Over the course of the drive home, there were some squalls, and the snow totals amounted to about 1" on the roadway. There were cars scattered all over the place, deep in the ditches, having slid across three lanes of traffic. Gimme a break.
Hwy 12
Pea IslandLuckily, the plow drivers don't have to do any work on Pea Island, because Mother Nature takes care of it. A good gale out of the North was blowing sand all over the highway, providing some natural traction. Winter storms in NC... Gimme a break.
Serendipity in the snow and blowWhat did I do when we finally got home? Well, I went windsurfing, of course! It was full on lit up 4.2 weather in the gusts (27-40 mph). I can say with certainty: blowing snow and sleet hurts your face just as much as rain does. It was a bit challenging to deal with the cold weather, stinging snow flakes, gusty winds, and fading light, so I ditched my usual repartee and just went for some speed runs in the semi choppy water. Got the wave kit up to 31.4 mph (27 knots) during a 22 minute, 6.5 mile outing. Gimme a break : )
Canadian Hole, 1/20/09Speed sailing seemed like an appropriate way to spend Inauguration Day, since that was exactly the same way we had spent Election Day. Speaking of speed sailing, there's a guy from the Netherlands, Erik Loots drumming up some interest on the iWindsurf forums. As the Spring edition of the Hatteras Windsurfing Festival series is entering the planning stages, I thought it would be good to poll you on potential topics. Please let your voice be heard by answering the poll in the top right hand corner of the blog! Also, please note that this poll is completely unofficial, and may or may not affect the topic of the Festival Series come Springtime. Gimme a break. : )
8 comments:
maybe I shoulda posted this on bill's blog, but I strongly suggest we do a full festival -- waves, loops, freestyle, and slalom. If the wind is light - say, 13-20, then do slalom. If it's moderate, say, 16-25, do freestyle. If it's windy, then we do waves if the conditions are good and if they aren't then we do freestyle or slalom. Looping should be part of either the freestyle or wave competition, since it is an aspect of those two events.
- stu
ps - I hate sailing back and forth and slalom doesn't interest me that much but I know how much everyone hates freestyle and thinks it's for *$@^& but I'd do it for the good of the whole as long as it was paired with a wave event.
Stu-
gonna get you a shirt that says
"NO BAFFING" ... with a big X across the words.
full festival sounds great. I'll take whatever you guys come up with thought. Its all good
ps. Andy, love the shot of the hole with snow falling
Hey Stu,
Yea, I like the idea of multiple disciplines comprising the Hatteras Windsurfing Festival. Tight short-track figure-8 slalom racing would be fun and really test both the stamina and abilities. Kitty Hawk Sports used to host those years ago at Windmill Pt and they were a lot of fun, especially if it was windy! Perhaps, have the festival comprise Speed, Short-Track (ST) Slalom, Freestyle, and Waves all under one roof.
Another idea being kicked around is a Hatteras Wave Jam modeled after the Wave Jam UK. This could be a more informal year-round event comprising our own Hatteras PWA-style points ladder. At the end of the year, the trophies are awarded for top finishers.
Big question is...who (print mags out there?!) wants to pick up the exclusive coverage since if anything like last year, we had some great Hatteras photo content?!
On the snowflakes in the face tip, the pain really depends on the type of snow you're getting. Sailing in big white "Christmas Card" snowflakes is no problem. On the other side of the spectrum is "ice needles" which are very, very painful. Most of the stuff in the middle is sailable, though once it gets down to the smaller granuals it is indeed like sailing in heavy raindrops...ouch!
Ha! Welcome to NC...land of the we-cant-drive-in-the-snow-but-we-have-to-get-our-milk-and-eggs-before-we-die-of-starvation-stuck-in-our-homes-syndrome. I know...it's embarrasing...but funny.
Windsurfing in Rochester, NY
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22832976@N07/3114150030/
- mike
Stu, George, and Bill- I'm down with the all encompassing festival, too. However, that makes it a little tougher to provide clinics, unless we have specialist instructors devoted to each sub-group. Remember- main point number one of the festival is getting people to push their limits and go places they've never gone... which usually requires a bit of a pep talk to get 'em up and running... Might just be a bit much to do everything at once, unless we get a lot more help on our end...
Haha, Mac! I don't think I'll ever get used to it down here... due mostly to growing up in snow country where it was business as usual until there was 36" of snow... and then everything was only delayed one hour, until it was business as usual again!
Peconic- no two snowflakes are alike, eh?
Mike, you Rochester-ites are CRAZY!
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