The Fog of Kiting

Fog. Nothing good is happening at Hardings. I drive to Chatham light where the fog is a little thinner. The flag on the South Beach Flotsam Shack is stiff! The meter still says 5 mph. Yeah, somebody's lying. Flotsam Shack I walk out to the New Cut and  have a fine12 meter session in the mist. I'm overpowered. I'm underpowered. I kite to the Old New Cut and Stage Harbor. I'm lost in the fog. Some of the fog is lost in me. This is good. Fog goes into my brain, worries go out. New Cut, High Tide, Small Pool in the Marsh The New Cut has a tiny pool at high tide and some waves at the opening. It's a little Gusty in SW from the wind coming across Stage Island. It might be fun in a S to NE wind. Waves at New Cut Opening, Side Off Wind Chatham New Cut, Kitesurfed, SW, 12-28, 12M Rally/Flx 138, Solo. Where else have I been kiting this Spring? Few times at Chapin, Nahant, Horseneck. I had an afterwork session at Dog with Andre. He's getting about 50% of his slide transitions. Yay!

Making the Cut

Cuts happen, especially in Chatham. I kite out from Hardings to the newest one, stopping at the old new cut on the way out and Stage Harbor on the way back. The beachscape changes quickly around here! It's hard for a poor kiter to keep up. The Newest Cut, shrouded in mystery Boats are going to like the newest cut. It looks deep enough for most even at dead low. Not any particular attraction here for kiting though. The old new cut and Stage Harbor still hold the jewels for kiters. This (massive) delinquent buoy was trying to run away from home, until it got tripped up by South Beach. Click on pics to see full size. I put away my mountaineering boots and have been kiting since the end of March. It's great to be on the water again! Kitesurfed, Hardings Beach, WSW, 15-22, 10M Rally/ Mako 150, Solo

My New Kite Boat

Goodbye little red bathtub. Kiting in Chatham 7/16/16   Hello little gray bathtub. Kiting at Horseneck West End 8/5/16 My old boat was 10'. My new one is 11.5'. Just big enough to get myself into some real trouble. I'm sorry to see the old red boat go. I have such great family memories in that little old boat. Josh's boat is still bigger than mine.

Chatham Light

Oh yeah, I love this spot in SE! Especially on the outgoing tide. The waves, sand bars, slicks all line up beautifully in this wind. Sand Bar at the Mouth of Chatham Harbor My favorite spot is on a sand bar off South Beach near the mouth of Chatham Harbor. This may be one of the very few remaining spots in the world without a kite ban. How lucky is that?! We had better enjoy it while we can. Chatham Lighthouse, Kitesurfed, ESE, SE, 15-25, With Jean, Jamie, Rich.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

We can't decide. Downwinder or no downwinder. Brad launches at the Chatham Light and reports that it's a solid 10 meter wind. Downwinder! He packs up his gear. We drive to the start, Nauset Beach. There's barely enough wind for a 12 meter kite. We all pump and take some test runs. Brad says no downwinder. Jeff and I have bigger kites and we're both light weights. We decide to give a try. Brad drives the truck back. Thanks Brad. The first half of the journey has very light wind. I keep thinking we are going to have to walk out. Then it starts to pick up and gets stronger the closer we get to Chatham.  The waves are fun on the mid tide! Constantly changing as we move along. My favorite spot is at the mouth of the new cut. Nice waves, sandbars, slicks all in 1 package. When we get to the Light, Brad is there ripping up the waves. I wish you could have joined us Buddy! At least you had a lot of practice with that nice new kite pump. Thanks to Jeff for getting this going! Downwinder, 9 Miles, Nauset Beach to Chatham Lighthouse, NE, NNE, 10-26, With Jeff, Brad.

Cliff Kiting

Beautiful day! Sun, wind, warm temps. Is this Winter kiting? I'm a little confused. We discover a massive cliff to jump on and off at The Cut. Many inches high.  It's just high enough to lead to some inspired foolishness. Chatham Light/The Cut, Kitesurfed, SSE, 15-25, 12M Rally/Mako150 and 10M Rally/Surfboard, with Brad, Walter. 50 F.

