34 and The South Sigh-eeed

Ocean sailing in Hatteras comes with it's perils. It's all sandbars here, so there aren't any well defined channels or safety zones to help you get out. Here's what Stuart and Billy had to face when schlogging their gear out for Monday's Point session:



Thanks to Dan for the pics! And again, major props to these guys for simply stepping off the beach!

On to Tuesday! Ramp 34 had the PERFECT swell height, direction, and tide setup for SUP surfing today. The bigger sets were barely peeling over waaay outside (like 50-75 yards off the beach), then rolling in all the way to the inside bar where they would finally jack up and throw. The moon's pretty full right now, so low tide was a bit lower than usual, allowing the waves to roll all the way in between the bars without petering out. The biggest sets were about shoulder or head high. My SUP gave me enough juice to catch them and work the sections back and forth for what seemed to be about 30 second rides before I would kick out on the inside section. The wind turned on a bit too strong, albeit straight offshore, which kept today off my list of Top 10 SUPing days. Had it been glassy, today would have absolutely been in the #1 spot!!! Here's a chest high set of 4 rolling in from outside:


Luckily, a little wind never stopped me from having some fun! Stuart and I decided to roll on down to Isabel's for an afternoon wavesailing session. 5.7 and 95 liter waveboard, planing 60% of the time. Isabel's was waist to a little overhead in the biggest of sets. A good bit of current. Virtually dead sideshore wind, just a touch off. This session was really surprising, and way more fun than I thought it would be! Among the top of the distractions list: The nearly full moon rose just behind the Hatteras Lighthouse and over the Frisco Pier! It was pretty much right in my face when looking down the line at the wave I was trying to sail... very distracting... Anyway, the pics tell most of the story. I took the pics of Stuart (white/blue sail), he took the pics of me (green Worldsail):

Stu on a long oneI'm diggin' in!A fraction late on the camera duties... Sorry!Making the dropFull Moon's a RisingStu trying to slow downI'm a little late (but I made it, I think?)Stuart noticed a balloon floating by and nabbed it! Adding that to Anne's stash of recent trash pickups makes 12 balloons in 4 days!!! Hooray for valentine's day! Well, maybe they saved the lives of 12 turtles and fishes? Who knows?