getting picked up and tossed around from the wind. Thankfully, I had good control of the sail so it didn't get away. I spent 10 minutes waiting for the wind to die down, it never did so I headed for shore. When I tried to grab the board and sail to carry it up on the beach the sail slipped from my hand and went directly at Bob. I instinctively backpedaled into the wind while holding the back footstrap. Fortunately the sail missed him by a couple feet. I thought for sure he was going to get clobbered but he didn't seem phased by it. I made sure no one was even close to me when moving my gear the rest of the day.

I'd estimate the wind was 40mph+ for about 20 minutes. Bob, Billy and Tom continued trying to sail. Bob and Billy had a much tougher time than Tom on his 3.7. The blow did claim a few pieces of gear. Right after I nearly clobbered Bob he made his run out and heard a pop on his way back the subsequent start from the launch made it known the he snapped his universal. Moments later Billy came in with a busted Stainless steel spreader bar.

The wind did drop back down after a while though it did get a bit gustier with the difference between the gusts and lulls getting greater. Glenn got tired of survival sailing on his 4.2 and rigged down. I didn't have anything smaller so I added some downhaul and went back out. I spent a lot of time water starting thanks to all my crashes. I would get going nicely and because the board felt good where my feet were, out of the straps. I'd end up going a little too fast, catch air off the chop and lose touch with the board. If those darn foot straps had been about 10 cm closer to the mast track I would have been much better off. As it was I still had a blast, I learned some things and I found I really enjoy High wind sailing. The moment I realized it was right after getting launched this one particular time. I lost my footing on the board and fell to windward because I didn't let go with my front hand, the clew rotated 180 and dug into the water first, my body contorted and I smashed my hip into the mast. I took a few minutes to walk it off but I couldn't resist getting right back out there. The next couple days I will nurse my wounds, begin my search to replace the Bic with a board that better suits my style of sailing and keep an eye out for the next 4.1 day.

Oh I forgot to mention there was one additional piece of gear claimed by mother nature John ran a ground and snapped both arms on his carbon boom.

The previous Sundays post is below this sessions photos.

Glenn

Billy

Tom

Bob Jibe Crash

Broke Boom

Separated Uni

Jack

Jump shots

Sunday's post....

York Point was again the call with a 15 to 20 knot SW to W wind forecast. The air was warm 65+, even the water had warmed up considerably thanks to several days of 60 to 70 degree temps. The previous session the water was 37 and today it was 5 degrees warmer. Not bad for February.

The ride out the launch was a little hairy I almost didn't make it and if it weren't for instinctive reactions and lots of practice driving on slippery roads as a teenager I might not be doing much sailing for a while. In my rush to get to launch I accidentally took the interstate off ramp at to high of speed It is a ramp that have used many times so I should know better but I was really anxious to get on the water. well it's really tight radius cloverleaf, fortunately it was pretty smooth and wide. I got off the Interstate traveling the legal speed limit of 65 but I only bled off about 10 mph of speed in the deceleration lane before entering the leaf. The moment I started the turn I knew it was to fast, a second later all 4 wheels started squealing. I knew if I hit the brakes I would just loop the truck into the guardrail so I hung with it drifting 3/4 of the way around the ramp. By then I had bled off enough speed that the truck regained grip. After that hair raising experience I will be sure to put pre-session day dreaming on hold while behind the wheel. There is a little chatter on James' blog about pre and post session driving.

The session was nice the wind was up and down. Two other guys came out to sail the launch with Dave an I. Pete T. and John G. a fellow blogger who has been on hiatus. Everyone was using larger sails 7.5 for Pete well downhauled and 6.7 for me with minor downhaul and 140 l freeride boards. John and Dave were on Formula with 9.5 and 11.5 sails respectively. There are two places that the wind backs off on a run in the SW and W direction. I don't know if it is just detaching from the surface in those areas because of the cool water or if a feature on the opposite shore is messing with the wind. Maybe it's a combination but it has happened in the same places the last couple sessions.

Pete did nicely on his kit. There were a few lulls that slowed him down but all in all he planed consistently. That's really no surprise, he is a very efficient sailor. Dave was flying all over the place.

John, well he had a rough day. He busted two downhaul lines while rigging his race sail. Dave loaned him a length of the "white line" so he could get out on the water. Unfortunately his run of broken gear wasn't quite over yet. He brought his board down to the waters edge and went back for his sail. Just then a strong gust came and picked up his board introducing it to one of the pilings on the pier. A nice 4 inch ding was the result of that introduction. I told him not to worry that was his third strike for the day so the streak of bad luck was over, plus I had a barely used thing of Marine Tex in my gear bag. He was out on the water with the rest of us in no time. The gusty conditions were a challenge for him when making the transitions but he was riding pretty well otherwise.

Since I was the last to rig and the wind seemed to be building. I figured I'd be ahead of the game on a smaller sail and just adjust outhaul and downhaul as the conditions changed. I should have rigged 7.8. I could have planed with that sail all day and easily handled the gusts. Oh well, live and learn.

John

Pete

Dave

Dying winds (This one looks better enlarged)

Board envy?

2009-02-07T19:03:00.000-05:00

How would you like to find this stick at you local surf break.

I guess this captain likes to surf. I can here him now "I couldn't miss an epic day at my favorite break for sea trials, dude! Hope I didn't ding my fin."

Any one else got a funny caption?

Read story here.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29065902/?GT1=43001

February sailing at York Point.

2009-02-02T20:05:00.000-05:00

York point has turned out to be a great cold weather SW sailing site. When the tide is right you can sail in waist to chest deep water for nearly a mile. If it's low you can sail the channel and pretty much parallel the shallows. That was a real benefit Sunday, the air temp was in the upper 50 to low 60's but the water was around 37 degrees.

Dave and I hit it just after high tide. The winds were anywhere from 14 the 21 knots. Dave rigged up a 6.7 race sail and grabbed a slalom board. Even with the shallow water I wasn't real keen on spending much time in it so I grabbed my 140 l board and rigged a 5.8 and a 5.1.

Dave was pretty well lit, there were a couple areas where the holes were pronounced and we had to schlog through but for the most part we stayed powered. It took me a few runs to get my harness lines right. I can't figure out why they were so far up on the boom. Their position gave me fits in the early gusts but once they were in the sweet spot it was smooth sailing. Dave went out sans gloves so frequent breaks to warm the hands were in order. I sailed with full protection, the Glacier gloves kept my hands nice and toasty so my breaks were due to fatigue.

Toward the end of the session we got a half hour or so of stronger wind in the 18 to 25 knot range. I was still using the 5.8 and blasting on the edge of control in the strong gusts. That is until I hit a piece of chop wrong and got pitched. I often wonder just what I look like as those crashes occur. It has to be hilarious because I was laughing the whole time I was flying through the air and skipping across the water. The only part that wasn't funny was that cold water. After that I went in and swapped out sails. The 5.1 was better suited for the gusts unfortunately it was like hitting the brakes in the lulls.

I offered use of the 5.8 to Dave but he said his sail had so much range that he will usually go from it straight to a 5.0. He was right he handled it no problem. He looked like a rocket skimming the water. It would have been interesting to see the GPS speeds if he'd had one on.

I forgot to bring my camera so there aren't any photos.

After my last run I did come in and grab my cell phone hoping to get a little video clip of Dave coming back in. I was successful capturing the video and it looked pretty good on the little phone screen but on here it's not so good. The clip shows him completing a nice jibe around a channel marker then Murphy says hello on his way back out... Darn sand bars.

I know it's terrible. A video camera is on my wish list. I hear there is a new waterproof one coming out. I am available for product testing if someone wants to send one my way. If only I could get so lucky.

This coming weekend and part of next week we are looking at a string of 65 degree days. Might get a couple more February sessions in short order.

York point Session

2009-01-11T10:55:00.001-05:00

Saturday I sailed with Dave Kashy at York Point. We started off at 1:00 to warm (mid 50's) SW winds and sunny skies. The wind was averaging around 15 mph when we rigged. Dave pulled out his Formula gear to prepare for the race he is attending down in Miami next week. I rigged 6.7 and grabed the Hifly.

The water was very low something like -1' on the tide graphs, plus the wind was blowing it out into the bay so we had to walk out a little bit to get to deeper water. By the time I finished rigging Dave had sailed his way out toward the bay and was making his way back in. I had never seen a Formula board in action and was amazed how high and how deep off the wind that thing would go.

While we sailed the wind continued to increase. I rigged my sail knowing this was likely to happen so early on I was jumping in and out of the straps quite a bit. There were a couple really good runs and as time progressed the gusts were more pronounced making things more challenging.

