"That's the most wind I've sailed in years," Scott declared, after tailwalking in to the beach at Sebonac Inlet on Sunday. It was crazy windy. We were mostly on 3.7's and 3.4's, and LIT. Frank, Anders, Peconic Marty, Scott, John's Natalie, Ford, and vanderWolf and YT were all going for it. The one saving grace was that the wind was steady...usually when it's 30+ big gusts and lulls are part of the package. While there were some sustained gusts (minute long) there were no lulls, and this allowed for good use of sheeting out.
I pulled off no water jibes (was beach jibing on starboard for the most part) instead simply rounding up and laying down the rig, which was perfectly comfortable in the shallows of low tide. 39 degrees air temp (I should have been in a drysuit...was in the 5.3) and 35 mph winds...it were proper chilly!
Yowza! I can relate to that feeling of being so lit that the "beach jibe" is the only safe option. Cool video.
Posted by: James Douglass | April 04, 2016 at 09:51 PM
39 degrees? Is my calendar broken? We're breaking out the shorties down south.
All kidding aside, that's serious wind. We rarely get sails out that size without participation of the National Hurricane Center.
Posted by: William | April 04, 2016 at 10:03 PM
One of my first instructor trainers, Ray Killen at Katabasis, created a very funny specific version of the Beaufort Scale. If you were ever looking for a fun writing project, maybe over beers with your windsurfer crew, it would be fun to see a windsurfer version!
I'm always fascinated and awed by the way that just when I'm looking at the weather forecast and saying "Hm, looks like a good day to stay home and cook", you and your gang are all going "Hey gangies, meet me at the beach, wind gods say IT'S TIME TO SHRED!"
Posted by: Bonnie K. Aldinger | April 05, 2016 at 11:05 AM
oops think my link got lost:
Beaufort Scale for Paddlers
Posted by: Bonnie K. Aldinger | April 05, 2016 at 11:07 AM