Bugsy brings wind

The wind came in late. Most of us arrived early. We had a good crew of dreamers waiting around, hoping to pull some magic out of a bad forecast. No wind, a good time to tune the gear The wind gave us teasers all day, keeping us interested. Bugsy, the dog, kept us entertained on the beach during the lulls. Jay pulled out his home made rum and spice beef jerky and we didn't care if there was wind or not, it was that good. Bugsy thought so too. He didn't waste time chewing it. When a stronger wind blessed us with it's company in the late afternoon we were all sooo excited. You'd think 14-18 was the pinnacle of kitesurfing. It did feel good though. I didn't wasting time chewing. I got right down to back roll practise. By the end of the day, we were a happy crew. All it took was a little sun, fog, clouds, more fog, and a dog eating rum and spice beef jerky to bring in the wind. West Dennis Beach, Kitesurfed, SSW, SW, 6-18, 17M Zephyr/ Mad Cow & 6' Surfboard & Flex 138, with Fred, Frank, Andre, Colleen, Paul, Bugsy, Tom, others.

Senseless Kiting

Adam makes it look windy at Coast Guard Beach Gregor and I planned a fantastic 15 mile downwinder from Head of the Meadow to Coast Guard Beach based on the solid NE wind forecast. Stupid us. We got E wind. That makes it an upwinder to start, then a sidewinder. And the wind was light and flukey. But the two of us were too stubborn and lacking in any sense whatsoever to give up on our trip just because the wind was wrong. Why let 1 little detail ruin such great plans? We dropped off the vehicles. We pumped our kites. We struggled to get off the beach in the shorebreak and then didn't have the power to go upwind. We kited, going nowhere. We struggled. We walked. We tried again. We cursed... At 1:00 we gave up and drove over to Mayflower, where the wind was strong, steady, and NE. There was a big crowd and everyone was happy. We were happy too, now that we were acting like we had some tiny shred of sense in our heads. Head of the Meadow, and Mayflower Beach, Kitesurfed, 10-25, E, ENE, NE, 13M Octane/Mako 150 & 6' surfboard, with Gregor, others.

Frankenstein Board

I did a mad scientist experiment with an old windsurfing board. I lopped off its rear end, glassed up the wound and called it a kiteboard, no straps, no fins. Yeah, I knew the lack of fins might be a problem but I wanted to give it a try. No way. It was about as stable as riding a surfboard backwards, and upside down. Alright now I've got to paste some fins on and try it again. After my test pilot runs on Frankenstein board I had a very respectable light wind session on my surfboard. Not enough wind for jumps, but I still had fun working on tacks and jibes. Mayflower, Kitesurfed, NE, ENE, 8-20, 17M Zephyr/ 6' Surfboard, Mostly Solo.

Hello Martha's Vinyard

Unloading a few toys at Katama Bay I knew something was wrong. We had 30 people going to Martha's Vineyard for 3 days of kiting and camping and the forecast was for nearly perfect weather- blue skies, warm temps, windy... For 3 days in a row. It was like reverse Murphy's law. Whatever can go right will, and at the best possible time. So, of course, I'm waiting for something bad to happen to mess it up. Saturday is great! Great weather, secluded barrier beach, kiting inside in flats, outside in waves, or in the tidal inlet. Everyone is completely psyched to be here, pulling off their best crashes right next to the beach in the offshore winds. Nice dinner and bull session around the campfire apres kite. Incoming! Johnny D covers his head to avoid getting a haircut Sunday is great! Repeat of Sat. This is making me nervous. I do some pain free backroll practise in the shallows. Upwinder in the bay, walk over to the oceanside for a downwinder to the inlet, upwinder in the bay back to where I started, good company, so fun. We counted 19 people on and in the truck for the 4 x 4 ride out to the launch. Monday starts great! Then the wind gets flukey. Ahh, now I feel better. I could stop worrying about a natural disaster striking us. Although flukey wind is pretty bad, at least it's a disaster I'm familiar with. We all get some water time to stretch our tired muscles. Note: Click on pics to see full size. I like the way Dunoyer summed up the trip, "those sweeping views of sand, sea and birds will stick with me for at least another year..." I hope so. Thanks to Eric F for bravely leading 30 crazed kiters to a salty canvas waiting to be painted with kite tracks and rooster tails. Martha's Vineyard- Katama Bay, kitesurfed 3 days, 8-28, SW, SSW, 13M Octane/Mako 150 & 6' Surfboard, with Masskiting, others.