I figured I'd take a break after one more run out. Half way out the wind speed spiked. Fortunately I saw it comming so I locked in my stance and was able to continue sailing out through it. I made the sand bar where I was practicing my jibes and a more powerful gust ripped sail out of my hand. The wind didn't drop off much as the gust passed it was now sustained in the mid 20's. I started back in and I saw another gust blowing across the water I locked out and braced myself hoping to just punch through it and get back to shore. The wind had other ideas. This gust must have been pushing 30 mph. I was using every bit of strength I had to lever against the sail and over sheet, I just couldn't hold on. The board had topped out and it couldn't go any faster, it was like having a tug of war against 2 NFL linemen. I knew if I stayed hooked in it would likely result in an ugly Catapult so I managed to unhook. That way the sail could just get ripped out of my hands without taking me with it and avert a huge crash.

I held on like that for about twenty more seconds before the next puff finally put me in the water. The water was a brisk 43 degrees but I had my gloves and hood on so it wasn't bad at all. I tried a couple waterstarts but the sail size and high wind wouldn't allow it. I just stayed with the board till it got shallow enough to walk back in. While I was walking I kept thinking "didn't I just go through this same thing at Messick a couple days ago". I have to say today was much more difficult though due to the larger sail. See previous post

Once I was in, the wind continued blowing in the mid 20's or better. The sand being lifting off the beach confirmed this. While we rested and I contemplated rigging down. Dave asked my advice on placing some shrubs and trees that would likely get destroyed in the demolition. We grabbed some shovels and I helped him move them to a suitable location. It was kind of funny us out there in our wetsuits and booties digging up plants. I was sure glad the soil was soft.

The wind steadily dropped as it got closer to sunset and we decided to head out for one last sail. It was schlogging only so Dave did a little freestyle on his formula gear. He talked me into trying to sail back winded, I yelled back to him that I had never tried it and didn't want to fall in again. I was pretty much dry at this point. He assured me we were in shallow water so I tried it. I nearly made it around and then as expected, I ended up in the drink. My feet never did touch the bottom. I did try it a few more times since I was wet again, each attempt was unsuccessful. That is something I will have to work on when it warms up.

Well It is January 10th and I'm still sailing, 2 sessions so far this month. Once February is done the rest of the year will be a cakewalk. I want that 12 month club sweatshirt.

Dave

Tide is low

Dave the Wetsuit gardner.

If this is the price to pay for sailing this spot.

No Problem, glad to help.

Still need that haircut, and a shave too!

Another forecasting error....More wind than expected.

2009-01-10T18:55:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, I awoke to fog and a light breeze. The forecast called for the wind to pick up as day progressed topping out around 20 by sunset. About 8:30 I checked email and the radar. The email had a fellow sailor heading over to Messick point to get in his January Session stating "It just hit 16". The radar showed a fast moving squall line well out ahead of a cold front. I figured about the time I reached the launch so would the line. So I held back and waited. I was stewing because it seemed the forecasters had completely missed the timing of the weather again. Lately they have been off anywhere from 4 to 8 hours. Since the line was coming in quick I just new the missed again so I figured I'd just sail after the weather passed on the cooling westerlies. When the line hit the winds ramped up and the temperature dropped like a rock. After the line pushed through we had a steady rain, the wind dropped way back but oddly enough it continued to blow out of the S and SW. It took a little time but because of the flow the temps rebounded and the wind speed slowly came back up.

Between noon and 2:00 the wind was in the 13 to 15 mph range. I figured that would be about as strong as it would get since the rain had already pushed through. I threw my big board, my 7.8 and a 6 m sail and headed out to Messick expecting to get in a leisurely sail. When I got there the wind had picked up dramatically, my hand held anemometer showed 24 average with gusts in the 30s. I didn't make the drive for nothing and I wanted to get my January session. So I rigged the 6 and gave it a shot. It really wasn't fun, total survival mode. It reminded me of my Hanna session except the water and air were a lot warmer then and the sail was much smaller, plus I remember Hanna being fun. Needless to say the session was incredibly short lived as I have this thing about not wanting to get hurt or break my gear.

It looks like the farther South you went the windier and warmer it was. Several local sailors had a good day on Back bay and at the Va. beach oceanfront. Down on Hatteras Island it was nuking all day check out Andy and Bill's reports.

Photos are deceptive. It's really windy!

This Blackhawk kept performing this manuver over and over.

The first time I saw it I thought It was going to crash.

2 highwind sessions.... almost.

2009-01-01T15:17:00.000-05:00

This week, the last week of December has been a good one wind wise. Sunday we had warm SW winds blowing 25+ and yesterday we had a mix bag starting SW around 20 and clocking to NW with gusts approaching 50 by noon.

Sunday I decided I’d try to sail at my parent’s house because I would also get to see football on Sunday ticket. My team, the Cleveland Browns have pretty much stunk it up this year. Logic should have prevailed and I should have gone to one of the local launches to sail with other people. But we were playing the Steelers and that’s a rivalry game that is hard to miss. I figured if the game looked to be a blowout early on I would just head on over to either Messick point or Dave Kashy’s new place to sail his launch. Well wouldn’t you know the Browns defense kept the game close till late in the second quarter. So by the time it was absolutely certain that the Browns had no chance, it was already too late to make the hour drive and get any significant time on the water before dark. So at half time I went out to decide on rigging up and sailing or not. There was a bunch of white caps and good size swell rolling down the river, I’d estimate between 3 and 4 foot. My handheld wind meter showed gusts well over 30, that’s just too much for me to go out alone in the 48 degree water. Sailing my folks place can be convenient but with the tidal current and the ideal SW wind conditions it can get rather intimidating.

Tug making its way upriver in the swell just before kickoff.

Yesterday I was gung ho on sailing, the high temperature was going to be in the lower 50’s with wind in the mid to upper 20’s. I took all my small gear with me to work with the intention of getting some stuff done then sailing afterward. I got the message that people were going to sail Kashy’s place so I made my way over there. Unfortunately I took too long to get my work done and missed out on the warmer temps. Once the wind shifted NW the temp dropped, the most dramatic was during a 15 minute span where it seemed to drop 10 degrees.

Tom B., Jack, John C., Marcy and Keith showed to enjoy Dave's little slice of sailing heaven. The sails were sized 3.7 to 4.2 and the boards were 75 to 85l. The falling temps the wind strength and the offshore conditions were enough that Marcy and I decided against suiting up. Everyone else hit the water. It was simply a tough day of sailing the gusts and lulls were extreme. To sail comfortably one would have needed a sail that could instantly transform from a 6.5 to 3.0. It was wild just standing out on the pier taking pictures, within a matter of seconds the wind would go from 20 to 45. Several shots were lost to camera shake. The guys made the most of it though, there was a bit of schlogging, some nicely powered blasting and what I would only describe as overpowered mayhem. Each run out and back had at least one waterstart per sailor. I take that back I don't remember Dave falling in. They all sailed about an hour. Then the cold, the low dew point and the gusty wind finally took its toll shooing everyone off the water. All except John, he swapped his 85l for a 100l and went back out. The board change really helped him in the lulls but put him beyond control in the gusts.

I look forward to getting the next email announcing another session at Dave’s, hopefully in less chaotic wind conditions.

Tomorrow could be the first session of the New Year. It’s supposed to be a lighter SW day that might warrant another day trip down to the OBX.

Happy New Year!

As always click photos to enlarge.....

John heading back out on the bigger board

John Lit!!!!

That explosion of spray was John.

Mr. Kashy

Tom, Dave and Keith

Keith

Dave

Jack

Rant and Rodanthefest

2008-12-20T18:33:00.000-05:00

Uggh…. Yesterday it was windy (20+), warm (55 to 60) and wet. It was a perfect day to bail on work and go windsurfing. By the time my 5:30 appt. called to cancel it was too late to load up and catch a session before dark. Thank goodness Sunday at 12:04 UTC it's the winter solstice, my favorite day of winter, the beginning of longer daylight hours.

Here is a post from a session last week. Long read.....

I had been watching the weather forecast days in advance. All the weather outlets I rely on for planning a sailing day were in agreement we were going to have wind, warm wind and lots of it last Wednesday and Thursday. I wasn’t the only one watching. Dr. Bob was too, only he was focused more on the Outer banks forecast that was calling for even more wind.

The pieces were falling into place for what is referred to as a Rodanthe fest. Multiple sailors showing up for a windsurf session at his sound side home in Rodanthe. I decided early on I was going to do what I had to so I could go. This would be my first time making this type of daytrip.