Outer Elbow Downwinder

Downwinder. Nauset Beach to Chatham Light. We're out in the middle of nowhere when Jeff's kite springs a leak. Bad luck! He gets a ride back to the starting point from a saintly fisherman in a 4x4. Good luck. Otherwise a great trip, total 8 miles, 3 to 4 hours, lotsa waves- biggest were about head high. We ended our trip at, "The Cut", one of my ol favorite windsurfing spots. Photo- The Cut, head high waves on the outside, slicks on the inside, Great Whites in between.  Kitesurfed, 15-30, NNE,10M Rally/Mako150, with Brad, Walter, Jeff, Peter.

Near Disaster at The Cut

Brad and I were in a bad situation and we knew it. We were at The Cut, famous for chewing puny little humans up and spitting them out like inconsequential bits of flotsam. Kites pumped, we were looking forward to a great session, completely unaware of how this would end. I was about to launch when I suddenly felt that something wasn't quite right. I looked out at the water and my heart stopped. I couldn't believe what I saw. No wind. How could this be?! It had been windy 2 minutes ago! It was a trap. It must be. And we had walked into it like baby seals into the gaping maw of a Great White. I didn't see any way to get out of this alive. Brad was fearless though. He suggested we pack the whole mess up and drive over to Buzzards Bay on the strength of a tiny blue line on the wind forecast graph. That tiny blue line turned out to be our lifeline. Buzzards Bay had wind! We were saved. At least I was. Brad had some bad luck matching the right kite to the right wind at the right time. It was a trap within a trap. But for me, my life had been renewed. This is what makes one appreciate every remaining minute of this gift of life. To come face to face with one's own mortality, with nothingness, the big skunk, and to overcome. Kitesurfed, N, 7-21, 14M Rally/Flx136, with Brad.

Chatham- Upwinder, Downwinder, Bike

What a great day for exploring around Monomoy Island! The wind died for lunch, then came back stronger than before. I can't believe how lucky I was to not get stranded anywhere, or chased off the water by thunderstorms. I'm probably going to have to pay for that later somehow. Parking lot party, waiting for wind in AM Here's How- In the morning, Skipper and I do an upwinder from Harding's along the bay side of Monomoy Island, about 3 or 4 miles out I'd guess, to the place where the little outer bar connects to the Island. How-U-Doing-Chris joins us for a while then peels off. It's mostly waist to ankle deep crystal clear water with sand bars and tiny beach grass islands here and there, as beautiful as it gets. Skipper has some excitement when he sees a 3' shark jump out of the water near him. We decide it's not a shark cause sharks don't jump, only kiters and windsurfers do. Picture- Skipper and Chris on a tiny offshore sandbar with miles of shallow water. There are 2 boatloads of kiters taking lessons on the flats at our furthest point of travel. They're probably pissed that we're making their many miles of solitude and shallow water so congested with traffic. The wind drops suddenly, which gives us a new appreciation of how far out we are. We can barely see the tiny kites flying back at Harding's. It would be a very long walk and swim back! What took 2 hours of upwind edging coming out takes about 15 minutes going back for Skipper, a little longer for me. It's lunch time, 2:00. Upwinder- S, SSW, 12-22, 12M Varial/6' Surfboard, with Skipper, 3 miles out. Downwinder to The Cut- I've wanted to do this downwinder for years! Route- I go downwind along the bay side of Monomoy, then find a path and cross over to the ocean at one of the last sandy spots I can see before the end. Obsessive Detail Map The ocean side of Monomoy Island is the best run of the day, silky smooth water, a little swell here and there, and solid wind! It's too bad that I am so cautious about the conditions. Conditions- I had planned for the incoming tide in the mouth of The Cut but, because the wind had dropped mid day, I ended up coming over late. The tide is ripping out hard. The wind is mostly sideshore where I first cross Monomoy, offshore once I round the elbow. I very much want to take some runs across the cut in the smooth water but I'm thinking about being by myself, with a rip tide, offshore wind, and this is the spot where most of the Great Whites have been spotted and tagged in the last few years. I picture a worst case scenario here that starts with the wind dieing suddenly and ends with a not-so-great White Shark putting holes in my kite. It's hard to patch holes made by a Great White. End of the line at The Cut, looking back towards the elbow. So I wimp out, do little S turns and stay close to shore. Besides it's getting late, dark clouds are moving in, and I still have to bike back to the truck. Wimp, wimp, wimp. Downwinder- SSW, 15-25, 12M Varial/ Mako 150, Solo, 2 Miles. Bike- I just relax and take it easy biking back to the truck, enjoying scenic Chatham in it's Summer glory. It's a perfect way to cap off my day. I'm sure I didn't deserve such a great day but I'll take it! My trusty bike at the lighthouse, Monomoy Island in background

Windsurfing is Back!

