Friday, July 4, 2008

Non-Stop Fun!!

It never freaking ends in Cape Hatteras! I'm so tired. I really just need to take a day off from the water, but fun conditions won't stop taunting me... By the way- I've heard a lot of complaining by my Northeast windsurfing brethren about a lack of wind. Get your butts down here! As we speak, another Bermuda high is parking itself out there, so we're due to score massive amounts of SW wind, every afternoon for the next 6 days!! Moving on...

Find the Surfer!
The last few days have provided moderate SW winds every evening, and small but fun waves just about every morning. So, Dawn surf sessions in the light offshore breeze, and evening windsurf or kite sessions to round out your day! Gotta love the multi sport days!

Drew Dropping InAnne, about to tuck into an Insta-Barrel!The view from out backAnne and I took out the Starboard Gemini the other night and blasted around Canadian Hole, dodging little kids swimming in the shorebreak. We felt like celebrities as the sun lowered and the colors came out in the sky. Flashes were popping off left and right from countless people hanging on the beach, grabbing a nice sunset picture for their family vacation photo albums.

Last night, the wind came up, but we decided to switch it up a bit. Instead of windsurfing, we did our first Stand Up Paddleboard downwinder! I'll tell you what, it was Really fun! We had the whole sound to ourselves, except for all the birds and fish trying to get one last snack before nightfall.

Cruising by the million dollar mansionsWe paddled the length of Avon, from Kinnakeet Shores to the little neighborhood back behind the DQ (the Colony). The sun was gone by the time we made it to the canals, so we had to pick our way around the maze to find a good place to land. We ended up finding a brand new dock on an undeveloped lot, about 75 yards from where we live! Perfect! I love living on a small island!

The GraveyardAnne, trying to find her way home
On our way past a couple watching the sunset from their dock, they asked us what the heck we were doing. I replied that I was taking my girlfriend out for a "poor man's sunset cruise." Anne noted that she was most certainly not just along for the ride, as the term cruise usually implies. And yes, she does have the calluses to prove my inadequecy at providing a catered and cushy evening experience!

One last thing: We got the latest edition of the New England Windsurfing Journal yesterday! Seems like many of the East Coast bloggers ditched the screen and keyboard for some good old fashioned paper and ink! George scored the cover shot and a great article inside about sailing Assateague, Michael reported on the Long Island Unofficial East Coast Windsurfing Festival, and I wrote a story about sailing in the Cove right here on Hatteras Island! And, I was happy to read an update from Dana Miller, a sailing buddy of mine who's been on the West coast for way too long!! Starting to really miss ya out here, man! Maybe the lure of Hurricane Swell will reel you back in to the Hatteras lifestyle?

6 comments:

George Markopoulos said...

Hi Andy,
This was a great post. Nice pictures. I love Ann's standup sunset picture. When my knee is better, I'd like to try some SUP.

The rain/clouds up here is a drag for this holiday weekend. The Delware crew sat at Dewey all day yesterday watching / waiting / hoping. Nothing!

Bright side: at least this gives Geoerge a chance to catchup on all the great helmet cam footage from last weekend.

Hope to make it back down soon.

Take care,
Janis Markopoulos

Andy said...

Bummer about getting skunked on wind... But that's exactly where the stand up boards come into play. They make marginal days super fun, and get you in the water instead of on the beach! You will LOVE sup! Grab one of our demos next time you're down!

Waterturtle said...

Andy, Great pics! Speaking of SUP, you guys get any of the Starboard SUPs in yet?

Looks like a hurricane might be in your neck of the woods in about a week.

PeconicPuffin said...

Northeast brethren checking in to complain...

We had A DAY last Thursday...not ocean, mind you, but at least we were fully powered and not on our big boards.

Congrats on the good days! I envy you mightily. Am waiting for a confluence of events to send me OBXward. Fingers are crossed...

George Markopoulos said...

Speaking of hurricanes, depending on the storm track, I'm hoping to come down friday.

Unknown said...

Even further northern brethren checking in.

We sailed damn good wind Thursday in Boston. Not used to sailing in that kind of heat though, it was sweltering on the water.

Small gear in the harbor dodging ferries, cigarette boats and the like - nasty chop for a while but it settled down as the tide approached low. Striper fishing through the rest of the weekend....