The forecast was calling for 25 to 30 mph winds so I knew from my Tropical storm Hanna session that I would be sailing my 4.1 and the smallest board I could handle. I have a 85 liter board but don’t have a fin for it to work well in 4.0 conditions so I scrambled to try and find one. Thankfully I had several offers to buy or borrow fins from a couple of the local sailors. I also pulled out my other two boards to take with me just in case it wasn’t as windy as expected. Unfortunately I found some nose damage from a mast hit on my 102 liter board that I had done during my last session. The catapult that caused it must have been violent because the nose is padded with half a pool noodle and it still put a quarter sized indentation and 3 inch crack. The odd thing is I don’t remember doing it. I went out and got the proper materials to do some emergency surgery. I was really worried when I pressed on the crushed area and moisture came out fortunately the leak was confined to the underlying structural foam and did not get into the EPS core. I followed the board lady’s tips for fixing the damage. Thanks to those tips, I made a pretty darn good fiberglass and epoxy repair, what is more impressive to me is it is the first time I have ever worked with fiberglass.

I left the house Wednesday morning to make the three hour drive south. Everything was looking good the breeze at home was picking up and the rain showers were moving in. Every large body of water I drove by or over caused my level of anticipation to rise because the water states were showing wind on the surface. I drove over the Wright memorial bridge and the wind was kicking up and whitecaps were forming. When I went past Windmill point it looked like nice 5.8 sailing now I was just itching to get to Rodanthe and rig up. As I got close to the Bonner bridge spanning Oregon inlet I hit some rain. When I reached the bridge I couldn't see 100 feet ahead due to thick fog, even worse no wind. It reminded me of the fog I used to see when I lived in San Francisco. On top of the bridge the fog broke and the breeze was again prevalent but coming back down it was right back into the soup and still air; not a good sign. Driving through Pea Island there was a mix of fog and clear air so I surmised that it would be similar conditions at Bob's. I pulled up to Bob’s and It was socked in and barely a breath of wind. Gear was rigged but no sailors around. I found everyone inside watching the Weather channel. The fog had been here all morning.

The six of us that were there sat around and chatted for while waiting for the wind. Finally a rain shower hit, the fog dissipated and the wind did start to fill in. We all donned our wetsuits grabbed the biggest sails we had and headed out. I straggled behind to take a few photos. Unfortunately the fog rolled in again, this time it didn’t entirely kill the wind. We all sailed around in subplaning wind on sails from 6.5 to 7.5. I was really wishing I had brought my 7.8. I kept thinking if I had the extra meter I would be able to plane. As it was Marcy was the only one that actually caught a puff and planed. I was really weird to be sailing out in the fog especially when it got thick enough that you couldn’t see the shore. None of us sailed too far from this old wreck about 150 yds off shore. We had to keep a landmark in sight so we could get back if the wind shifted.

The blown forecast was a major disappointment, even the fact we were sailing in warm weather in mid December was little consolation. Bob asked us if we wanted to say the night and catch the better winds forecasted for the following day. John and I accepted the invitation after conferring with our better halves. Billy, Thanks for feeding us. After dinner we played this game called Blokers. I know, your thinking a bunch of guys sat around and played a board game! This game was pretty cool it has simple rules, combined geometry, an ever evolving strategy and watching you opponents squirm. Plus you can drink beer while you play.

When we woke in the morning we expected to feel the house shaking and hear those wonderful creaking and howling noises the houses down there emit in a 20 knot wind. No such luck there was very little change same fog same light wind. At this point Bob was starting to worry that he had convinced us to come down to get skunked. I heard phrases like “It never does this not two days in a row” “it usually kicks in once the sun gets up” “Normally everyone is too tired to sail the really good wind at the end of the day.” Personally, I was starting to wonder if my wind jinx had returned.

The forecast was still calling for 15 to 20 knots so we remained optimistic and kept telling ourselves to give it a little while longer. We went to the local gas and grocery for some made to order breakfast sandwiches. After we ate, a quick look at the sound revealed diminishing fog and a definite darkening of the water with a tiny white cap here and there.

Finally!!! The wind had arrived but it built very slowly. We were all on the same sails from the fog session Bob on 6.4 100l, John on 6.8 and 115l, Billy on 7.5 and I think 120l and myself on 6.7 and 145l. The bigger board and sail combinations planed about 80% for the first 3 hours. Bob had the most trouble and on several occasions started in to grab a floatier board only to get halfway in then come right back out. Because of the air temp @70 and water temp @50 the wind wasn’t attaching to the surface in the deeper water, only near shore so it messed with your mind a little. The last hour of my 4 hour session the wind increased enough that I was powered to overpowered. Unfortunately the periods of schlogging had already taken its toll and I was getting tired. That coupled with the 200yard trudge through the calf deep water thanks to the proxigean tide and the resistance exercise I was getting from the 5 mil suit zapped my energy. Even after taking a break, I couldn't summon the energy to make the walk back out and sail once it picked up to solid 5.5 and <100l.

My first trip to Rodanthe to sail Bobs place was a little slow to spool but in the end I got to sail in December without gloves or a hood. I spent some time with some really cool people and hear some interesting stories. I hope we get to do it again real soon.

Day 1 Fog Session

Can you see the Three Sailors?

Rodanthefest Dec 08

Marcy, John, Billy, Dr. Bob, Wayne

Day 2

Jibe sequence. One of the few Bob missed.

Cool texture in this one.

Better slow down its Shallow

Too late......

What are you thankful for?

2008-11-27T11:25:00.000-05:00

Today is the day we all give thanks for the things we have Health, life, love and for some possesion and prosperity. I tend to use this day to be thankful for or all the memories I've acquired through out my life. With each of those memories I can see how my life has been shaped. The family memories tend to be the ones that pop into my mind the most from spending time with my parents, my grandparents and my extended family to spending time with my wife's family. I was blessed to have been brought up to appreciate the value of having a close family and though I have not had much opportunity to spend time with the extended portion of my family since the passing of my grandparents, they are always in my thoughts this time of year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Clearing winds at Factory

2008-11-16T18:06:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we had a nice but squally S to SW day with temps in the mid to upper 70's. I didn't get out and from the sounds of it I didn't miss much. The mid 50 degree water temps were just a little too cold to allow the warmer wind to attach to the surface. Unless you were at a launch where the wind was blowing off shore or in close proximity to land upwind of you.

Today the air temp was closer to the water temperature allowing the westerly winds to reach the surface. Unfortunately they were on the gusty side. I arrived at Factory Point just after 11am. I rigged a 5.1 and a 5.8 and sailed both on the 102l Cross. Pete, Billy, Vito and quite a few others were all rigging multiple sails expecting the conditions to change through out the day. Several of us were worried we might not have brought small enough sails, the wind was well above the forecasted strength while we were all rigging.

When I first got on the water with the 5.1 I mounted the board and went to hook in but there was no hook, I forgot to put on my harness. When I got back out after donning my harness I was either way over powered or under powered as the winds were anywhere from the mid teens up to around 30mph. Once I got the harness lines set right I was able to handle it without getting catapulted.

This is the first time I've really spent a lot of time on the Cross and I found it to be a little on the squirrely side at least as it compares to the Hifly. It took me about 10 runs to get a good feel for it. I think I'm going to like the board for moderate winds.

Even though the board makes the entry into jibes feel effortless I wasn't able to hit any, I just couldn't get past the sail flip. I did get a bunch of waterstart practice early on. The water depth was enough that I could barely touch so I made it a point of not cheating while getting the sail and board positioned. I spent some time steering the board in the prone position with both feet on the board. That was really helpful for keeping the board and sail in the proper position for the start. I did make several starts going both directions.

As the day went on the wind dropped off and the peaks and valleys got closer together so I went in and grabbed the 5.8. I ended the day on the 5.8 bagged out and the Hifly. I should have rigged bigger but I just didn't feel like it. I was still able to plane just not as well as the guys on their 6's.

I got to break in my new Promotion 5.3. It was awesome, I was nice and toasty all day. If anyone is in the market for a new suit you should check them out. http://www.wetsuit.com/
I think this suit will work well for me down to the 90 degree rule, beyond that I think it would be drysuit time or don't sail at all.

Almost everyone had on thin gloves and head gear because of the low moisture content of the air. The evaporative cooling was a factor especially changing out of the wetsuit after the session.

Here are the photos.
Click to enlarge

I finally met Bruce the new President of W.E.T.
He was one of the last to milk the dying wind and water.
He had to bring the board in upside down to keep from dragging the fin.

He's Back!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-04T08:09:00.000-05:00

(Edit, video added 11/4)
Dr. Bob made his return to the water this weekend after spending the summer rehabbing his surgically repaired shoulder. No one really expected to see him out there till next spring but the will to windsurf is strong with this one.