Hello Irene

Antoine & Irene in Boston Harbah I was watching live hurricane coverage. The commentator was railing against thrill seekers who go out in the hurricane and get themselves in trouble when they should be staying at home and watching live hurricane coverage. I didn't want to be one of those pesky thrill seekers. Reports were coming in that all beaches were closed, north shore, Cape Cod, R.I. We decided to try P Bay. On my way there I had to stop to clear fallen branches blocking the road. A waiting motorist thanked me as he drove through. I imagined that his wife was going into labor and that my being there allowed him to race her to the hopspital just in time. See, I thought, this is why I'm out. Not to windsurf. To do good. 16 to 60 in less than 60 seconds- We had 7 or 8 hardy do-gooders windsurfing in the bay. The bay was ours, no lifeguards to kick us out. Winds were mostly 30-50, getting increasingly crazy and gusty near the end, which was 12:30 when the environ police arrived. They kicked us out. Jay in the bay On most runs the wind would fluctuate wildly. You could see the gusts, the patches of white water rolling across the bay with mist and pelting rain, but the lulls were just as tiring. I was bouncing around in those conditions like a puppet in the hands of a drunk puppeteer. Overpowered, underpowered, overpowered, just right go for my jibe, overpowered, underpowered, rest. Still it was good fun! My best windsurfing session in the last year or so, numbskull that I am. Oops, I saw this branch fall across the walkway Antoine was the only one crazy enough to do a few runs in Boston Harbor Back at home we had some trees down in the neighborhood. Leaves and twigs were scattered everywhere. There was a brown out/power outage for most of the day which snuffed out my computer. I think I was safer on the water. More pics of Antoine in Boston Harbor. Pleasure Bay, Windsurfed, ESE, SE, 16-60, 3.5M Sail/RealWind85, with Igor, Sean, Dean, Antoine, Scott, Bill, others.

Happy in the Gusts

My last 3 or 4 windsurfing sessions have been kinda frustrating- underpowered, overpowered, chop but not enough for decent jumps, rocks where I don't want them to be, sun that sets when I want it to stay light. I used to think I knew something about finding good sailing conditions and rigging the right gear. Now I'm not getting any love. It must be a conspiracy to sell me more gear. Picture- Everyone was having fun at Ned's. Everyone had bigger sails and boards than me. I was very happy in the gusts. Ned's Point, Windsurfed, SSW, 13-23, 6.2/ Acid94, with others..

Staycation # 9

Ben tubes with style Tubing on the Deerfield River, Charlemont- This was a lot more fun than expected, carefree, funny, enough whitewater to be exciting at times. I actually enjoyed this more than the zipping, go figure. Our 2 day mini-vacation to Western Mass was really nice. These family adventures are the best! It's funny to think back about the stresses of traveling with our kids when they were younger, fighting over car space, who gets which color sippy cup. Now it seems almost too easy and pleasant. Sometimes I have a hard time connecting the present to the past. Are we really the same family? Same life? Or were those busy days of young children just some blurry, frustrating, messy, happy dream?

Staycation # 8

Ben Zips Zip It Up- Barb, Ben and I zip lined at Zoar Outdoor in Charlemont, MA. This was more fun than a barrel of monkeys, but not as much fun as kitesurfing. Doing it with my loved ones tipped the scale towards the zipping, though, and anyway I love to try novel outdoor activites. Zipping wasn't as scary or thrilling as I expected. It was pleasent, scenic. The canopy of trees almost felt like a floor that we could step out onto. We had sturdy harnesses and lines hooked in the whole time so we could lean way out over the platforms without fear of consequences. Seeing a bear cub walking around below one of the zips added some additional novelty and excitement. I wanted to see the bear cub harnessed in and zipping with us but the zip leaders said that was out of the question. We stayed at the Hawk Mountain Lodge at Zoar.

