BLOCK ISLAND WEEKEND, Windsurfed on Monday, SSW, 18-23 building to 23-33, 5.2/RW 85, Tony, Margie, Sherry, Bob, Constance, John from B.I.

Mohegan Bluffs Catch of the day- panties Saturday & Sunday- Sunny, warm, light winds; good for long bike rides, unicycling, boating in the Great Salt Pond, fishing, snorkeling, lots of baseball, walking to town for dinner. Not so good for windsurfing. These first 2 days were so active that I woke up with complaining muscles on Monday morning(the sign of a good vacation). Josh and I saw some big bass when we were snorkeling in the deep cove behind the Coast Guard station, but Josh and Ben had no luck fishing there from the boat that night. Monday, windsurfing- Beauty day! Still sunny and warm, but windy too. Really windy. I couldn't believe that the 5.2 was O.K. with gusts into the low 30's. It was fun having so much power! I could plane through some big holes, decoupling wind. I guess it's easier to handle a slightly oversized sail when sailing on mostly flat water. I got lots of jump practice, although I didn't feel like I was getting enough height to go for loops. At least that's the excuse I gave myself. The boys unicycled at Andy's Way while I was windsurfing. Barbara worked on her R & R. 2 boys, 1 unicycle Narragansett Inn- Worked out O.K. No heat in the rooms, was a little cold at times. The lawn was great for baseball practice! It was a nice walk, bike/uni to town for dinner or desert. Eating on the porch was nice. I missed the beauty and wildness of the open ocean at Crescent Beach, and the gathering effect of the Surf Hotel's lobby & porches, but this new lady has it's charms. Growing Pains- Josh is at the age when he doesn't know whether he wants to go on these family trips or stay home to be with his friends. 1 week before the trip, he told me that he was looking forward to Block Island. Then, when we were on the ferry to the island, he told me that he had tickets and a backstage pass to a concert over the weekend that he was going to miss. He had forgotten all about it until it was too late. And life sucks. Block Island, and all the special activities such as windsurfing, snorkeling, etc. are just about the best cure I know for, "life sucks", but it didn't completely work it's magic for Josh like it did for the rest of us. I had a few sad moments, thinking about how passionate Josh used to be about this trip. I guess it's just part of watching children grow up, something is gained and something is lost.

Cow on Wheels

DUXBURY, Windsurfed, light WSW, solo, 5.8/Acid 94

Another Charlie Brown Day- I thought I so was lucky to have some free time on a weekday evening when it was windy (Barb came home early to take Ben to a Red Sox game). I got fooled again. I had a few partly planing runs before it died. Dead low tide is nice at Duxbury, but even nicer with wind. This was pretty much a repeat of Sunday. The same 2 guys who were there on Sunday, who scored a great session and stopped when I started, were there again, blasting away when I arrived again, stopped when I started again. They probably had a good laugh at my bad luck. This makes me useful as a wind indicator; when the red truck pulls in, the wind will die in 15 minutes. Picture- the wind was good when I arrived, Eddie R. cruising.

DUXBURY, Windsurfed, light SW, Dave from Marshfield, 6.2/Acid94

Charlie Brown winds- There was pretty good wind this weekend, or so I hear. I had family committments up, down, and sideways. No playtime until very late in the day Sunday, dieing winds, non-planing stuff. IWindsurf thought that the wind was going to be at it's best around then. Instead it died. Typical. Why is it that the times when I really feel like I need some cheering up are the times when the wind dies as I rig? It makes me feel like Charlie Brown. Sail Fix- If I had gotten out on the water when the wind was cranking, I might have used my 4.2. I had it repaired after my trashing at Deep Hole in March. The repair work was done by Gerda Reid- Windfixes, cost $40. She had to open up the seam in the luff sleeve to do it right. She lives a few minutes from Kalmus Beach, very convenient, although I hope I don't need to use her services too often. Here it is after the trashing Here it is after TLC from Gerda

DUXBURY- OCEAN SIDE, Windsurfed, NE 25-35 diminishing, Gerry, Scott, Sherry, 4.2/RW85, 6.2/Acid 94

Gerry at Duxbury Day trip dilemma- Don't ask me how the AMC Ninigret day trip ended up being moved to Duxbury. I was leading the trip and I don't know how it happened. It was pretty nice though, lots of wind for about 2 hours then gradually dropping off. We started around dead low and ended around dead high. The waves were much bigger at high tide, but still pretty forgiving, steep with floppy tops. It's too bad that the wind was light when the waves were at their best. The gang of four- Scott got his introduction to shorebreak, put in some dues, but he did get out past it and looked good. Gerry was practising for his wavesailing trip to Brandon Bay, Ireland, with Peter Hart. He informed me that he would be an expert wavesailor when he got back. Go Gerry! I could use a lesson from a wave expert. Sherri was along mostly for the socializing. It was really nice to have such great company during lunch and rest breaks. It felt like a vacation. I could see Jean sailing just downind of us, past the public beach lot, but you needed 4 wheel drive to get there. We used the grassy lot just before the public lot. Green Harbor- After Gerry and I stayed out too long in the dieing winds, and made the long walk back from downwind, we took a drive to Green Harbor to check out the waves. It looked like a really interesting spot for NE to ENE, nice curving swells. The parking looked a little questionable though. Maybe Jean can pass on some secret knowledge about this site. Picture- Surfer at Green Harbor Green Harbor Waves

WEST DENNIS, Windsurfed, ESE, SE, 10-30, 50 F temp, RW85/ 5.2, Acid 94/ 6.2, Chris, Sergey, Gerry, Jean, others.

Chris I left the house at 6:00 am, to catch some early bird winds. I felt a little foolish, driving down to the Cape that early in the morning on a cold rainy day. When I got to West Dennis, at 7:30, there were already 3 guys on the water with Sergey videotaping the action. That made me feel better. Being around other obsessive windsurfer and kiter types makes me feel normal. Not that being normal is necessarily the highest achievement one can hope for in life. Port Loops- I tried a few port tack loops, not even close. I had a much harder time going for it than on starboard. My brain was getting in the way of my head. West Dennis- SE isn't as much fun here as S. The chop got pretty big out near the rock island at high tide for port tack hopping, although I think low tide is probably still nicer for the variety of conditions. Thanks for the duck jibe pic, Jean. After the Wind