The forecast Sunday was perfect for him to ease back into the cool clear water of the Back River. The winds started out NE to ENE in the low teens and built to the upper teens as the day progressed. The venue was Factory Point. When I arrived there were several sailors there all in support of Dr. Bob's return. Javier had his video camera and recorded the days events for posterity. The fanfare created reminded me of a heroic Knight guiding his steed under the outstretched swords of his fellow warriors on his way out of the castle to slay the dragon. Alright, you will understand when you see Javier's video. Hopefully I'll be able to link to it.

Mid 6 to mid 7 meter sails and floaty boards were the call. Bob schlogged on out and found a gill net stretching across our path of travel. Of course nets and pointer fins don't play well together and he found himself in the drink. Fortunately he wasn't planning as that could have been bad for the arm. Beyond that incident he sailed quite well he looked very comfortable out there. I think it's safe to say he is back.

Here is the video. Thanks Javier.

Doctor Bob Returns! from Javier Garriz on Vimeo.

I think the 7.8 I was on was the largest on the water. So as the wind increased I was able to plane sooner than the others. I even set about chasing down John C on his Ultra Cat. That lasted all of about 30 seconds. He caught the gust I was in and worked ahead of me. I was able to keep up with him for a while and I was starting to feel pretty good about it till he yelled back over his shoulder that he was dragging on the bottom. Once he had enough depth he steadily pulled away. I cranked my board into my first gibe of the day. This one happened to be the opposite direction of the ones I was working on a couple weeks ago and to my surprise I pulled it off no problem, not even a bobble. I wish I could say every attempt felt that way but I was able to complete and sail away from quite a few. Going fast sure makes them easier.

Over the next hour the wind peaked and I was sailing overpowered on the 7.8 so much so that the sail felt really unstable. I went in and took a break and contemplated re-rigging. Instead I just added some downhaul and a little more outhaul and got back out on the water. After the adjustment the sail was perfect again. I lit out away from the launch and encountered the same gill net that Bob had previously warned us about. I too had pointers on so the board went from full speed planing to a dead stop in only a fraction of a second. Needless to say the resulting catapult was quite spectacular. I believe it would have made Catapulting Aaron quite proud.

Billy and Mary M., Tom B. and myself finished packing up just as it was getting too dark to see. We stood around and chatted for awhile Bill and Mary talked about their place in Aydlett, I'm really looking forward to trying it out. Mary also mentioned that it was the first time she has sailed Factory Pt. and now she might have to keep some of her gear on hand locally so she can sail there more often.

I think we ended up with about a dozen sailors out there Sunday. Even though the forecast was off by a couple hours and few mph on the low side, it still turned out to be great day. I think I'm going to have to join the Twelve Month Club just to give me motivation to get out at least one day a month over the winter and continue my progression.

I didn't take a bunch of photos because I spent most of the time on the water. Here are a couple. They are mostly of Mary, she happened to be the last and only one on the water when I finally got the camera out. They aren't very good due to the low light conditions and the long lens.

Clockwise Jibe sequence

John C., Billy M. and Dr Bob

First time at Buckroe

2008-10-31T23:56:00.000-04:00

We had great forecast for Saturday. Warm 65 degree SE wind starting in the upper teens and building into the mid to upper 20's and shifting southward. Now there aren't very many really good SE launches for an early intermediate windsurfer around here, especially one who is struggling with the waterstart.

I basically had 4 launches to choose from...

1. Buckroe, this place is as close to ocean sailing as I am comfortable with right now. It is deep right off the beach, open water and It's been known to have some pretty intimidating shore break. The positive is that there will be plenty of sailors around.

2. Anderson Park which is shallow, choppy and directly onshore in SE wind. Pretty safe but it may have the remnants of old pier pilings waiting to ruin your day as you parallel the shore. It also might be lonely.

3. York River Seafood which is an awesome SE launch, big water feel from being at the mouth of the river and no shore break for a side on launch. This would have been my choice but I would have ended up sailing alone.

4. Messick Point on the north shore of the Back River directly across from Factory Point. This
place is similar to Factory Pt. but deeper water.

After much deliberation Glenn talked me into giving Buckroe a shot. I Figured I'd learn how to deal with small shore break and work on waterstarting. When I got there Glenn was already out on a 5.2. I rigged up my 5.1, pulled the Cross 102 off the truck and prepared myself for a new experience. During the rigging process a bunch of sailors showed up. I introduced myself to the many John's, Bill, Wayne, another Chris, Derek, aka Dman, aka wind killer, Pete, the owner of Beach Sports, Keith and a few others sailors. I talked to Derek extensively about waterstarting while we were rigging. He offered to give me a hand and give an impromptu lesson in the water.

I donned my wetsuit and carried my gear on down to the beach. Glenn gave me some pointers on how to get out through the shore break, not that there was much but still enough to cause problems for someone who hasn't done it before. Then Derek walked me through the waterstart process again on the beach. He recommended that I stay close, practice the start in one direction sail 50 feet or so drop off, position and restart back to the beach. He recommended I not go to much farther so I wouldn't end up drifting through the pier or wash up on the rock jetty on the other side. After he mentioned that, doubt started to creep into my mind. The last thing I want to do is bust my gear up. I kept thinking back to the post John G put up about his gear crunching Buckroe experience just a few weeks earlier.

I made up my mind, I wasn't going to chicken out now. I worked my rig out through the waves keeping the sail flying and pointing the nose of the board into the wave face, seemed pretty easy. I forgot how chilly 60 degree water was in cheap wetsuit. Once we were deep enough Derek demonstrated the start. He gave me many tips the big one being... in breaking waves get the sail flying as soon as possible then sail steer the board into position to start.

The first attempt for me was nearly successful until a wave knocked me off just as I was getting up. I tried again and success!! I sailed out dropped off the board and went to position for the return. I got the sail flying immediately kicked the board around with my feet. I tried to get the board to point across the wind but I couldn't get it to do what I wanted. I tried using the mastfoot pressure to complete the board positioning but for whatever reason I just couldn't make it work. If tried to reach for the board with my feet or hands the sail would depower and the clew would sink. It was the same results I always get when I've tried waterstarting in rough water. I always end up fighting the gear to get it in position to start. Getting up is usually not the problem although I do have a tendency to round the board up into the wind on occasion. If I try to compensate for it and try to point off the wind that is when I get pulled over the board. While I was struggling to get up I was also drifting toward the beach so the waves were getting more difficult to manage.

The board and rig got away from me so Derek came back out and gave more advice.... When you fall off close in get control of the rig. The board will be fine but the clew of the boom or your mast can hit bottom. If a wave hits when they are on the bottom it can break either one. Even in the small stuff. For what is supposed to be an easy Buckroe day I sure am getting a lot of info about how not to end up with broken gear. I walk/swim the gear a little deeper and try to head out again.

To sum it up I struggled a lot, wore myself out not just from positioning the gear but also swimming in the waves. I finally came in, walked my gear back to where I started and took a breather.

While I was on the beach I took some photos, I also noticed the wind was all over the place in terms of strength one minute the sand was blowing down the beach the next minute there was barely enough wind to keep the flag flying or the windsurfers moving for that matter. Watching the veterans was kind of comical, everyone would be on shore talking about "I'm going to rig bigger, I'm going to put on a bigger fin, I think I might try a larger board." They would make their changes and Blow would come up. The ensuing mad dash to the beach looked like the start of a track meet. They would get out fly around in every state from grossly overpowered to barely schlogging. Then come back in and contemplate more changes to the gear. Poor Pete rigged three different times and tried two different boards the conditions changed so much that he just couldn't hit on the right combination.

I did get back out an try a few more waterstarts but the up and down nature of the wind made it even more difficult than the first attempt so I gave up again after a few tries. I was told I was doing everything right and to keep at it. I guess there is something small in the mechanics of what I'm doing that is preventing success. The wind slacked up, 15 to 18 mph, for an extended period of time so I figured I'd grab the Hifly and make a few runs so I could at least do some sailing. As I headed to the truck to grab the board and fin it, the wind ramped back up and became even gustier than it previously had been. Every one headed out again for what would be the last hurrah. I knew it would be a rough ride on the big board so I chose not to go through with taking it out. When the crew came back in I heard many comments that the gustiness was unusual for Buckroe that Wiloughby might have been better today. I couldn't believe my ears. To some around here that is sacrilege as Wiloughby is known for its gusty conditions. Good thing Keith had already derigged and left. He may have had something to say about that.

I never did actually sail but I'm not going to complain. I got my first taste of Buckroe, learned a little about getting in and out in small waves and met a bunch of new people. The weather wasn't all that bad the rain stayed away except for a couple sprinkles. We were even rewarded with a nice rainbow to end the session. I'm going to get me a better wetsuit and wait for the next wind event.

