Survival sailing is fun!

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?

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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......