Spocks and Lip Smacks

Ahh killer day on the water! The forecast was for strong NE in the morning, fading as the day progressed. So I woke up early and snagged a moderately powered freestyle session at the Hole, with a bunch of visiting sailors. Smiles all around out there! Good stuff! My personal choice of skipping breakfast bit me in the butt as my energy level quickly faded, but it was still a great session, and I was (eventually) able to get back into the freestyle groove after taking a few nasty spills.

Halfway through my work day, I started to hear the shop's ceiling creak. That's a sure sign of wind well over the 20 knot mark. Moments later, Keith called from the Lighthouse, reporting solid 5.0 conditions and a chest high wave. I, uhhhh, well, I didn't stay at work. Turns out we had a good crew of kids out there, with Keith leading the charge, and Stuart, Bill, Jim K, and myself chasing his tail. Eventually Jay Crawford joined us on his kite, too (BTW, nice cover shot Jay/Lane!!)

My buddy Dan, who had been kiting all morning, gathered enough leftover energy to lift up his camera and snap off a few pictures. Thanks for the shots, Dan!!

Keith generating some serious speed
Keith dropping in
It was tough to keep speed up in the impact zone, due to a pretty strong littoral current and a side/side-on wind direction. Every now and then, though, a nice one would wall up for you and you'd be able to get a turn or two.

I'm heading up
There's a nice section about 50 yards south of the Jetty
Keith up top!
So I'm stoked for a killer day on the water, that supplied multiple venues, disciplines, and challenges. This weekend is the scheduled re-run of the Hatteras Wave Challenge. I'm definitely glad that I got some time in the straps to tune up for the event. Watch out, friends, cause I'm comin ta git cha!