Glenn and Derek if you read this thanks for the help!

Glenn on his new 5.2

Dman nicely powered setting up a Jibe

Keith spraying Derek. He blew the jibe right after he did this.
Karma....

Pete & Glenn

The gear was tired, it needed rest.

8 sailors letting it rip

John H.

Bill and the rainbow. (I think that's Bill??)

Nice wide angle photo of the Rainbow.

Photographer: Glenn W

Awesome day at Factory Point and a First.....

2008-10-12T19:25:00.000-04:00

for me.

(Edit...Content added Tue 12:40am)

Today a couple things happened. It was a Saturday, it was sunny, there was a breeze and I didn't have anything to do. Perfect day to go windsurfing!!!!!

I had decided against a weekend trip down to Hatteras where good wind was forecast, a swap meet was planned and Mr. Naish himself was due to make an appearance. Instead I headed over to Factory Point, the most Hatteras like venue in our area.

On the way there a guy in a Trailblazer SUV about 7 cars ahead of me must have decided some excitement was in order so he proceeded to run off the inside shoulder of the Interstate at 70 mph. If that wasn't enough he then over corrected and spun his car completely around in the middle of both lanes coming to a stop sideways in the middle of the road. Amazingly no one hit him as we all made very abrupt and evasive braking maneuvers. It took him a few seconds to get his senses together and pull his vehicle to the shoulder. I guess everything was alright because as we all started moving again he slowly came back up to speed and rejoined the flow of traffic.

Once I arrived at Factory Point I found a couple sailors already on the water most were on 6 to 7 meter sails. There were also a couple kiters. The forecast called for the wind to be in the 17 to 22 mph range so I rigged a KA 5.8 anticipating an increase in wind speed. I did pretty well on that sail considering I should have been on a 6.5 or better. Most were sailing gingerly as the tide was really low and this spot is notorious for catching fins on a low tide. I sailed along without any trouble on the twinser Hifly. A couple sailors found the ENE wind direction prefect for speed runs along an old boat channel that parallels the spit and island. Pete had his GPS and recorded a speed of 28 mph, pretty darn good considering the wind wasn't gusting over 17 at the time. I think these guys might have found a positive for sailing this spot when the tide is low on easterly winds.

The wind didn't build, it actually dropped into the 13 to 17 range so I went in and rigged up a 7.8. Most of the others had already packed it in, sail size and water depth were the issues. Three of us, Doug, Javier and I did stay and continued sailing. I had a blast I felt really comfortable planning in the straps so much so that I even tried a couple jibes near shore. Most of the attempts were terrible. Then Javier pulled out his camera and something weird happened. I almost made one. A few more tries while the camera was back safely in its bag ended badly. Then he pulled the camera out again and there it was.... my first completed jibe. I couldn't help but let out a "WooHoo" as I sailed away. Now mind you it wasn't pretty, not even in the realm of textbook, but it was successful. The best part is Javier snapped a photo sequence of it, the entry, mid jibe and the exit. I'm just so stoked that I got my first one and that it was documented.

Here is the sequence. Thanks Javier.

Man I need a hair cut!!

I also found that the sub planing sailing I did in Hatteras during vacation did pay off. I was able to optimize sail trim so I could get planning sooner and stay on plane when the wind would back off.I believe there is something to be said for sub planing sailing and using it to improve your skills.

Here is a little video of me doing just that

Here are a couple more photos I took.
Click to enlarge all photos

This one I noticed the broken boom

Photo by Javier....
Doug dialed-in on his 7.0 and mid-90's vintage 130-liter Mistral Explosion. This was after the rest of the crew left for the day.

Pete's GPS tracks. The tracks to the east were where the speed runs were occurring. The combination of the sandbar and low tide smoothed out the water. The small channel they were running provided enough depth for the fins.
Note the high upwind angle he was able to achieve from the launch at the bottom out to the island... on slalom gear!! Also note the course deflection on the long reach from the tidal current flowing through the main channel.

This used to be a nice sail boat. Obviously it still floats, it showed up here about a week ago. I wonder if this was the one stranded in the marsh after Hurricane Isabel? Could be they are using the inexpensive old time method of intentionally grounding the boat to do hull maintenance.

The social scene.

C-130 doing a grid pattern the earlier pass he went right over us.

Missed it.......

2008-09-27T12:07:00.000-04:00

This week, well actually the last two weeks, had several days in a row of good wind during the middle and latter part of each week. This week was by far the windier of the two thanks to the subtropical low that spun off the coast.

Friday, Sep 26, 2008

Thursday, Sep 25, 2008

Wednesday, Sep 24, 2008

Tuesday, Sep 23, 2008

Monday, Sep 22, 2008

I unfortunately missed every single day due to work. Normally I can adjust the schedule to accommodate at least a half day but not this time. Even had to work a good part of Thursday in the subtropical downpours. I can only hope for some wind Karma to come my way in the near future.

This guy did get out and even got some positive local news coverage.
Look at Thursday's graph to see the conditions. Nice job Keith.

Video link

I did get a chance to catch a little wind last Saturday morning at Factory Point. It wasn't spectacular like it had been the previous two days. I was on a 6.7 but I should have had my 7.8. (note to self.... don't rely on the forecast when loading the truck.) A longboard could have been helpful too, That has to be next on my wish list along with a new wetsuit, sails, trip to exotic WS destination.... Ok now I'm dreaming.

The 10 or so other sailors that showed rigged anything from low 6 to mid 8. Everyone had a similar experience, plane some, schlog some, turn around and do it again in reverse... except for Pete, the guy on the Kona 11.5 and the kite couple from Richmond, they were killing it. Here are some photos.

Lisa

John

Waterstart practice

Pete

Lisa's husband on the Kona 11.5

C-130 Taking off from Langley.
I thought the vapor trails of the props were cool.

The new strap position on the Hifly did work a whole lot better than the previous configuration but it looks like it may be a little while before I get to test it in more consistent conditions as the forecast for the next seven days does not look too good. The bright side is the Fall frontal winds should be arriving soon.

This weekend I met Hanna.

2008-09-09T10:09:00.000-04:00

This weekend was an eventful one. RIR hosts the final Nextel Cup race before Chase the first Saturday night in September. It is one of the events I look forward to all summer. It ends up being a "Guys day". We go to the track early to tailgate. We grill some good food, drink beer and take in the sights. The sights are usually worth the price of the ticket. There is something about racing, alcohol and warm weather that lowers the inhibitions and brings out the exhibitionists. It is great fun and gets better when the drinkers inevitably go from just being drunk to being stupid drunk. I think of it as a people watchers paradise.

This year Hanna paid us a visit. No, I'm not referring to a woman at the track I'm referring to Tropical storm Hanna. She arrived Friday afternoon and commenced to stop all race activity till Sunday afternoon. It was actually a blessing because I would be able to try some high wind sailing. It may seem stupid that a person of my limited skill would look forward to sailing in a tropical storm but how else do you improve if you don't push the envelope. Of course I always take proper safety precautions. Don't sail alone, flotation vest even though the water was shallow, sail in safe location, etc... I even went out and got a helmet just in case.

The really good local sailors headed out early to catch the Southerly winds at Buckroe beach. A place that is well beyond my skill level. I held back a bit and waited till around noon. I knew that as the storm center got closer and the wind would start to shift and allow me to sail at Factory Point, one of the safer launches, in extreme conditions.

I did drive by Buckroe on my way to Factory Pt. just to see what it was like and to snap some photos of the action. The winds were SSW averaging 25 to 30 when I took these shots.

Click photos to enlarge

Unfortunately for me the crew that was there earlier had already packed up and headed home so I didn't get any action shots. There wasn't a whole lot of post session chatter but what I did read was this. (Please bear with me as this is my interpretation of the cypher.) The conditions were extreme it was all or nothing, no time to be timid. Some made it, some didn't, some ended up with busted gear.

When I showed up at Factory Pt. I expected there to be some people out sailing. Not a soul was there. The wind here was slightly offshore and really strong. It was averaging 28 mph on my handheld anemometer. There was no way I was going out alone so I sat around and waited. After about an hour A couple people showed up, looked at the conditions and determined it to be to strong and off shore for them and headed back home.

I really wanted to sail so I waited a little longer hoping the wind would drop off or someone else would show up. About 3:30 there was a message on the Letsrig mailing list from Alexander looking for a place to sail. I relayed the conditions where I was, now WSW averaging 28 and continuing to clock more west. While I was waiting for him to show the wind went due west and increased averaging 35 with gusts well over 40 for a good 20 minutes. I was thinking that I wouldn't get the chance to sail at all because there would be no way I could hold down my smallest sail, a 4.1 in those winds.