So is my golfer's elbow but I had fun until my arms locked up. This was my first planing windsurfing session in 6 months. The main reason I've been doing so much kiting- it's a lot easier on my forearms. I've been trying to lose this tendonitis. The Cut- was pretty good. I was on my smallest gear, 3.5 & 85 liters, sometimes a little underpowered, sometimes super wound up. Jerry E & Peter were out there getting the best of it with 4.2's. The waves were pretty friendly, not too big, probably because it was high tide. The tide changed during the session and the outgoing tide would have made me nervous except that Jerry and Peter were usually further out than I was. With the E wind you could do 1 long run and make it all the way into the bay to the point by Scatteree Landing. On the outside end, the waves on the S point sandbar were really fun because you could just go into the edge of them and look for 1 to play with but by the time I discovered that my arm strength was about gone. Waterman in Training- It was nice to meet Jason, "Shook". He started kiting in October but is already kiting The Cut on the outgoing tide, dead onshore wind, high tide shorebreak, close to 40 MPH wind. He's got the waterman in his genes! The Cut, Windsurfed, 23-37+, E, RealWind 85/ 3.5 sail, Jerry, Peter, Shook (on kite)

Why they call it The Cut

2 Kiters playing in the bathtub at The Cut, no sharks in there Because of the Great White sharks. fortunately, it seemed like they were eating their seal dinners somewhere else today. I didn't see too many fins anyway (none). I counted my toes before the session and after, and the number was the same. So I think I didn't lose any. The Cut, Windsurfed, 15-25, S, 5.2/RW 85 & Acid94, with Gerry, Scott, Leif, Simon from Quebec, Des beach visit, others.

Gentle Wind at The Cut

The Cut, in a quiet mood Marginal wind session, planing off and on. It was good for exploring- the south point, the north point, up towards Scatteree and back. The wind came up just before I had to leave. Typical.

The Cut, Windsurfed, E 10-22, 5.7/ Acid 94, Solo

Fog Sailing

I took a look at The Cut- dense fog, no waves, light WSW wind that was almost straight offshore at the launch.


So I went to Kalmus- dense fog, no waves (of course), light SSW wind that was almost straight onshore. The wind did pick up for awhile but it was very gusty and shifty. And it was foggy.


It was eerie being out there and hearing the deep rumble of the ferry's motors as they went by, sometimes hearing their horns close by, but not being able to see them, or anything. Occasionaly another windsurfer or a kiter would appear out of the fog then fade into the mist like a ghost.


KALMUS, Windsurfed, 14-37 SSW, 5.2/Acid94, with Jerry, Jeff S, Barry, Scott, Cliff, Tucker, Ron, Bruce, Olivier.

Picture- Seaweed Hands and Fog

Windsurfed, The Cut, SSW,SW 15-23, 6.2/ Acid94, Barry

What a beautiful afternoon! The sun almost made it feel like a Summer day. The air and water temps were in the mid 40's, very comfortable. The wind was pretty steady, especially considering that it was side-off at the launch. Tide was going out, wind blowing against the tide made the wind seem stronger. My sail and board felt perfect for the conditions, for once. I played in the tiny waves around the sandbar island, did speed runs behind the beach, and raced some fishing boats into the mouth of the harbor around sunset. This is the best way I know to keep my spirits up as the days grow shorter and colder.

Picture- it could be a lovely Summer evening.

THE CUT, Windsurfed, Skunky winds, SSW, 6.2/Acid 94, with Jeff S

Jeff waiting for power This was my first skunk since getting back from PEI. I'm back in the real world. Apparently it was blowing 15-25 at West Dennis and Kalmus. The wind machinery for Chatham wasn't working.

