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

SCARBOROUGH BEACH, Landboarded, E 10-15, Solo

Baseball- Ben had a morning Little League Game that I wanted to watch. I knew that I was missing some wind but felt that being there for the game was more important. Windsurfing- When I finally got to the beach, there were 5 kiters out, but in the time that it took me to get into my drysuit, the wind dropped off and everyone came in, or wished they had. My drysuit came right back off again. Landboard Police- Not to be daunted, I rigged a 4.2 and landboarded in the parking lot until a park ranger wheeled up to tell me that I was violating the law by using anything with wheels, without a motor, in a state park. Cars, trucks, & motorcycles O.K. Wind powered vehicles not O.K. It's just to protect others, safety first. Aunt Carrie's Sail Chi- Not to be daunted, I took my 4.2 to the beach and practiced Petra Kanz's famous, "sail chi". This was actually pretty fun. I impressed myself by completing some moves that I had never even tried before. I think I could be a pretty good windsurfer if I always did it without water. I even made my loops, all of them, no problem. Aunt Carrie's- After the excitement of dry land training wore off, I drove over to Aunt Carrie's Restaurant to check out a little-used wave sailing site. I see why it's little-used, almost no parking, rocky launch, probable wind shadow in SW. I guess it could work in NE when Scarborough is closed for the season. It didn't look like a hidden gem, although I like the way the picture of the access road came out. Baseball Gene = Windsurfing Gene- I think I see a parallel between baseball and windsurfing, something that makes it seem possible that a genetic predisposition for one could transfer to the other, like father, like son. It's this- both sports are similar in that you never know what's going to happen next. The good, the bad, and the unexpected can occur at any moment, whether it's a sudden change in wind, waves, state park laws, or a change in the path of that little ball. It can shift from disaster to euphoria and back again, in the blink of an eye. And it's the hope that perfection, (perfect wind & waves, a perfect game,) or something close, waits around the corner that keeps us coming back for more. In other words, the baseball gene and the windsurfing gene are probably the same gene. One day Ben will realize this and take to windsurfing like he has to baseball. Maybe. I'd play baseball but I'm too old for Little League, and the Red Sox haven't shown any interest yet. Baseball = Windsurfing

Mt Monadnock, Hiking with Ben

Mountain Man Natural High- This was outdoor adventure minus the speed and adrenaline of some other sports that I know and love. A beautiful, blue sky day, peaceful, very satisfying hike. Ben did great with his first mountain climb! He loves a physical challenge, and really seemed to enjoy the mountain and the vistas. We took the Spellman Trail up, reported to be the most challenging. It was very rocky, deserted, surprisingly steep, with a small meandering stream and wonderful views. White Cross Trail, going down, took about half as long as the trip up. Details- The drive was 1 hr 40 minutes, hike up took about 3 hours, going slow to take pics and explore, 1 1/2 hours going down fast. Ben wished he had his worn hiking boots instead of sneakers. 2 bike water bottles for me and the wineskin for Ben was plenty of H2o for a warm sunny day. We were 2 tired but happy hikers at the end of the day.

Nantasket Beach, Everything, ESE 5-15, solo

Inspiring? I got a comment, offline, from a windsurfing friend saying that my blog is inspiring. Really? That's probably the nicest complement I've gotten on this windsurfing/blogging stuff. It partially offsets the, "nutjob", and "sicko", comments I got last December, when I posted about ice angels forming on my sails. My friend also said something about me still doing this stuff at my ripe old age but I'm not going into that. Not inspiring- I had a few free hours today in light winds, so I scouted out a new wave venue, Nantasket. When I arrived, it had tiny waves and tiny wind. This called for my full arsenal of light wind toys. Here's how; 1; Used an old Fanatic Bat, (transition board),to kayak surf the tiny waves. 2; Ditched the kayak paddle, used the Bat to surf the tiny waves. 3; Stuck a 6.2 on the Bat and used it to surf the tiny waves. 4; Stuck the 6.2 on the landboard and gave up on the tiny waves. Poor Man's SUP; I thought I could use the Fanatic Bat as a stand up paddle board to catch some waves. I've SUP'd that board before in flat water, but it's tipsy in bumps, and kneeling and paddeling in waves isn't much fun. I'll have to try a real SUP to see if it's as good as they say. It's hard to imagine that it could live up to the hype. Nantasket, high tide The landboard was fast and fun, lots of high speed duck jibes. At mid tide, the beach was a smooth, flat runway. ESE = side on. If I had been smart enough to move down the beach, I probably could have found some onshore wind for long cruisin' runs. I had loosened up the trucks after the last session and it made it much more turny and fun, big improvement. Nantasket, mid-tide, with landboard tracks Nantasket looks like it could be pretty tasty in a good NE, E, SE swell with wind. It might get pretty big. A local big board surfer, that was leaving as I wheeled in, divulged that there are surfcams at The Red Parrot Restaurant, and N.E. surf. I took Rt. 3 to 228, 45 minute drive with light traffic. Click on pics to see full size

