Dr Scooper's Kite Cure for Messed Up Backs

Unknown kiters taking The Kite Cure at Hardings I don't know what makes me happier. That the kiting conditions were great today, or that my herniated disc, which flared up this weekend, didn't feel terrible while I was kiting. It actually felt a little better, and still does. Could be from all the Advil I've been popping. Or maybe kiting is a cure for bad backs! There are probably some happiness chemicals that our brains release while kiting or windsurfing that anesthetizes painful spinal cords. That means that we could save $ on medical care by kiting more! This is a significant discovery for the future of kiting/windsurfing marriages. A financial incentive to get wet could make a big difference for some of us guilty husband types. Now, the question is, will anyone believe me? Hardings, Kitesurfed, 18-25, SW, 10M Bularoo, 132 Ply Board, with Ron, Des, Luke, Frank, Peter, Florian, Rob, Andre, Colleen, Dennerson, others.

Camp Fuller and The Toilet Bowl Derby

The first time I came to Camp Fuller I didn't think that it was a particularly beautiful place. It's a YMCA camp, complete with musty cabins, concrete bathrooms, and a rocky beach on Pt Judith Pond. But I came back once or twice a year for the last 24 years and have had some very special times here. When I look around the camp now, I see memories.

In the early days this trip was a big windsurfing party, like the Frisco Wind Fest. The waterfront would be covered with the 70 or more windsurfers that showed up for the weekend. We had clinics, windsurfing movies, happy hours, bonfires, sing-a-longs, and the famous "Toilet Bowl Derby" windsurfing relay race named for the toilet paper that was used as a baton. I loved everything about those trips.

On my very first trip I met a lovely woman who seemed impressed by my ability to keep toilet paper dry while passing it off to a teammate on a windsurfer. She became my wife. We brought our children here, changing their diapers in the tent and exploring every inch of the waterfront. Our babies turned into teenagers, too old for uncool toilet paper races and weekends with parents. Now I've come full circle, attending without my wife and kids so they can stay home for school sports and teen friends. It feels strange being here without them.

A lot has changed in 24 years, besides the height of my boys. This trip gets a turnout of 15 to 20 now for the weekend. Windsurfing is no longer allowed at the camp without a lifeguard so we drive to Ninigret for the main activity. The excitement of a large crowd of unruly windsurfers has been replaced by a more intimate feel. This will probably be my last time here, maybe the last time this trip is run at all.

It's a bittersweet weekend, fun to be here but sad to say goodbye. On Sunday morning I'm packing up when I notice the trees starting to dance. The sun is out and the forecast is great. I want to take some pictures but I'm starting to get excited about the building wind. This camp is full of beautiful memories. It's time to go make some new ones.

Ninigret, Kitesurfed, 5-25, SSW, 12 M kite/152 Ply Board, with AMC crew & Petra Kanz.

Summery Light Wind Day

The wind came up just long enough to get a few of us out on the water. I made it over to the flats but had to walk it about half of the way back. That's O.K. It's all part of the adventure. Hanging out with friends made this Summery light wind day fun. Hardings, Kitesurfed, 10-15, WSW, W, 12M Kite, 152 Ply board, with Des, Luke, Ron, Oliver.

Kite Eating Tree

I had my first encounter with a kite eating tree. I hope it's my last! The lines looked good but weren't, kite wouldn't launch, bounced downwind twice and landed in a gnarly, washed up skeleton of a tree and stump, shredding 1 section of my kite. It was the only obstacle on that entire stretch of salt marsh. My kite was drawn to it like a guilty soul to the devil. Frank and Jamie helped me tape the wounded kite, straighten out my line problem, and get out on the water before I imploded from frustration. It's sooo much better kiting with friends! Waq Bay- was very gusty. It was still fun but I was kiting pretty conservatively. It's hard to push my limits when the wind is jumping from 10 to 30 to 10. sometimes the gusts were so quick that the gust/lull I saw on the water was different from the conditions up at the kite. Mem Day Traffic- I left the house at 12:00, had no traffic. Frank left his place at 8:00, also no traffic. Sometimes the world isn't as it seems. It's better. Waq Bay, Kitesurfed, SW, 10-30?, 10M Bularoo/132 Ply Board, Frank, Jamie, Sammi, Andre, Coleen, Rob, Robert, Wo-Jo, others Picture- Robert was the last man out.

