Reef Run!

Life has lots of ups and downs. Luckily for me, they usually end up balancing out positive. For you, however, well.... So let's write a checklist:

Pro: Today was wiiiiiindy
Con: It stayed North, and never went NE, so the south side chest high waves had dead off shore wind all day (not so hot for windsurfing)
Pro: Due North winds are fun out at the reef in the middle of the sound!
Con: The reef is about 5 miles offshore, and nobody has a telephoto lens that big.
Pro: I built a helmet cam with my new waterproof camera, to catch the action!
Con: I forgot that I needed a hood when I tried on the helmet, and there was NO way I could even buckle the chin strap with the hood on...
Pro: I went sailing anyway, without the camera...

So I got some great sailing in, but you get zero pictures to look at! Good for me, not for you...

Stuart (fresh back from a European Vacation), Olaf, and I sailed out to the reef after work today to hit up some soundside "wave" action! I don't go out there nearly enough! That place is so much fun to sail! Today's waves were occasionally stomach high, but mostly knee to waist. That's a bit smaller than I thought it would be, but it's still plenty of ramp for massive jumps when you're lit up on a 4.2!

I'm glad all three of us are pretty competent sailors with good gear- it's a bit sketchy heading that far offshore so close to dark in chilly temps. Didn't help that it was overcast, a bit foggy, and not the best visibility! The island was definitely out of site when we were way outside playing in the swell. There's a few landmarks out there, but not many... If you ever venture out there, make sure you have buddies, and that all your stuff is in good shape! Overdress, too, just in case!

Lots of action out there. I wish I had the helmet cam set up so you could see what I saw! Stuart was sailing like he never left, and Olaf was sending buckets of spray skyward as he slashed the tops off the waves. The waves were lining up great for full roundhouse bottom turn/cutback combos, where you basically end up sailing clew first/switch stance 200 degrees from your original point of sail to crack the lip! Backside airs were also basically at your fingertips, just point it and go! Super fun. Lots of good loops, too, and some major thwack downs to keep me in check.

One of the best parts of sailing out to the reef is coming back home. The natural flow of things usually puts you a good chunk upwind of your original starting point, so the tack home is generally 10-20 degrees off the wind, lit up, through the flats out in the middle of the sound! F A S T. Next time I'm bringing my GPS, and my (modified) helmet cam!

Looks like a day off for wind tomorrow, but there's a ton of swell in the water, so I'll probably have a surf report tomorrow night! See ya out there!