No Wind, No Cry

Not a surf wimp- unknown surfer I'm back to vacation mode! No wind today but I wasn't completely despondent. I kept reminding myself that the forecast is calling for 5 days in a row of wind later this week. I got out surfing at Nahant on glassy set waves. Mostly the waves were small but I got an adrenaline rush on each ride and the biggest ones were still a little intimidating to drop into. I'm a surfing wimp.

Nahant, Surfed, Acid 94, Others.

Windy Boston

This makes 5 days in a row of windsurfing and or kiting! Who would have thought that Boston in the Summer could be a destination vacation hot spot for wind-water sports? All it takes is a lot of luck. And today there wasn't even any torrential rain.

I located and brought back a lost board that was floating around for a fellow kitehead. I got the idea that I could do this from an article in International Kitesurf Magazine (ikitesurfmag.com) about how to carry a board while kiting. It made me feel good, like maybe I'm not a rank beginner anymore. Maybe I'm a seasoned beginner.

Dog Beach, Kitesurfed, WSW 16-25, 12 M kite/ 132 Ply Board, then 13-20, 15M Flysufer Kite/152 Ply Board, with Andre, Colleen, Paul, Tom, Others.

Swiss Cheese Wind

Nothing Stops Crazy Paul I was launching my kite at Revere this morning when the wind switched from NNE (straight sideshore) to N to NNW (side offshore). The hi-rises turned it into swiss cheese. I drove down to the other end of the beach, where it was still sideshore (barely), and launched again but couldn't keep the kite in the air with those big cheesy holes. So I windsurfed. When I was leaving Paul was launching and also struggling with the scrappy wind. I don't know if he ever made it out but channel 7 news was waiting to film it. The camera man said this kite thingy sport was pretty unique and they'd run any footage during the afternoon news. Revere- At high tide the sandbar waves mostly disappear and the inside waves turn into soupy shorebreak full of dense seaweed. The shorebreak could be timed and avoided but the waves here are best on low to mid tide. Rain- An inch an hour. I couldn't see much thru my glasses but it was O.K. Revere Beach, Windsurfed, N 0-14, NNW 1-26, 5.7/ RW85, Solo.

Revere has waves!

Unknown Windsurfer at Revere Mostly little forgiving waves but lots of fun! I windsurfed briefly then kitesurfed to get more power out of less wind. Even with the kite I had to to do a long slow downwinder to stay above the water. I walked back the whole length of the beach but I didn't care. I had a big smile on my face. Playing in the waves with kite gear is such a kick! Revere Beach, Windsurfed (5.7/Acid 94) & Kitesurfed (12M kite/Surf 148), NNE 4-19, with Larry.

Summer Nor'easter packs a punch!

I got punched on my first run, broke a boom and blew out a panel in my sail. Why does this stuff always happen on the first run? I was almost out thru the waves, hoping to clear the last few, when a sneaky lip caught me and sent me over the falls because it was my first run. I know that the worst thing you can do in a munching is to let go of your rig. The mast can pole vault into the bottom and snap like a toothpick, rip your sail. So I held on to the boom to avoid that risk and the boom snapped and my sail ripped. I was pretty humbled but I tried to believe that the sail and boom were getting too old and ripe and that this was their way of telling me that they wanted to retire. After my thrashing I had a pretty good session on my next biggest sail 5.7, although it took me a long time to loosen up and start playing in the breaking waves again. Is it really still Summer? Nahant, Windsurfed, NNE, 15-30, 5.7/ RW85, with Scott, Martin, others. Picture- Scott, not breaking anything.

The Return of the Cow

Crankin' Frank I got a chance to ride the Mad Cow with the new straps and fins today. It works! It definitely extended my lower range by a few MPH and got me planing on my 12M kite when I normaly would have been taking a nap on the beach. Revere- was gusty when the wind shifted to E and picked up. It was a really good session though. Low tide made it very forgiving and gave me the confidence to use the surfboard for awhile. I got some toeside rides but it was tiring so I switched over to the Surf 148 at the end. Revere Beach, Kitesurfed, ESE 10-14, ENE 10-16, E 12-24, 12 M kite with Mad Cow/ Caution Surfboard/ Slingshot Surf 148, Frank, Skipper, Paul, Peter, Flysurfer Fred, others.

Desperate Measures

Hot launching Skipper's 26 meter circus tent You know the wind isn't happening when it's hard to keep a 26 meter kite in the air! Staycation- This first day of my 2 week stay-at-home vacation didn't win any trophies for wind. After the non-session, I gave Flo a ride home to Watertown then did a little SUP on the Charles River for a consolation prize. No worries! The next 3 days are supposed to be windy. Believe it or not... Revere Beach, Skunked. SUP on Charles River.

Thermal Reaction

The Thermal Days of Summer bring out the kites & sun worshipers I feel like I'm cheating when I take advantage of a sweet Summertime thermal. It's sunny, warm, a beautiful Summer day. The beach is full of sun worshipers, the bathrooms are open, the outdoor shower isn't ice cold, there isn't a storm cloud in sight... And it's windy! Living is easy. Revere Beach, Kitesurfed, ESE, SE, 12-18, Flysurfer 15/ Surf 138, with Florian, Skipper, Paul, others.

Windsurfing in the Sweet Spot

big windsurfing crowd, kiting crowd in the background I sailed for 4 hours straight without being overpowered or underpowered once! Did I dream it or did it really happen? I'm not sure. I was in the zone, only took one 5 minute break to drink some juice pouches that I had stashed in my harness. I didn't stop until the wind got sleepy, just before sunset. W Dennis Notes- In S wind you can really cruise the coast so I went all over searching for the best chop hopping- upwind and downwind of the rock island, towards Kalmus as far as the breakwater by Lewis Pond, South Village and the point beyond, in front of the Lighthouse Inn. The waves weren't really happening so I took what I could find for ramps. I was very tempted to just keep sailing towards the horizon, either to Kalmus or Chatham but I didn't have a ride back lined up and, luckily, reason prevailed. West Dennis, Windsurfed, S, SSW, 18-23, Low Tide, 5.7/ Acid94, with Gary, Sam (kite), Andre(kite), others.

Windsurfing in the Dark

I got out windsurfing in Boston Harbor for 2 hours after work tonight, 7 to 9. Sunset was at 8:00. It was beautiful sailing with the lights of the city shining off of the water! The white hulls of moored boats, bobbing in the black water, helped me stay orientated when it was getting too dark to see much else. Great session! Boston Harbor, Windsurfed, 10-30, SSW, SW, 6.2/ Acid94, with Peter, Dave.