If It's Raining, We Must Be At The Bowl

 We often joke about how it’s always raining at our Bowl sessions (that’s what the requisite ENE-ESE winds usually arrive with,) but I will confess to being less than totally enthusiastic about rigging and suiting up in cold rain for a sesh.  What a wimp.

I arrived at the Bowl and walked through the driving rain to catch a glimpse of the Wolf launching towards a set of  clean, well-mannered waves, waist to chest high.    Beautiful and friendly.   So I quick rigged a 5.3 and the 93 liter FSW and launched, to join the Wolf, Frank, and on kites Hulse, Bill Barber, and the very stoked Andy.   The waves were nothing special to look at, but they were predictable smooth lefts that gave me more bottom turns than I’m used to, so I was a happy camper.   After an hour Peconic Jeff arrived, and the building wind soon had most of us switching out boards and sails, with me finally arriving at the 4.5/77 liter combo.   By this time Scott was on the water and Jon Ford arrived.   By this time also the wind backed a little more offshore, the inside became gusty, the outside overly choppy, and your editor wimpy.

“I’m not having fun anymore,” I told Scott.

“I know, me neither,” Scott agreed.   “I can’t see in this rain.”

“See?   Who needs to see? *   We couldn’t see before when it was Smooooooooothe!  It’s the bumps and the gusts that suck,” I said.

“Yeah well I like to see,” Scott insisted.

So the two of us derigged and left (along with Frank the Marathon Man…he never takes a break) whilst late arrivals Jeff and Jon went for the gusto.

(*Earlier, during the Smoooooothe portion of the sesh one of the things I didn’t see was Bill behind me when I started to jibe off of some swell.   I stuck the mast in the water to avoid the collision.   Maybe I needed to see.)

Comments

[ralph]

I'd pinch a baby to get at some good waves. It has been since new years.

Congrats on your article too man.

[Jill]

I had fun! 3 hours wound out on the 4.0-Heckscher... Yay! And, yes, the raindrops hurt, but only added to my laughter as the squalls passed through! I swore it was hail.. :)

[Michael]

Yeah, at those speeds (wind speed plus board speed) rain can feel pretty darn hard! But what are we gonna do...not sail?

Ain't happening. Barring lightning, we sail!

[scott k.]

r u saying im a wimp? a wind chimp wimp!!