35mph average on the Back river

This is the highest windspeed I recorded. several much stronger gusts rocked the truck while I waited.

The winds did start to come back down and another sailor showed up. Craig was traveling through on his way to Myrtle Beach, SC. and decided to stop based on what he had read on the WET website regarding this launch. Alexander and John Quinn drove up in quick succession. Now it was on, 3 of us rigged our 4m sails and John rigged 4.5. Craig was the first out and it looked like the sail choice was right.

Craig setting up for a Jibe

Alexander

John finishing rigging his 4.5
Almost forgot the fin.
John did well holding down the 4.5 and even had it bagged out by the end of the session.

I first tried my Cross 102. I beach started and immediately went for the straps, the tail sunk the fin dug into the sand bottom and the wind dumped me. I tried again. This time I'll try to plane first then get in the straps then hook in. That attempt ended with and explosion of spray as the sail was ripped out of my hands by a gust as I blasted across the water. Next attempt plane, hook in, then straps. Result, catapult before I could get to the straps. I decided I didn't want to destroy my board so I headed back to the launch for a board change. I was dunked twice on the way back in but did manage to sail in control a good bit of the way, no straps or harness I just kept hanging off the boom like a monkey.

I grabbed my big board the 145L plastic Hifly Matrix, put the smallest fins I had on it and set out again. I know you might be thinking... More volume in those conditions???? I did this because I was told by a wise instructor to sail what I am comfortable on when trying something new. Now I'm not one to take baby steps so I had to at least try to use the smaller board first. The problem was I could have gotten in more sailing had I heeded his advice.

On the Matrix I still had the same problem, every time I went for the straps I would explode into the water. I went back to the beach and moved the straps to the novice position and problem solved. Made a couple runs, completed some tacks even attempted a jibe or two, all with only a few minor crashes. John did give me some high wind sailing advice before I got on the water that really helped. He told me to sheet in the sail instead of out to spill power in the gusts. It worked like a charm. I was starting to get comfortable but the wind was getting holey and the water was getting pretty shallow so it was time to call it a day. It was pretty cool though. I can now say I've sailed a Tropical Storm and I also got to use my 4.1 sail. Alexander mentioned it was good that I got to use it because it's the sail most likely to collect dust around here.

Just before we left we did spot a couple people sailing the Messick Point launch and I snapped these photos. Don't know who they are but they were flying across the water.

( Edit: 1 sailor identified, Dave T. )

There were a couple things that I learned. First, the over sheeting advice from John for sailing high winds was priceless.

Second, and I have to thank James for pointing this out as I certainly would have left the board at home. For learning something new or sailing in different conditions than your use to, it may be better to use a board that you are comfortable with rather than one that is more in line with the conditions. Now this may only be true in this specific instance because of the boards design or because of the venue but it was definately easier to sail the big board. The reason I say the venue might have helped is because even though the wind was upper 20's to mid 30's the chop and swell didn't get to bad.

That brings me to the third thing Factory Point is definitely a friendly venue especially if you are working on improving you skills. Just be mindful of the tides because of shallow water.

We did get to enjoy the race on Sunday. The tailgating was not nearly as fun as usual because of the midday start and the absence of my friends Rick and Frank. They both had to work Sunday so the postponement was bad news for them, fortunately they didn't have to eat the cost of tickets. The biggest disappointment other than Johnson winning, was having to listen to the Cleveland Browns get beat by the Cowboys while sitting completely stopped in post race traffic for 2 hours.

Vacation is over

2008-09-02T21:29:00.001-04:00

--This is a double post. The older new post is just below this one. I got lazy and didn't plug the photos into the previous post till now--

All in all it was just what I needed as far as R&R. The wind definitely could have been better though. On Thursday, After I wrote the previous post I was blessed with 3 hours of planning wind. Once the storm cleared out we got some gusty SE in the 14 to 18 range and I even got use my 6.7 instead of the 7.8. That evening we went to our friends house for part two of our 8th annual seafood night. We bought way too much food for the previous night so we had to do it again.

Friday the wind was again light so we packed up the 4x4 and headed out to the beach nearest Hatteras inlet. I haven't done this in a couple years, I had forgotten how much fun it is. The surf was a blast to play in. The larger waves came in around 3 feet. The area where we were had a gentle sloping bottom and the tide was low. That combination allowed for some pretty good rides for the kids on the boogie boards.

ORV

That evening when we got back to the house there was a little wind, S 12 to 15. I grabbed the 7.8 again and made a few runs on the Hifly. Since the Cross hadn't been wet all week I put the 7.8 on it just to see what would happen. 7.8 is the largest recommended sail for the 102l Cross so I didn't have much hope of it doing anything with the 9.5 Surfgrass fin on it. Once the board got some forward momentum (schlogging) it just wanted to go upwind. I was really expecting to have to walk the board back upwind with the smallish fin and big sail. Strange thing was it actually schlogged upwind better than the Hifly with the 7.8 and twin 29 cm weed fins. I went ahead and sailed out to where the wind was stronger on my previous runs. Unfortunately the wind had dropped off so I couldn't get the board to plane up. Being that the wind was light I tried to tack the board to get back in. With the big sail on the small board naturally I fell in. I struggled for 15 minutes trying to get sailing again. I was bound and determined that I was not going to walk/swim the board back the 1/2 mile or so I sailed. The wind was too light to do a deep water beach start and the sail was to big to uphaul on that board. I'm sure with practice I could do it though. Finally I caught enough of a gust to mount the board. With great effort and what felt like a hula dance I was able to get enough momentum to get balanced and sail back to shore. I had to push hard with the rig to make the board go downwind, I managed to sail within 50 yds of my launch area. I would have never imagined having to do a downwind walk but that's what happened.

One of the other great things about being on Hatteras Island is the abundance of wildlife. The number of small crabs scurrying about after the rain surprised me. The kids found turtles, hermit crabs, skates and even had a water snake swim much too close while wadding in the sound. I saw a small sand shark swim by while in the ocean. There were numerous species of seabirds including the resident ducks and a crane. There was a possible Sasquatch sighting, we even had a Hornet doing ariel maneuvers directly behind us over the sound.

For those of you who don't believe in evolution here is the proof.

Sorry, I know I shouldn't poke fun at anyone but I couldn't resist.

FA-18 Hornet out of Oceana doing dog fighting maneuvers

I thought this Old growth juniper was pretty cool to look at.

It would make a great jigsaw puzzle.

Mid week vacation update.

2008-08-28T13:40:00.000-04:00

Well what had looked to be a good week of windsurfing has followed this phrase titling one of my previous posts "The OBX is like a Box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get". Each day this week has fooled the forecasters the only day they got right was Monday when they forecasted light winds. Tuesday we were supposed to get a good SW flow topping out @ 20 it actually topped out at 12. The following day we were supposed to get NE 20 to 25 for a good portion of the day, E @ 12 would have been the accurate call. Wednesday we were expecting a good NE shifting to east and diminishing, then it was revised to ESE and building throughout the day to upper teens. Never materialized, only time it got over 15 was just before and during the couple of late day rain squalls. Here we are, it's Thursday and the forecasted upper teens wind has not materialized until right now during a thunderstorm that is going on as I type. I'm jonesing for some planning wind but I don't want to risk electrocution to do so. The real salt in the wound is it has been @ 20 the last couple days back home, What can you do?

The storm is upon us

That is not to say I haven't gotten out each day. I look forward to this vacation because I get to windsurf all I want and if there is enough breeze to move the board then I will sail. After my Kona Surf experiment I took it back and swapped it for the more beginner friendly Exocet Medium Cruiser. I rode that for an hour or so on Tuesday. That board makes for a really good first board and I believe with the right sized sail and a long fin it would end up being fun for recreational formula sailing.

On Wednesday I sailed my biggest gear again, there were just enough sustained gusts that you could plane every now and then. I tried to focus on sail trim to get the most power out of the available wind. Hopefully I learned something that will allow me to be more efficient in higher winds. I also practiced swimming my gear into waterstart position in the channel.

The bad thing is I messed up my wrist and ankle doing a light wind jibe in a foot of water. A gust backwinded the sail an knocked me off the board. I guess since the sail had power the additional force tweaked my ankle and bent my hand backward toward my forearm at an angle. The ankle is fine but the wrist still hurts, to top it off the strength is limited. I'm guessing it's just a mild sprain. It's definately not going to keep me off the water, if I can catch a break with the wind.

As far as non windsurfing activities I went surf fishing on Monday morning the weather was perfect. There was no wind which made the water glassy but the surf was awesome with chest high waves and some were even bigger in the sets. Kind of made me want to try surfing again. Andy apparently was out further south somewhere near the thunderstorm in the photos.