Chapin, landboarded / West Dennis, windsurfed. Solo, mostly light winds, temp 50

Chapin Mist

Loop Dreams- I took the winter off from loop shenanigans. I didn't want to be constantly crashing into ice water. But the mercury is climbing, the grass is thinking about turning green, and I decided it was time to renew my loftier windsurfing ambitions. So all week I watched loop videos during my nightly exercising. I visualized forward loops and practised holding onto an invisible boom while throwing my head and shoulders around in a graceful imaginary loop. I fell asleep thinking about the body mechanics of the loop and picturing myself completing them in slow motion.

The result? Light winds all weekend. Well, there was some wind. Like when I was driving to the beach. Or when I had left one beach and was driving to another. I had a short land board session at Chapin, on the sandbar at low tide, bouncing across the ripples. Then the wind came up and I left for Harding's where the wind turned out to be light again.

It didn't stop me though. I did light wind loop practise on the 5.2/carve123, in the pond at West Dennis. And I found that all the visualizing and studying helped. I was doing a better job of throwing my head back and twisting my shoulders around than usual. It helped me come around further, often keeping my head dry.

I had 1 very brief session, on the oceanside at West Dennis, when I got planing on the 5.2/ RW85 during a rain squall. It wasn't quite enough to go for a planing loop but it was fun to be moving.

Who knows when I'll get the right conditions to go for the real thing. I probably can't sail next weekend. We have busy family plans, friends wedding, etc. But I'm going to try to keep visualizing to keep my resolve alive. I have this foolishly optimistic feeling that I'm going to complete one eventually.

Bottom Pic- letting my landboard loose on miles of washboard sand at Chapin.

Chapin Beach, ENE 12-30, 6.2/Acid 94, 4.2/RW85, Juan, Peter, kiters

Sandbar Sailing- It was a good long session. Juan, me and 1 kiter stayed out after last call for the tide. After about 6 hours on the water, we had 45 minutes, (15 minutes one way x 3), of lugging equipment across 1/2 mile of sand before we could de-rig and pack up. It was a little crazy, but fun. I loved how peaceful and beautiful it was out there on the edge of the exposed bar with just a few seagulls, endless sand, and us. Our original launch spot looked like a little dot on the horizon.




ENE gripes- The ENE wind didn't seem to build up the waves like a NE does. They stayed pretty tiny, even with a good strong wind. Also, there was a wind shadow for the first few hundred yards. It made sailing inside the sandbar at mid tide too gusty/skunky. I think that the wind would have been cleaner at Mayflower. The waves probably would have been about the same.




Picture- Juan, jibe entry with speed. Most of the water in this picture was gone at low tide.

Corporation Beach, NW 10-20 building to NNW 18-28, 6.2/Acid, 5.2/RW85, a few others

Winter/Summer confusion- You know, I don't really care if the weather ever warms up for spring. If we get a few more days just like today, it will be fine with me. We had lots of sunshine, lots of wind, lots of waves, temp 37 F. O.K. my hands got cold a few times, but other than that, (and the knowledge that I was wearing my drysuit with 4 layers underneath), it felt and looked like a summer day. There was bright sunshine glistening off the water, children flying kites, families strolling along the waters edge, and plenty of picture takers and dog walkers. Never mind that it was 14 degrees F. below average for the end of March, sand was blowing horizontally down the beach, and everyone had on jackets, hats and mittens. It was glorious! So I'm going out on a limb here, being brutally honest. I would be happy if it stays frigid as long as it stays windy, especially sunny and windy. Of course, if the weather really does refuse to warm up, everyone is going to blame me for writing this.

Corporation Beach- First impression, nice launch. Much shorter walk at low tide than Mayflower. I liked launching from the end of the breakwater, easier to get out thru the waves because you're halfway there. NNW wind was almost straight onshore, port tack out, not everyone's favorite direction for this spot, or so I hear. I know that NNW is also onshore at Mayflower, but starboard out, take your pick. There was a spot, out in the middle where I was jibing sometimes, where the waves seemed a little bigger and were sorta-breaking further out, fun. The waves were still very forgiving, wind waves, not very meaty or hollow.

Dialed in- I felt great on the 5.2 with the Realwind board today. For a while, the wind got lighter and I switched to the 6.2/ Acid. I just couldn't seem to get comfortable with that rig today. When I switched back to the 5.2/RW everything felt great, even as the wind and waves built, (I could have been on a 4.2 at the end). I wish I knew what it was that sometimes makes a rig and board feel perfect and sometimes awful. Harness lines slightly off? Too much/ not enough downhaul? Color of the sail clashes with my suit? This is a question for future exploration and discovery.