THE CUT, SCATTEREE LANDING, windsurfed, NNE, 10-30+, mostly solo, 3.5,4.2/ Realwind 85, air temp upper 30's

2 Cuts- I sailed the old cut and the new cut. A local kiter, Barry, came out for a few runs at the old cut before the wind died. It went from 3.5 weather to 6.2 in a few minutes, not nice. When he packed up, I packed up too, and went to Scatteree landing to sail out to the new cut. Barry, airborn Maringue pie- The strong opposing wind and rushing tide put a cheese grater texture on the water. At the old cut, Barry complained that it was too rough to be really good for kiting. Even launching from in the harbor, at Scatteree, there were places that looked like the top of my mom's maringue pie from when I was kid. Of course, there were also places, around sandbars, that were almost as smooth as a babies butt, very nice. Wind reading- The wind had come right back up at Scatteree. My 4.2 seemed pretty big at times, even with the downhaul cranked. I think the IWindsurf meter might read low in NE wind direction. Maybe by about 10mph? I know it was more than 15-21, at 6:30, when I was tail walking my 85 liter/4.2 across the harbor. Blowing sand was another indicator of wind strength. Shred of sanity- I didn't venture out very far into the waves. I don't think they were any bigger than last weekend's waves at Deep Hole but being by myself, a half mile out or more, in the middle of nowhere, in Winter temps, in somewhat unfamiliar digs made me feel cautious. I may be nuts but I'm not crazy. Sea of blowing sand New Cut Hello and goodbye to the camps-I pulled up on the North side of the new cut to take a look at the, "camps", that are being eroded by the tidal flow through the new opening. It looks like 3 or 4 of them don't have much longer to live in this world. The house closest to the water was half full of sand, windows and doors gone. It was a beautiful spot, wild as nature can be, with the wind howling, storm waves crashing, and the water racing through the new cut like a swollen river. The amount of water being pushed past the sandy point, where I stood, was amazing. Backlash- Friends of ours recently had their family camp, "The Backlash", demolished and removed from here before the ocean could turn it into litter. I can imagine how sad that must have been for them to lose that special place. End of, "The Backlash" Thanks to Jim A. for the 2 bottom pictures.

All you ever wanted to know about wavesailing on the outer Cape.

Today is probably the best day this month for weekend wind, (the cut has relatively warm 37 temp, incoming tide, east wind, gale warning!), and I have social plans. Sometimes having a life gets in the way of living.

The following is from an IWindsurf forum discussion. It is a detailed break down of outer Cape wave sites and conditions, including the cut, from local waterman Peter Kimball. I'm posting it here so I can refer back to it more easily. Thanks to Peter for generously sharing his hard earned, inside knowledge! This will probably be of interest to local wave wannabes only, although the description of the cut is colorful.

10/7/07, IWindsurf forum, Peter Kimball writes;
Background; I think I have over 200 sessions at the cut in the last 4 years in all seasons and all conditions. I live in Dennis and have sailed the north side beaches for over 15 years Here is a general outline of wave spots: There are no south side wave locations on the cape. There may be waves that you can jump and sort of ride but they are minor.

Corporation; Best direction wnw-nw. nnw and N are dead onshore and sailable but not really fun. Waves are really wind swells, with a short period. Can be knee high to over head high. Work for all tides although out going tide gives good pitch to the wave Port out starboard riding. Very little current.

Chapin/Mayflower; Best direction ene-ne. Similar to Corporation with wind waves. Big walk at low tide. I think that barnstable-Brewster N beaches are all similar to Chapin/Mayflower.

