The Stuff Not Forecasted

Friday - Monday the forecasters were correct 0 out of 4 attempts in the wind department.  Well not totally wrong- they did get the general direction.  Friday and Sunday I wind skated while Saturday was epic SW at Belews Lake.  Warm weekend wind means more now than ever since Leah is doing great and Sambo is turning the learning curve into a doing straightaway. 

Sam tried out a 10.5' SUP for the first time and was cruising like it was old hat right off.  A very impressive performance indeed- the transition to sailable SUP from beginner board is not a big deal once you understand using the rails.  My friend Joe came out for a while and we had 3 kits on the lake.  Joe is one of those natural athletes that is good at everything he tries.  It is pretty wonderful sailing with a crew on the lake.  Leah came around 3:30 after Joe headed out and rotated right in as the wind picked up another notch.  I was sitting in a chair trying to replace some fluid and didn't hear her come up.  She jumped out of the car with a big grin and was ready to go!  She has the comfort level to handle pretty much all lake conditions now so the hesitation in gone.  In no time she was planing on the ahd and 4.2 with perma-grin in place.  

I had a problem.  I had been sailing over powered- when the wind picked up another notch I was still on the 7.5 and couldn't rig down since the other kits took the rest of my gear.  This is the good kind of problem though and after maxing the down and out haul I was back at it until sunset.  Everybody got their fill Saturday.  We all had an Italian carb feast on the way home and slept the sleep only possible after an epic day on the water.  I can't wait for more.

Approximate Wind for Saturday in Greensboro

Belews? What blues, I forgot em.

The wonderful warm and windy month of February went out with a bang Monday.  I've sailed 8 times in 2011- all at Belews lake and 7 of 8 in February.  The wind was SW save one NW day.  Monday was the strongest longest lasting SW blast I've ever seen at the lake. 

I sailed from about 10:30 to 11:30 on the 85L stick with a 4.7  I kept out hauling and down hauling but eventually had to admit I was ill prepared for that much power.  I rigged the 4.2 and kept the 4.7 ready to go if needed.  Same story- from 11:30 to 2:30 it was more out hauling and down hauling until I realized I would have been fine with my 3.5!  It wasn't that silky constant Canadian Hole SW wind but for a little inland lake it was as good as it can get.  There was enough swell at the peak of the wind to rap around the west facing point in our cove and crash on my head while I was waist deep.  It kept howling until about 2:30 I guess and it fell off continuously as the edge of the front got close. 

I struggled with arm and hand cramping probably resulting from routine exhaustion, dehydration and wetsuit circulation issues.  I certainly didn't come out of many jibes dry.  One of the most fun ever.  It was a good day tater.

Here is the lake when i rolled up Monday morning.

Recorded weather history at the GBO airport half an hour south of Belews.

I Windsurfed Today

With Sam at Belews.  In wet water.  Not the hard kind.

Windsurfing on the Blacktop. How to and why.

Tis the season again for epic wind in an otherwise windless inland location.  This winter is starting off much like the last with bitter cold and windy days.  Windy but too cold to safely solo sail the warmer water of Belews Lake.  I've got a nice 6mm wetsuit but I still haven't figured out how to prevent face freeze while windsurfing. 

I've been windsurfing on a stateboard a few seasons now and love it.  I'm not going to try to put together an eloquently stated case to sell skate sailing.  If you love having a sail in your hand and hate to see perfectly good wind go to waste it is for you.

A few freestyle tricks and me just carving, backwinding and jibing.

Street Windsurfing Tricks. Year 'Round Stoke from r d moore on Vimeo.

What do you need to start out?
All you need is an old longboard skateboard.  There are lots of types but what you want is a flat board and you want the wheels close to the nose and tail. 

This lets you stand anywhere on the board without it popping up.  My first skate board did not have this setup so I moved the wheels closer to the nose and tail- a short to longboard conversion.  Pretty darn functional too. 

I also prefer bigger wheels > 70mm.  The bigger wheels let you role over any little rocks or debris easily.  I got this 47" pintail for $20 and it is awesome for skate sailing.

How do you make one?
If you have a 1 bolt Chinook base then you need to drill 1 hole big enough for the bolt to fit through right behind the front wheels.  Done.  If you have the 2 bolt Chinook quick connect then you drill 2 holes.  Screw the brass t-nut on the bottom nice & tight and you have your first kit.  You can see where I drilled the hole in the pic above.  If you have some other connection your life gets a little tougher.

Where to get a board and safety gear?
Tons of cheap gear on Craigslist & Play it again sports.  There is lots of field hockey protective gear at my local playit again so I got dirt cheap stuff for my wife and myself.  If you are just jibing figure 8s you won't need the stuff but why risk it.  You only need a small area and you don't want to be setting speed records blasting downwind.  Trust me you can go really fast really quick so keep carving.

For freestyle windsurfing.
Just grab a shortboard which is the most popular type of skateboard so most available.  These boards have the wheels mounted closer to center so you can easily pop up the board.  Again just drill your hole behind one of the wheels and you're set. 

About your sail and boom.
The boom should be one you don't mind scratching.  The sail should be fine.  If you have outdated stuff lying around this is a good use for it.

Where can you windsurf on pavement?
Mostly I street sail in the winter.  I've had good luck at most parks, some schools and a few churches.  You will be amazed how little wind you need but as always pick your spot based on clean access to the direction of the wind.  Here is an example of the park that I used for W wind.  This and a high school is where I took some video at the top of this post.  Note the long parking lot running NNE-SSW.

Andy introduced me to street windsurfing and one of the tips he gave was carry a broom to clear the area of debris.  Also when the land owner sees you are acting responsibly and cleaning up he is less likely to toss you for being there.  Being respectful gets you pretty far.  If this post is helpful to you and you get into skate sailing please let me know!

A little more stoke for a cold weekend. Dolphin surf vid.

I finally got around to editing some video Sam and I shot at Surf City in early November.  Mac posted a great video of some Fall flat water paddling to keep folks charged up the the Winter.  I hope this one will keep spirits up until the next weekend surf happens.

Atlantic Playground- Surfing with Dolphins from r d moore on Vimeo.

You Never Know Who's Watching

Sam headed in to trade the longboard for the SUP and I was busy trying to be at the right place at the right time for some beauties rolling in on the sand bar.  He came back and noticed someone with some dogs taking shots of the action and struck up a conversation with her.  When he paddled out he told me about it and said he wrote the email address in the sand.  She returned Sam's email with some pics and turns out she is a professional photographer from Raleigh.  Here are some pics sent to us from Petra Glorie and her website EuroPhotoGraphics.com  Thanks again Petra, these are beautiful photos.

Note this particular sequence is a right I took to make up some ground against the current.  Lefts were the long fun rides while rights were consistently a test of character...

Could you walk away from these sets?

Sometimes it must be done. Like when you want to keep your wife.  Sunday the wind was slight but on shore then went completely away.  Here is a quick shot I took before heading home Sunday afternoon around 3pm.

But there's always the memories.

New River Inlet SUP Surfing with Sambo from r d moore on Vimeo.