Hatteras- Day 5- Sum Up

Friday- A bunch of us rented SUP boards for 2 hours and messed around soundside. Then Frank and I had a great surfing session at the houses right up until the sun set. The waves were the best yet and the setting sun was making them sparkle and glow! Totals- 1 great day of kiting soundside, 1 brief oceanside session on windsurfer with others on kites, lots of small-wave surf sessions, 1 SUP session soundside, great group dinners/hanging out/hot tub times. Thanks to Frank for organizing it all and making it happen! Sum up or Shut Up- It was great to share my passion for sports with other crazy obsessed people like myself, but I did miss Barbara and the boys. We only had 1 windy day ouf of 5, bad luck. Hatt/PEI- How does Hatt compare to PEI? Hatt has better launches- no mussel farming bouys soundside, better waves for surfing oceanside. PEI is 3 times more scenic and has more to do and explore for the down times. PEI also has had much more wind when we've been there but that's just the roll of the dice. PEI is still my favorite vacation spot of all time, sorry OBX. Picture- It takes 6 to sink a SUP board. We're still paddling but we aren't going anywhere. Soundside, SUP, with Frank, Jamie, Sandie, Colleen, Andre, Eric, Bruno, Peter. Avon Beach, Surfed, Acid 94, with Frank.

Hatteras Day 4

OBX surfer at the Hatteras lighthouse I felt a little out of sync today. I was missing Barbara and the boys. How do single people keep from feeling lonely? The wind picked up too briefly to catch. I was first at the Frisco turnout but there was just enough wind for 14-17 Meter kites so I waited for it to pick up. It didn't. The crew showed up after a few hours and the wind just kept getting lighter. They wanted to wait to see if the wind would come back. I couldn't think of any new details of kiting or windsurfing to talk about so I eventually took off for a lighthouse surfing session and a unicycle ride to the soundside. Hatteras Lighthouse, Surfed, Acid94- front straps and mast base removed.

Hatteras Day 3

View from the deck, Matt's kite in the background at Avon Beach I got a taste of Hatteras oceanside windsurfing! Our crew spent the afternoon screwing around with big kites and boards in fairly small Avon Beach surf. I did some skim boarding (without kite). Just before sunset the wind bumped up, so I got happy, zipped back to the house, carried my gear down the road and boardwalk to the beach, rigged, and got about a half hour in straight sideshore wavesailing. The waves were disorginized, soft, but ridable in spots. I got a little grief for sailing classic but it felt great to be out there on equipment that felt so comfortable. Dinner was fantastic, thanks to Wo-Jo, Dan and Sandie! I counted 16 of us eating and a few more showed up for the after dinner discussion about about every detail of kiting and windsurfing that we could think of. We were all in living-is-easy beach vacation mode. Let the good times roll! Avon Beach, Sammi on Florian's 17m kite with Frank's Door64 Avon Beach, Windsurfed, N, 18-25, 5.7/Acid94, with kiters- Sammi, Florian, Colleen, Andre, Bruno, Amine, Matt, Peter, Rob.

Hatteras Day 2

This- is what I came for! It was 10-20+ for most of the day. I got up at 6:30, was on the water before breakfast, off the water at 7:00 PM., in the hot tub around 8:00, dinner was at 9:00. Nice day! Downwinder to Nowhere 2- I thought that I was a good enough beginning kiter to go along on a downwinder from the Avon houses to Salvo first thing in the morning. I didn't look at the wave size because my eyes were still asleep. I was relieved to get out thru head high waves, but left my board behind on my first turn. Matt rescued my board. Jamie had a similar fate so the downwinder crew was reduced to just Matt. I tried to pick him up in my truck, four wheeling down the Avon ramps onto the beach, but was always behind him. Eventually I lost him in the rain and fog. No worries, he just hitch-hiked back. He had a smile across his whole head after carving miles of waves in a perfect side shore wind! Chimi House- We all ended up at this flat, shallow soundside spot for the rest of the day. I took turns providing newbie support and kiting. We were almost the only ones at this remote spot (you gotta walk in). When I walked back to my truck for my lunch, I could hear Frank yelling, "yeah baby!", all the way back at the truck. That seemed to be how we all felt. Chimi House, Kitesurfed, S,SW,W,NW, 10-20+, 12M/6' surfboard, ply 132, with Frank, Jamie, Sammi, Matt, Sandie, Peter, Wo-Jo, Dan, Bruno, Amine, Nakita, Eric, Wo-Jo.