The cut or Chatham light; A bunch of ground rules- You must be comfortable in all of the following conditions, sometimes all on one tack. If you are not you will suffer until you are good in all of the following. Most windsurfers do not come often enough to get there. Sailing over powered mandatory. Sailing with nearly no wind. There are strong currents Current due to the tidal flow, current due to the wind and wave flow. These currents can make it seem like there is no wind or too much. Be aware of the tides. It is sailable at all tides but the flow is important. The tide can make the wave shape or hurt it, help you out by pulling you up wind or be your worst nightmare sending you to the rocks or out to sea. There can be insane chop. Be able to launch in shore break. The wind can die very quickly, and you will get a good swim. Fog can come and blind you. You must be aware of your location at all times. Sea life: At least 1000 seals and the critters (sharks) that eat them are around, some times whales. Stay away from the seals if they are on the beach. Go near them and you will have hundreds in the water around you. Parking: There is a small parking lot. You can not park there in the summer season June-labor day. Always go with a sailing buddy. Always check your gear. A break down can be a long swim and or walk. The best waves are far away from the launch and can be very isolated. North wave locations are now off an island. South wave locations are at least a 1 mile walk. Right in front sucks. Wind direction: It works clock wise for N-SW There are no wind meters to tell you it is good or not. Only faith and experience works. Do not go if it is WSW to NNW. The wind is off shore and with an out going tide it could be a one way trip. Also there is a high bluff that blocks the wind. Waves- every thing from true ground swell waves to wind chop. Waves can be knee high to over mast high depending on conditions. The waves are best on a variety of sand bars. These bars move all of the time. The conditions change with the tides. Best conditions SW with a ground swell ie off shore storm (happens maybe once a year) N-NE drive by off shore storms. In SW go south. In N go north. ENE-S can be good but very onshore for the wind. Some of the biggest waves though. Recommended gear- A board with volume – to half you weight in lbs. 150 lbs= 75 liters etc. Rig bigger than you think you need. I use a 5.3 or 4.7 and the JP FSW85. The best wave riding is up wind and up current. So be prepared to travel.

Other outer cape locations; All of the cut conditions apply to the beaches from Chatham to Ptown. The change is the wind directions that work. All have strong currents and rip tide when the waves have any size. Most will not work for side off winds as the high coastal bank blocks the wind where the waves are. Go only if it is side shore at that location and with a good swell and you may get lucky. Side off is no wind, side on is broken gear in the shore break. Most locations are beach breaks.

The Cut, Windsurfed, SSE, S, SW, 10-30, with Tucker, Jerry, Outcast, 5.2/ Realwind 85, temp 47.

Birthday gift- O.K. I want to know who's responsible for this warm windy morning on my birthday. I'd like to thank them personally. The wind began to shift to the west and got a little funky shortly after I started but I don't want to sound ungrateful. It was a wonderful gift just to be out on saltwater on my birthday. Age 48, if you're wondering.

Warm, windy, rainy & foggy- a beautiful day at the cut.

Tasty Menu- The cut dished up a wonderful variety of conditions. I had about 2 hours of intense sailing, planing off and on, playing in the waves- nice sideshore riding and jumping, enjoying the flats around various sandbars and coves, bouncing across the washboard where the 10 knot current meets the ocean on the outer bar, getting washed sometimes. Great fun!

Waves- Maybe the waves were about chest high outside the bar? It's so hard to judge. They were pretty forgiving, although I had my rig pulled out of my hands during one washing. Bad news. It would have been a long swim back if I lost my gear. I swam as fast as my arms could take me to get to it before another wave could hit. At dead low I could stand on the bar in some places. We were out a little past a sandbar island that someone said was new.

Tidal Bore- The tide was going out for most of the session, amazing current. It had a strange effect on the sailing at times, making the wind seem extra light or extra strong, knocking me off plane, creating patches of bizarre chop, strange waves. Once, when I was trying to waterstart on the outer bar, I got hit by 2 waves coming from completely opposite directions at the same time.

If a shark falls in the forest? It's funny, I didn't think about the great whites once when I was out there. I only thought about the windsurfing. If you don't think about sharks, does that mean they aren't there?

Happy New Year to all!