Hand Warmers- I put them on the back of my hands in my Glacier Gloves. They seemed to give a hint of warmth as long as I kept my hands above the waterline. Stopping to let a little air into the gloves excited them. I had a good dunking, about halfway through my session, that spelled their end. At least they didn't fall apart like my feet warmer experiment.

Click on pics to see large.

Pic 1, Kiter flying high at Corporation.

Pic 2, Tree serving Bud Light, across from The Chapin Restaurant.

KALMUS, Windsurfed, W,WSW,WNW 10-24, 6.2/Carve 123, Solo

So-so session- Got 1 hour of solid planing on big gear, sailing out by the tip of Great Island. Then I chased gusts and practised light wind stuff for a few hours, closer in to Kalmus. The waves off of Great Island don't usually get very big, but today they were microscopic. Kalmus, looking towards Great Island Safety kit with spare fin Kalmus vs Harding's- I had planned on going to Harding's Beach to catch the west wind but found myself at Kalmus, mostly because it's a shorter drive. Lousy choice. Harding's wind was much steadier and the wind lasted all morning & afternoon according to IWindsurf meters. I think that I'm going to take Kalmus off my list of preferred locations in a straight W. Fin saver- I broke a fin, about a year ago, on the rocks around Great Island, (1 1/2 miles out), so I carried a spare mini-fin this time just in case. This mini-fin is just an old plastic fin that I cut down to fit in my safety kit. See, I'm not really as reckless and crazy as all my neighbors say. Cold Feet- This is big news. I've been using my prolimit booties, with thick neoprene liners, for the last few sessions but my feet have been cold and the booties don't seem completely impervious to the duct taping. So I switched back to my O'Neill 7 mm with my thinner sealskin socks. My feet were a little warmer, I only gave them the warm-water-in-the-cooler-bath once, and the O'Neills are tough enough for taping. I want this day to be remembered in footwear history.

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.

More Deep Hole Pictures

Thanks to Carl T for sending these pictures of the carnage at Deep Hole on Sunday. The top 2 pics are pre-mast-breakage, bottom 2 pics after.

Heading out during a set

Don't Worry, Be Happy

In the washing machine, extra soap

DEEP HOLE & REFUGE HARBOR, windsurfed, W, 15-40, 4.2, 5.2/ RW 85, Solo, Air Temp 35-42

I jinxed myself! This is an email I sent to a friend before I went windsurfing-

"Yeah, I don’t think I would go in without a good drysuit, especially with the west wind at Deep Hole. I figure that I need to be able to stay warm for about a 1/2 hour to an hour in the water if I have a problem and get blown away from the point. Lots of people say they’ve washed up on East Matunuck Beach for one reason or another. It’s probably just a matter of time until that happens to me."

This is what happened, on my second run-

From on top of the rock wall, looking back towards Deep Hole

A wave snapped my mast and I got washed away from the point. I didn't go all the way to East Matunuck Beach. I came ashore in the middle of the rock wall. It wasn't a very user friendly landing but it worked-

The base of the rock wall, nice landing

I got a ride back to the truck from a kayak surfer, Carl, that I had been chatting with in the parking lot before I took my long swim. Thanks for letting me in your new car, saltwater and all, (I sat on a dog blanket)!

After that I didn't want to risk damaging another rig, or anything else, so I packed up and went inside Refuge Harbor. I launched from Camp Cronin Fishing Area, near the lighthouse, and sailed upwind to the edge of a gentle, south-swell break that those-in-the-know call K59. I think it's closer to get there by sailing down from Roger Wheeler Park but I took a wrong turn, ended up at the lighthouse, and decided that I would be different, sail upwind instead of down.

Deep Hole Wave

How did this happen? Mast breakage I mean, besides the fact that I jinxed myself with my prophetic email. I was hit by a big, meaty wave when I was down in the water. I thought that I was outside the break so I was taking my sweet time, resting, thinking about how good it is to be alive, floating in waterstart position. Then this unfriendly wave jacked up, out of nowhere, with my mast's name written all over it. The swim/paddle in took about 30 minutes I guess. I actually made it in to the point, at first, but the current swept me off into the hole before I was shallow enough to get some traction. At least I learned that my drysuit will keep me toasty for a leisurely late-winter swim.

Waves- The waves were the biggest I've seen here for a west wind, (sideshore). The strong south wind overnight, (30-40 mph), and morning high tide created some big sets. Mitch said the buoy reports were 8 to 10 ft. From what I hear, they really died down at Deep Hole as the tide went out, although they stayed big at the lighthouse until dark.




Picture- Unknown surfer
at the lighthouse.

Sunset surfer at Pt. Judith lighthouse

click on pictures to see large.