Sunrise on the OBX

Nice chest to head high sets and not a breath of wind

Thunderstorm headed offshore

I went fishing again Wednesday morning caught couple Taylor blues and a really weird fish it was a little over 2 feet long, really thin and 2 inches from top to bottom. It was a beautiful silver iridescent color it basically looked like a ribbon with teeth. Here is a cell photo, if you know what it is leave a comment.

Time to disconnect from reality

2008-08-25T09:00:00.000-04:00

I'm down here on the Outer banks this week for our annual Family vacation. We stay in the village of Avon and live the island life for a week. No appointments, no schedules, no mentioning work, oops!!! broke my own rule. We pretty much go with the flow eat when we want, sleep when we want, windsurf when ever there is enough wind and drink plenty of adult beverages.

In other words a total disconnect from reality.

Saturday when we arrived we checked into our house, It a nice place directly on the sound. We spent an hour unloading our groceries and other stuff then another hour rigging up a couple sails and getting the boards ready, It's great to not have to rig and derig every time I want to sail. I did get out a little bit on my 7.8 and 140l Hifly for about an hour. Made a run way up past the transformers launch on the east northeasterly winds. That evening we went to a close friends house to celebrate his wife's birthday. Large quantities of Tequila, Vodka, Southern Comfort and Beer were consumed by all. Of course the price was paid the next day, several people were still quite groggy mid afternoon the next day. Thankfully I know when to call it quits.

Sunday was a light wind day only hit 10. I did rent a Kona surf for the kids to sail on. Of course I had to put it through the paces. I put the 7.8 on it rigged full. The board sailed really well, another mph or two and it would have planned. The glide was better than expected especially since it has less volume, less length, and less width than the Kona One. The dagger was sufficient to get you up wind although it is really stiff to operate. You can't deploy it while under way. The board I sailed does have the same dagger system as the Kona One, it's not the easy to operate Allgaier dagger that comes on the newest production models but it will stay in whatever position you put it in. All in all I would own it, it works pretty good for my 155 lbs in light winds. It was a little tippy for the lightweight newbies but they did manage, I ended up swaping it out for a Cruiser, a true beginner board.
I did SUP the Kona Surf. I really don't have anything to compare it too yet but I was able to do it with relative ease.

I did stop by Sailworld Avon and met Andy, seems like a great guy, and quite knowledgeable. I hope to see him out on the water Tuesday or Wednesday when we are expecting a N to NE 20+ day. I sure do hope it materializes.

Lightwind sailing the Kona Surf with a 7.8.
James, note the stance

Kristen sailing the Kona Surf

The Kids Standuping the Exocet cruiser and Kayaking

Another great day of sailing

2008-08-02T11:59:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday was an awesome day for sailing enough wind to make experienced sailors happy and challenge aspiring intermediate sailors such as myself.

First, I have to say I've officially sailed more times over the last 12 months than I have in the last, well close to a decade of previous sailing. I know that sounds like it should be a huge number of sessions but considering I would get out a couple times a year, it's not.

The additional TOW has allowed me to progress and I'm actually starting to feel like a windsurfer. I'm getting comfortable sailing powered to slightly overpowered. I can sail in the straps when the board is set up properly, I can tell when the board isn't set up properly and I'm starting to understand what I need to do to fix it. I'm also finding I want to try riding my smaller board when the conditions warrant it's use. There are things I still have to work on, like committing my full weight to the harness, positioning the sail for waterstarting, properly setting up the gear before getting on the water etc.... But I am getting there.

On this day the planets were aligning. Usually there is wind when I have something I have to do. This day wasn't looking any different. I called my buddy to firm up plans for racing and found out he wasn't up for it. With Car Chief duties set aside I started to keep an eye on the IWS York River East sensor. The official forecast was calling for 10 to 15 SE with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. We got 15 to 20 SE and one brief rain shower, not even enough to get off the water other than to roll up the car windows.

I loaded up and rolled about 3:30 wind was 16SE and still building. I spent an extra 20 minutes driving around the vacationers that were parked on Interstate 64, most headed to the Outer Banks. I showed up at YRS around 4:50 by that time the wind was 18 SE. James showed up soon after and we rigged 5.8s. The launch area in this wind direction gets choppy but not unruly then about 100 yds out you get into some decent swell 3 footers give or take, beyond that is a flatwater paradise behind Allen's island. Great for practicing Jibes.

I had trouble getting comfortable on my Hifly Matrix. I just didn't feel right in the straps at all. If I kept my feet just in front of the straps everything felt great though it did result in a couple of catapults. All the discussion on the IWS Forum regarding helmets kept popping in my mind after each dunking. I don't wear one but I also never let go of the boom when I get tossed, I'm usually still hooked in. I did find out that a cup could have been beneficial after one trip over the bars.

Despite not getting in the straps I did get some good runs. I played around on the swell accelerating down the faces and then turning back to the top to do it over again. That acceleration was an intense feeling. I can only imagine what it feels like on a real wave I'm getting stoked to try it.

Riding small swell

I didn't do any tacks during the session I only practiced jibes. I was able to make one but I guarantee it wasn't pretty like this one.

Waterstarting was another thing I worked on today. I still have a difficult time getting the sail positioned and cleared especially in the swell. It is just exhausting even with a vest on. Something always gets out of position or the sail will loose lift when I'm in the trough then the clew will drop back down in the water causing me to have to re-clear it. If I'm able to just barely touch my toes on the bottom I can set up just fine and get under way. It's having to swim things around that gets me. The odd thing is I have very little trouble waterstarting my cammed 7.8. it's also the only sail I use a regular diameter mast on. Wonder if there is a connection?

After a while I pulled out my Cross 102 to give it a try.

James sailed it first and looked like he was really enjoying it. (Most of the photos are of him on it.) I jumped on, got right in the straps went blazing across the water until I went off the top of the first big swell. I don't know what happened but I ended up pointing the other direction board and all. Had the wind suddenly gone 180 I would have been in position to just pop up and sail away. As it was I wore myself out trying to get the sail in position to waterstart, again!
Once I drifted to an area where I could get my toes on the bottom I got back on the board and sailed no problem. I made up my mind that instead of burning the last of my energy trying to waterstart in the deeper water I would just sail closer to shore and get comfortable with the board. The wind was getting a bit more of a southerly component to it so I just had to pinch up wind on starboard and run slightly downwind on port to stay in the shallow areas. I was impressed with way the 9.5 True Ames Surfgrass fin went upwind. The jibe attempts even seemed easier on this board. It won't be long before I'm hitting my fair share.
Can't wait for more wind.

James launching off a ramp. That is the same boat in the earlier photo

but this is about three minutes later. I guess the conditions were too rough for them.

No were not in China. This foul smelling decomposing algae bloom greeted us at the launch.

Thank you urban sprawl. The seagulls seem to like it though.

This photo of James down in the swell shows the conditons. Nice white caps in the background, sail powered up and twisting off the top.

The swell is actually bigger than it looks. My vantage point for the photo is 12 feet above the water. That one was waist high about 3 to 3 1/2 feet.

OBX 'it's like a.....

2008-07-15T22:07:00.000-04:00

box of chocolates you never know what you are gonna get"

I just got back from a 3 day trip to the OBX. I love that place!! We had a family reunion of sorts. Several members of my wife's family rent a house for the week then invite the rest to show up and stay a couple days. It's a fun trip and we always have a good time. This year I decided to bring my gear even though the forecast was terrible as far as the wind was concerned.

One of the great things about the OBX is the unpredictable nature of the weather. If you ever ask for advice on what gear you should bring when traveling to the OBX the only two words you should ever hear are "Bring Everything". If someone tells you different then they have never actually been there.

On this trip each day ended up being sailable, nothing epic but still shortboard conditions. Sunday the first full day started off light out of the east and ended up SSW 6.7 conditions at Windmill point in Nags Head. Monday in Salvo it made it to powered 5.8 conditions for an hour or two then backed off to 7.8 till dark. On Tuesday there was supposed to be a very light breeze out of the NE and it was for a couple hours in the morning. Then it ramped up to a steady NE at 18, ocean side. Could have been another 5.8 day but I was already packed up to head home plus I've never sailed in the ocean. With the wind swell and chop combining with the swell from Hurricane/TS Bertha the conditions were well beyond my skill level. I'm sure I would have sacrificed some gear just trying to get out through the shore pound. There were a couple kiters out enjoying it though.
I'm already counting the days till the next trip at the end of August.

No photos this time. Left the camera at home. It's to bad, the photo ops were plentiful. I could have had numerous shots like these on Andy's blog.

