"Bring all your equipment, and money to buy more."
-traditional wisdom regarding conditions on the Outer Banks.
So far I've been able to use most of my gear. But I need to use it more. I have no torn callusses and have only bled a little. Here's a windsurfing rundown:
Thursday 7.0 sailing alongside WindSport magazines equipment testers, as well as Andy Brandt and his racing buddy Kurt Schumaker (the man who planes in nothing.)
Friday started out as a 6 meter day (I got to perform the jibing demonstration at the ABK clinic...performance anxiety!) but the wind got to 4.5 at its afternoon peak. Peconic Jeff got in on some of the action as well. (I came within an inch of my first in-the-straps 360.)
Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday AM were decreed by the gods to be good for nonplaning freestyle. Steve ("I will get wet every day!") focused on clew first helis and working towards a gecko flaka, Jeff is refining his pushtack (and working on all things gecko) and Brewster is in the early stages of helitack wrestling, hitting several.
Tuesday afternoon saw a return to 7.0. It's nice to plane, but we're all aware that back on our home waters, friends have been sailing 4 meter sails and tearing it up. Brewster in particular is in agony (Steve and I understand that to come to Hatteras is to suffer...in the end you have a great time windsurfing but you EARN your wind, and Jeff is just laid back.) While I type this Brewster is reading posts in the Yahoo Long Island Windsurfers forum about the epic conditions. Small puffs of steam emit from his ears.
Last night Jeff and Brewster went out for a bit of night sailing under the full moon. They came back with huge grins on their faces. But Brewster is still bugging out again this AM.
It poured all night. This morning we had not one but two rainbows. Jeff says it's a good omen. And we have a small craft advisory for the rest of the week.
Bring on the wind!
(Top: Brewster inbound at Island Creek. Photo by Jeff.)
That's ''Sods Law'' isn't it? You go away to windsurf and just about able to in the light wind and at home they're blasting away on the smallest sails they have!!
Posted by: Bunty | October 26, 2007 at 03:53 AM