Welcome to Hatteras

Downwinder to Nowhere It's great to see Hatteras! I've been hearing, "Hey man, you've got to go to Hatteras!", since I started windsurfing, 100 years ago. I'm finaly here. We tried to do a downwwinder from the Frisco Pier to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum but the wind died and the forecast lied. It was a little dissapointing to pump up and wait for nothing but we talked about every detail of kiting and windsurfing that we could think of, did a little surfing back at the the houses in Avon, and talked about every detail of kiting and windsurfing that we could think of. Mini Surfboard- I tried using the 6' Caution kite surfboard as a surfing surfboard in the tiny waves. Bad idea. I caught a few waves but it was a struggle and I never got standing on it. The only one getting good rides was Matt on a longboard and Frank on a boogie board. I still got happy just being on the water in this place! Drive Time- 13 hours, coastal route, stopping for bathroom and gas only. 6:00 AM- 7:00PM, Sunday-no-traffic speed. Lively chat with Sandie made the drive fly by! Avon Beach, Surfed, knee high, with Frank, Matt, Wo-Jo.

Matunuck Wind Classic

Waves happen. So does perfect side shore wind. But both happening together during a wave event in little ol' New England? I wouldn't have thought it possible. Before the wind happened Matunuck Wind Classic- So how was it? The wind didn't come up until about 6:00 but then it was fantastic! Small to med waves with easy sideshore riding, tons of wind, small sail and board, sunny. The event had a tiny turn out, probably due to the rainy forecast and late wind. Still it was fun to ride with some guys that are much better wavesailors than me. There were some kites there too, in spite of the difficult launch. NW, offshore wind at Deep Hole? The Pt Judith meter says it was NW but it was nothing like the offshore NW day that I had at Deep Hole a few years ago. Maybe that was really a N wind? Today was mostly a perfect side shore wind, sometimes just very slightly side off but still plenty strong enough (except for one lull that stranded me in the hole for a little while). The lull that stranded me in the hole for a little while- Big lull, little board and sail, I ended up in the deep hole struggling to keep the board horizontal just around sunset. The wind had dropped and shifted a little more offshore and the point blocked the wind further. I tried paddling in but was getting pulled towards the rock wall instead of the nice little sandy beach. Then I noticed that the wind had come back with a vengeance. I was back to the parking lot in 1 run. I did a few more runs in the now perfect conditions, just for good measure. This foolishness earned me the prestigious, "Warrior Award", during the very serious awards ceremony. LOL! Overall- This session was one of the highlights of my year for the near perfect down-the-line wave riding conditions and the good company. Thanks to organizers Steve and Nate for a fun, informal event, and for getting us out there on a day that looked hopeless but turned out to be spectacular! Deep Hole, Windsurfed, W, WNW, NW? 20-40, 5.8/Acid94 briefly, 4.2/RW85, with Steve, Nate, Hank, others.

Blessing of the Fleet

The fire Dept. put up a small flag for us to use as a wind gauge. Today was the blessing of the fleet for motorcycles. They took over W Dennis Beach. There were hundreds of them. No stinking kites and windsurfers allowed. So we set up our own blessing next to the Lighthouse Inn. We blessed the wind. It didn't work. The wind was just strong enough to get us going but not enough to work on much. Location, Location, Location- The wind was spotty for the day. They had forecasted the best winds for Chatham and offshore sites like Fogland, very true. Fogland and Chatham both looked stronger thru the AM and that held all day, about 5MPH more at those spots, due to the extreme heat for this time of year apparently. It was 90 F and sunny in Newton, 58 and foggy in West Dennis when I left. It was still fun to get on the water with the kite crew. West Dennis Beach, Kitesurfed, SSW, 8-15, 10-20 briefly, 12M kite/ Door64 & Ply152, Frank, Sammy, Colleen, Andre, Phil, Dan.