Claflin Landing/ the Cut, Windsurfed, S, 13-20, Solo, 6.2/Carve 123

Picture; Kalmus with Ice Pack

Iced In; All the beaches I drove to at first were either iced in or had no wind. Kalmus and Harding’s were completely iced in. There was 1 seal sunning itself on the ice at Kalmus. Somebody on the beach thought that it was hurt. There were several on the ice at Harding’s. I think they were just enjoying the sunny day. The ice at Harding’s extended up to Cockle Cove. Forrest was clear but had no wind. The Cut had good wind, side offshore, but no one was out there so I went to Claflin Landing. Gerry said later that Duxbury was iced in too.
Weather; 47 air temp, water low to mid thirties. I dressed really warm! I wore a long sleeve shirt between my fleece and long underwear top. I used my O’Neill booties with sealskin socks and duct taped my booties to my drysuit, mittens instead of gloves. I had some difficulty holding on during the lulls but my hands were hot! I was completely warm, even when I fell in. Next time I should take a back pack with my gloves so I can switch off. A safety kit would be nice too.
Sailing with the seals; The south wind was fun at Claflin Landing. It was side shore to just a tiny bit side offshore. I sailed between 2 sandbars in the channel. The fin could just clear the sandbars. It was near dead low tide with the tide, (and wind) rushing in. When the wind was gusting I had no trouble staying upwind on the Carve with its big pointer fin. In the lulls I would be downwind in a minute. When I was out there I saw some kiters up at the Cut. I worked my way up by sailing upwind in the wide part of the harbor and then walking the board up along the inside of Nauset Beach where the harbor gets narrow. When I walked my board around the point of Nauset Beach the incoming current was so strong that I could barely walk against it. I sailed for a short time from the tip of Nauset beach out to where the line of breakers would be if the waves were up. There were some very small waves there. On the outside the current wasn’t an issue. I was sailing straight into it on the way out and with it back in. There were lots of seals around. At one time, inside the harbor, I counted about 50 all floating around me at a distance, watching me. They made me feel like I was being watched.
Tide at the Cut; The tide seems to run about 1 to 1 ½ hours later than the IWindsurf tide chart for Chatham. The chart at Jerry’s World seems accurate.

The Cut/West Dennis/Duxbury, Windsurfed, SE 35-55, 2 others, 3.5/Acid

What a day! I only got a few runs in and I spent most of the day chasing wind, a fool’s errand as it turned out, but not for lack of wind. I took a few wobbly runs at the cut while there were 2 other guys there. It was gusting over 50. I felt pretty over-powered on my 3.5 with extra downhaul. The cut was fantastic in a SE. Too bad I was so overpowered. We were well down wind of the breakers on the outside. There was a wave that was peaking right in the middle of the run that was manageable and fun. One run could take you all the way to the tip of North beach, although I turned in the middle where the little wave was. The current was coming in and the wind was blowing in, same direction, but I had enough power to stay upwind as long as I didn’t spend too much time in the water- fast waterstarts. There was a rock wall with waves directly downwind. The sand blowing down the beach really stung! The next day there was a photo of one of the guys, Jerry Evens, doing a loop at the cut, on page 2 of the Boston Globe. I saw him do a loop in front of a camera man while I was rigging. I leave voluntarily- When they quit, I packed up and headed off to West Dennis. I didn’t want to sail by myself, overpowered, with the chop, waves and current at the cut.
Interviewed & kicked out of W. Dennis- There was no one sailing at West Dennis so I rigged to sail on the inside. I had never seen the water so high there! I was just about to step on my board when the environmental police showed up to say that they were closing the beach because water was starting to wash across it and into the road and it was still 1 ½ hours before high tide. The part of the beach that I was on was might be cut off. As I was packing up, channel 4 news arrived and asked if they could interview me. (Apparently, they played a clip of it on the 11:00 p.m. news and the 5:00 a.m. news, I also found it online.) On the way out, I turned in at the Lighthouse Inn parking lot to see if the waves were getting close to the hotel. Some water was starting to wash across the beach just to the right of the hotel, where we rig sometimes, and into their lot. I hope the Hotel didn’t get much water damage. Kicked out of Duxbury- I decided to stop off at Duxbury on the way home for a brief session before dark. I was rigging there, almost done, when the harbor master drove up and asked me to leave because I didn’t have a sailing buddy. Damn!!! It looked like it would have been great. The waves were rolling in on the lower parking lot, up above the signs. I tried explaining that I had left an open ocean site, because I didn't have a sailing buddy, to come here where it was enclosed and safe. He didn't betray even the slightest hint of sympathy.