Staycation # 7

Barb and I took on the Charles River with Kayak and SUP. Pretty day, glassy water, not much adreneline needed.

Staycation # 6

Diminshing winds, too small kite, not the best session. I stopped at the Eastham Windmill on my way out. It was built in 1680. It's almost as old as me. First Encounter, Kitesurfed, NW, 10-19, 13M Octane/ Mako 150 & Mako King, Solo.

Staycation # 5

Wind and waves grew nicely. I went from being barely able to keep a kite up, to fully depowered and flying down the waves trying to slow down to do a bottom turn. It's such a good feeling when you're struggling just to get riding and then the wind fills in and suddenly you're dancing through the waves. Nahant, Kitesurfed, SSE, 7-27, 17M Zephyr/Mako King and Mako 150, with Walter.

Staycation # 4

Sandie and I had the W Dennis shallows to ourselves. I couldn't believe it. Maybe everyone thought 10-16 wasn't enough wind to get excited about. It was a fun session for us though. West Dennis, Kitesurfed, SSE, 10-16, 17M Zephyr/Door64 and Flex136, with Sandie.

Staycation # 3

Sailed out from Apponagansett Bay to Cuttyhunk on Walter's 44' boat, anchored, went for a swim, scraped some barnacles off the prop and some skin off our knuckles, took Sergey for a fast dinghy ride around the island. A perfect day for it. Enough wind to cruise but not enough to keep thinking about those other sports that I'm not at all obsessive about. We got back to port around sunset and had a grilled dinner on the boat with the full moon shimmering off the glassy black water. Walter, Carl, Carl's 10 year old Sergey, with Dana joining us for dinner.

Staycation # 2

Slept in the back of my truck overnight in a parking lot in Falmouth, pretty comfy! Some say this is crazy and stupid, acting like a teenager. I say it's good harmless fun and saves $ on campground fees. You decide.

Rode the Shining Sea Bike Path end to end. 20 miles is a perfect length for taking it easy, getting lunch in Woods Hole, exploring some side streets, seeing Nobska light. It's a very nice path, good amenities. The Woods Hole end has the nicest views.

Then I drove back towards Boston, stopped to paddle out to The Sand Spit at the mouth of the North River in Scituate. I immediately bonded with this stunning tidal seascape. Who knew that Scituate was so beautiful! The spit is a 1/2 mile of sand bars and pools that become exposed at low tide, flanked by ocean waves, 3 river outlets, cliffs, miles of tidal marsh and meandering channels. At high tide the waves wash right across the sand bar into the rivers.

Don't think for a minute that I have a 1 track mind but I've gotta come back here to kite in NE! Probably the best way is to boat out from the Driftway boat ramp. And better offseason than in because it draws a big boating and kayaking crowd.

I felt totaly relaxed and happy after 2 days of following my heart and going where the wind and sun took me. For a salt-brain like me, exploring the New England coast is just as good as any exotic travel adventure... I think. Almost as good. At least I can take all my toys.

Staycation # 1

I windsurfed at Wood Neck, (after lifeguard hours), chatting with the local crew, trying to fit in, talking like I'd never heard of kiting. But I was underpowered and I could see kites in the air at Chappy. So I went to Chappy, kited until sunset, chatting with the local crew, trying to fit in, talking like I had never heard of windsurfing. Wood Neck, Windsurfed, SW, 15-20, 6.2M/ RW85, with others. Chappy, Kitesurfed, SW, 10-15, 13M Octane/ Mako 150, with Paul M, others. It was nice to kite with Paul. He stayed in the diminshing winds, put up his Flysurfer 21M, and kept me company into the sunset.