I'm not a wind jinx

2008-07-09T22:04:00.000-04:00

The wind was holding in the upper teens most of the day on Monday at my normal launch so I decided to get in an evening session. I touched base with James to see if he was sailing and found him just arriving at the launch. I jumped in the car and 45 min later I was rigging my 6.7. James was already out blasting away on his 6.6 looked like he was buzzing some sailboats and Navy Destroyer coming in for resupply at the weapons station.

I figured I'd sail way out there where he was to see what it was like. I've never ventured out more than about 3/4's of a mile, he was probably two miles out in the deep water channel.

I hit the water, cleared the sea grass beds and jumped right up on plane. Passed the small boat channel marker and figured I'd use the crab pot buoys as visual aids to judge my upwind/downwind performance. Just after I passed the first buoy the wind dropped to around 10 mph. I figured it would come back so I kept on slogging out. 5 min later and still no significant increase in the wind speed so I headed back toward shore. All the while that term "wind jinx" repeated in my mind.

James first words to me were "You missed it". Those dreadful words that no windsurfer wants to hear and that no windsurfer is immune to. James packed up his gear and I decided to stay out and play around in the light wind. As he was derigging the wind increased slightly. I was beginning to plane again for short distances. After James left my persistence paid off. The wind came back enough for a couple planing runs.

I was nice being out there. The warm water, clear skies and the sun dropping low in the sky. It made for a picture perfect evening, unfortunately no camera. There was one other guy out in a sailing kayak that seemed to be enjoying it as much as I was.

WET introduction to windsurfing

2008-06-29T22:13:00.000-04:00

In SE Virginia we have a great windsurfing club called Windsurfing Enthusiasts of Tidewater. Today was their second Introduction of the year. Sunny skies, 90+ degree air and SW winds at 10 to 15 mph greeted the 20 students that were about to get their first taste of the wonderful sport of windsurfing. Two of the "Newbies" were there at my urging, my daughter Kristen and my surrogate daughter Rebecca, Kristen's best friend.

You could see a little uncertanty on the faces of some of the attendees but after the instructors skillfully took each student through the land simulation they were all eager to hit the water. The winds were a bit stronger than ideal for learning but once they got the hang of tacking and getting underway they all seemed to be enjoying themselves. I saw a few students flitting about getting some real good speed, of course ear to ear grins followed. I reminiced back to that feeling I had when I first started windsurfing. It's what got me hooked on the sport. You know when your moving along steadily getting a little faster, the sail starts to feel light in your hands and your beginning to get that sensation of speed even though your not quite planning. That feeling that makes you want go even faster. Then you have a moment when you realize your getting this sensation just from the power of the wind. Awesome!

All in all I'd say it was a very successful event. There were a few times that some of the students were blown down wind and needed corraling there were also a few reports of jellyfish stings. Safe Sea Sunblock is a wonderful product to keep those critters from ruining your day.

My daughter was a little dissapointed that she couldn't do more. She was one of the lightest sailors out there, even on a 3.5 the wind was a bit too much for her. I have to give her credit she hung in there. She didn't get discouraged and I think that's great. She told me on the ride home she definately wants to try again with either a smaller sail or in lighter winds.

I was able to ride an original Kona for the first time. Nice board..... when powered up with my 7.8 it sailed so smooth and gliding through the holes was effortless. It did suprise me how loose the board felt transitioning from gliding to planing. Once I figured out the trim with proper foot placement it wasn't a problem. I was even able to keep up with James on one of the new Kona 11.5.
Needless to say the Kona just got added to my wish list.

Here are some photos of the event.

Beginner boards and rigs provided by Beach Sports

James showing my daughter the fundamentals

Is he teaching windsurfing or playing "slaps"

Working hard to get the sail up.
The water doesn't show it because the wind was side off
but it is averaging just under 15mph.

My daughters friend making it look easy.

Tina preparing for the Gorge.

Newbies getting their sea legs.

A slide show of the rest.

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Crap!! Denied again

2008-06-23T12:37:00.000-04:00

I'll let the photos speak for themselves................

James finishing derigging and smiling because he beat the storm.

Or some other reason, close encounter of the coed kind, maybe?

Preparing for lift off

Afterburners kicking in

I arrived at York River Seafood. Took a couple shots of James while determining what to rig. I headed back to the truck and mounted my fins on the board. Started pulling out my 5.8 when James stepped around one of the buildings carrying his gear. He was wary of the storm so he got off the water. I told him that when I had left home the general motion of the storm was away from the launch. So he decided to wait it out. After 10 minutes we could tell the storm was getting closer. The wind died, the temp dropped, the clouds boiled and bubbled. The motion in the clouds was quite ominous, you could definitely tell atmospheric war was being waged.(too bad I don't have a video camera). Once the wind started coming from the opposite direction we knew it was over. He quickly derigged and I secured my gear.

That storm was 20 miles NW of and slowly moving NE away from the launch when I left home. I can only guess that the seabreeze and the storms outflow combined causing it to build southward while I was driving to the launch.

I started to head for another launch Messick Point but the storm was taking away the wind. Half way there I gave up and called it a day.

These late afternoon seabreeze sessions are proving to be quite frustrating.

Oh Well

2008-06-20T20:47:00.000-04:00

I had been hoping today would be a good one for some TOW. Well mother nature threw a curve ball. The forecast had been looking good for a SE thermal to develop at what is fast becoming my usual spot.

This morning I get up and check the IWS cast and the computer models still show what looks to be a promising forecast. Then I check the live update and her forecast is much less promising. Well I loaded the gear up anyway and took it to work with me all the while monitoring the actuals. Sure enough the model was dead nutz the wind was clocking around from west to east, the sun was shining and the band of clouds associated with a trough had come and gone. Ideal conditions for the SE thermal to build.

Around 1 pm I alerted James to my intentions. At 2:30 I checked the actuals again, the SE shift had happened about an hour ahead of schedule and had already built from 2 to 10 in less than an hour. At this point I'm getting excited I'm thinking by 5:30 when I expect to finish my work it should be 5.8 conditions. About 4:00 another band of clouds settled over the area and that thought of 5.8 conditions vanished.

I finished work at 4:45 and checked the actuals again, steady E at 10. About that time James called to confirm my suspicions.... Not looking good for sailing today. I found a few more things to do to buy time for the traffic to lighten up. Finally finishing up @ 6:00 I decide to check the actuals one last time and disappointment set in, SSE at 8, all thoughts of sailing today fizzled. Time to head home.

Wouldn't you know 20 minutes after heading home the wind came up. Not as strong as I hoped but sailable none the less. Would have made for a relaxing 7.8 sunset session. Oh well, sights are now set on Sunday.

Lesson learned

2008-06-14T22:27:00.000-04:00

I learned two lessons today. First…..Thermal winds will turn on and off like a light switch. Second….. always go through your mental checklist when hitting the water or else you will forget something.

I met James today over at York River Seafood. After spending the early afternoon checking the computer, watching the wind sensor nearest the launch, the wind finally started the shift from SW to SSE. In a span of 10 minutes it went from a fluctuating 5 to 8 mph to steady SE @ 18.

By the time I got to the launch James was in the water preparing for his first run on a 6.6. He recommended we get it while we could as a storm was brewing to the NW. I quickly rigged my 6.7, grabbed my harness, checked my lines, made sure my mast base was secure and double checked that my uphaul was attached at the mast base (I have forgotten that before). I made my way to the water as fast as possible, beach started and immediately something didn’t feel right. On the run out I could only plane down wind. If I turned upwind the board would immediately drop off plane though I could still make upwind progress. I ended up schlogging back in and started the ritual of making one adjustment at a time. Harness lines make a run, mast base make a run. It wasn’t till I completely spun out and fell in that I discovered the problem. As I was swimming the board into position to sail back in I hit my shin on one of the fins. The strange thing was the familiar sharp pain my brain was expecting a millisecond later never happened. The fin was soft. My very next thought….. Duhhhhh you forgot to remove the fin covers, Idiot!!! That solved the problem but by that time the wind was dying and the storm was getting pretty close. Once off the water and derigging the wind dropped back to around 5 mph and shifted 180 degrees, again in less than 10 minutes.

I should be angry with myself for spending the $22 in gas and tolls to get a frustrating 45 minutes on the water but just being out there after two weeks of no sailing was worth it.

2 foot swell to this in the time it took to derig.

Sun peeking through the storm

In the beginning

2008-06-10T13:26:00.000-04:00

I've been reading various blogs for several years and finally decided to do it myself. My writing skills are lacking and I generally live an ordinary life so I am doing this mainly to keep track of what is going on around me. I may post any random thing but my main focus will be on recreational activities. Windsurfing will be a hot topic as I am progressing into the intermediate stage of the sport.