The Jaws of a Dismal Forecast

The forecast was for 10-16 MPH dropping off around 8:00 or 9:00 AM with rain coming in, temp in the low 50's. I knew there wasn't going to be a crowd at the beach. I set my alarm for 6:00, woke up from a windsurfing dream at 5:00, was at the beach just after 6:30. It was just me, a few dog walkers and a sunrise that wouldn't quit. The wind was perfect, 15-25. The sunrise that keeps on giving Around mid morning, instead of dieing, the wind began to build a little. So much for forecasts. There was some light rain. Kiters and windsurfers kept showing up and we had about 10-15 on the water, more on the beach. It was fun to see Frank, Chris and all the others. At 2:00 I was done and packed up. everyone else was gone. The sun was out. I should have felt exhausted from the long session, all those botched jumps, body drags and swims, but I just felt relaxed, happy, and recharged. It was such a good session, pulled out of the jaws of a dismal forecast. W Dennis, Kitesurfed, WSW, 15-25, 12M kite/152 ply board, Frank, Chris, Gregor, Sammy, Colleen, Andre, Kristoff, others.

Kiting- Toeside Torture

I was more underpowered than powered today but I had a great time because I was trying a surfboard and having beginners luck with some new moves. Compared to a windsurfer this thing is tiny New Moves- my first time riding a surfboard, riding strapless, carving to toeside and back to front, riding toeside, waterstarting toeside. I was also good at crashing while doing all of the above but I don't particularly want to remember that part. Pretzel Logic- Of all of the new tricks for an old fart, it was riding toeside that felt the strangest. It was very confusing. I was backwards, standing on my toes, facing the wrong way, my body twisted up like a pretzel, and hiked out over the water with all my weight on the kite and nothing on the board. One little twitch and I was going to explode into a crash, which I did but not all the time. This was great fun. How do you like the surfboard? Nice of you to ask. I dunno. It took me out of a comfort zone that I didn't know I had. I've been told that kite surfboards feel a lot like a windsurfer so I expected a gliding feeling but it seemed to plow more than that. I tried putting my feet just in front of the straps to get the board to flatten out but I think it just rides like that. It's pretty small. This baby does great in waves though! There is no way that nose is going to pearl. Make a Surfboard? My idea with the surfboard was to try it and, if I like it, make one as close as possible to the original. I'm sure I'm way overestimating my surfboard building potential but maybe I'll have more beginners luck. Chapin, Kitesurfed, 8-18, NNW, N, 12 M Kite/6'x19" surfboard, Nehal, Ken, Ilya, Greg, others.

Horseneck- Round Pegs and Square Pegs

Horseneck, Jean stares down a wave How to Stand Out in a Crowd of Kiters? Windsurf. I didn't want to sail by myself at the state beach so I crashed the kite party at the town beach with my windsurfing gear. I only knew 1 kiter there, Jean. Everyone else probably saw me as a hostile intruder but they were friendly. I knew I couldn't kite in these conditions. I saw one kite blowing away downwind thru the waves, detached from it's owner, and I thought that would be me. Besides, the wavesailing was nice! I'm a round peg and a square peg. Good waves and gusty wind made for an intense session- You get a ride and feel great, a lull hits at the wrong time and you get knocked down like a bowling pin, the set passes, you get clear and drain your head, you do it again. Horseneck Town Beach, Windsurfed, 10-30, W to WNW, 7' waves, 5.2/Acid94, Jean, Hepp & Others. Bottom Picture- Chris.

Windsurfing and Kiting at the Same Time

Josh windsurfed, I kited. My genetic material was doing both sports at the same time. This put a smile on the face of my genes. It was a smiley kinda day- sunny & beautiful, 50's, windy enough. The Cove- was good for us beginners except for about 2 or 3 hours at dead high tide when it was too deep to stand and recovering from crashes was harder. The wind was offshore and gusty but not too bad. Fogland Cove, Kitesurfed, 10-20, SSE, 12M /152 Ply Board, Josh Windsurfed 6.2/ Carve 123, with Igor, Davide, 1 other. Picture- Josh on cruise control.