Camp Petra Highlights

20 enthusiastic campers attended the Petra Kanz clinic/ AMC trip. Sat was a perfect day for it, sunny, warm, light winds building to planing conditions then dropping. Sun was light winds, dry land Q & A, SUP demos. It was great to see Petra, and the AMC crowd. What I learned; Short board tacks- switch sides early, (before going thru the wind), throw the sail towards the nose of the board, then push out with back hand, if I need to I can sail backside briefly to bring the board thru the wind. Fin first- It's fun to tack, fin first to fin first, but you gotta be quick on the switch. This I could do, sometimes. Good workout- Light wind freestyle is just as tiring as sailing in planing conditions! Ben had a lot of fun with the trainer kite. He loved jumping up on the beach and trying to get a little hang time. We had a long session with it in 10 - 18 MPH wind. Barb and Ben both sailed briefly on Sat. They left early on Sunday to get Ben to a Little League game. I stopped at Fogland on the way home Sunday evening to catch a front as it went thru. The wind hit 23-38 for about 30 minutes then died. Ben was the master roaster of Marshmallows at the Sat night bootie roast!

Wind Gumbo

What luck! I stumbled upon an oasis of wind in what was shaping up to be a 3 day weekend of still air and glassy water. I got some solid planing conditions, some marginal planing conditions, some non-planing freestyle conditions, and trainer kite conditions, all mixed together like a gumbo. It wasn't pretty, or particularly impressive, but it turned out to be very satisfying. Mostly what made it special was the 2 hours before and after low tide. The inside at W Dennis was all buttery smooth knee to waist deep water. Conditions like that are just plain fun. There is no other way to say it. I seemed to have been at the beach for about 8 hours, not sure just how that happened. Tomorrow I will enjoy resting my creaky muscles while watching Ben play in 2 little league games. It will be a perfect rest day.

Photo- The winds up!, unknown guys.

West Dennis, Windsurfed, Trainer Kited, SW, WSW, W, 5-25, 6.2/ Carve 123 & Realwind 85

What Makes Me Tick

Windsurfing. It winds my clock. It's my stress therapy. Even a few hours in mild mannered conditions gives me tractor treads to roll over another week of unruly economys, unhappy teenagers, and fickle customers. It's my un-unhappiness pill. Duxbury, Windsurfed, WSW 10-20, 6.2/ Carve 123, Solo. Landboarded, WSW 8-15, 4.2/ Landboard.

Best Kept Secret in Windsurfing Clinics

Do you have a friend, spouse, or child who wants to learn to windsurf? Or you want them to? Check out this clinic with Petra Kanz, (ex ABK teacher), May 29-31, sponsored by the Appalachian Mountain Club Windsurfing Group- http://www.amcboston.org/windsurf/upcomingtrips.html It's a great deal for the cost, partially defrayed by the club. It's also good for those that are trying to get over the intermediate hump, nail their jibes, or just immerse themselves in windsurfing ambiance for the weekend. The trip is open to non AMC members too. The best part is that the weather is always perfect at Pt. Judith, the Carribean jewel of New England! Day 1 of the clinic, 2008, Ninigret Pond, the wind took a break for lunch.

Horseneck Heaven

Mother's Day. I wasn't really planning on sailing. But the forecast was sooo good. During the night the wind started howling through our open windows and woke us up. Barbara mumbled, "you should go windsurfing today". She didn't have to suggest it twice. I went to Horseneck during the afternoon because the drive is relatively short. I wanted to be back for a Mother's Day restaurant dinner. A lucky choice, it was my best wave session since last November at Deep Hole! I have a lovely wife. Seth, waiting for a break in the sets Horseneck Public- Beautiful side shore conditions for working on the down-the-line stuff. It was a little gusty because the wind was coming across the land upwind so I went about 1 meter bigger and 10 liters more than I thought I needed. It was perfect. I only schlogged in an occasional hole, had plenty of power to get out, and motored upwind easily so I could go downwind in the waves. When I felt overpowered on the outside, I just pointed higher into the wind. Waves were waist high, maybe chest high by the end. Great fun! Horseneck, Windsurfed, WNW, S Swell, Windy, 5.2/ Acid 94, with Juan, Seth, Larry.

Slaking My Thirst with a Surfboard

Well, not a real surfboard. I still don't own one of those. My 94 liter wave board got me out there. The waves were about waist high, smooth and glassy, perfect for a perpetual novice like me. 2 hours on the water left me tired and satisfied. Who says that you can't have fun without wind? Riding on Narragansett glass, unknown surfer Narragansett Notes- The wave size and quality decreased about 1 hour before high tide. Almost everybody left then. I'm guessing that this spot works best at low to mid tide. Narragansett, Surfed, Acid 94, 3 or 4 other surfers.