Mo' 5.0!!

Anne and I had a great session this morning, super lit on 5.0. I put the boom cam on to shoot some video, but I didn't strap the camera on tight enough, so the video is kind of shaky and hard to watch. Here are a few image grabs, though, to tide you over:

Look where you want to go!

Pop...

...and slide


Dang-it, time to go to work :(

Sweeeeet, it's still cranking out there!! Gotta go get some more before the sun goes down. See y'all out there!

Oh wait- gotta claim it- last night I nailed a clew first spock 540 and had a few really good slides on my bad side (port)! Stoked!

Energizer Bunny Wind

Mo' SW. It just won't stop blowing! Of course, now that I said that, I probably skunked everyone... Sorry!

So I've sailed the same sail (5.0), same fin (14.5 cm), and same board (Tabou Freestyle 100), for 4 days in a row now. It's amazing how a little consistency can aid progression and boost confidence! Not that I'm pulling off anything crazy new, but I'm comfortable and confident with the random grubby, clew first spock, bad tack vulcan, and flaka attempts... Ahhh, dreaming of summers past, when the Bermuda High stuck around for 5 or 6 weeks straight... How long will it last this summer??

I've been slacking on the pics, but I do have a couple of poor quality images of Stuart that I threw in the photoshop rinse cycle to make 'em a little more visually stimulating. Hope you like 'em!

Stuart is getting his new board dialed in, and sailing like a champ!



Looks like a great weekend forecast. Time to take a Friday off and GET HERE!!

Finally a Bermuda High!

Loving the Bermuda High! We're just a few days in to a nice long stretch of SW winds here on Hatteras. 5.0 for the last 2 afternoons, and more to come. Looks like Wednesday, Thursday, Friday are all going to CRANK, and maybe through the weekend, too! It's a good time to be here, that's for sure!!

Anne and I have been hanging out up at Island Creek with a big batch of Jersey kids who are all amped up on windsurfing! There are a handful of experienced sailors and quite a few newBs, so I'm gonna see how far I can get them this week. This weather setup is perfect for progression, since it's basically like the windsurfing equivalent of that Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day. Moderate winds every morning, gradually building through the afternoon until you're lit up on a 4.5 or 5.0, from the same direction every day... I have no doubt that a few of the newBs will be in the harness and straps ripping by the end of the week! Sweeeeet!

Here are a few pics I took during last night's sunset sesh:


I had a friend on the hood of my truck

He wasn't too keen on the photoshoot, and a millisecond after this shot he leapt at the camera and ferociously attacked me. I'm not gonna lie, I shrieked like a baby! Now I know how the paparazzi feel...

Skip, litsky on a 5.5!

Skip, jibe entry

Anne, 4.7/75 combo

Happy happy!

oooh...

Ahhh... These last two files are big, if you want 'em as a desktop.

Should be a great end to the week down here... Might be a good time to take that long weekend you've been thinking about... There's even talk of holding another Summer Edition of the Hatteras Wave Jam...

Waves have arrived!

Finally a bit of swell in the water! Drew, Stuart, Laura and I had a pretty fun time this morning! Looks like it's going to stick around for a bit, too... And I think we might have some wind on the way... Could be fun!

I took all of these pictures in about 3 minutes:

Drew dropping in

Stuart getting back in front of it

He made it

Happy Stuart!

Drew

Nice, Drew!

Keep an eye on that wind!! It could be a great weekend to make your way out to Hatteras!

Wave Jam!

So, we had some great conditions for the ocean NewBs taking part in the Wave Jam on Friday! Strong, shifty, gusty wind and weird psycho chop. If you can sail that junk, you can sail anything :) hahaha Just Kidding, it was really fun and we all made the most of the conditions out there. I personally had a pretty good time. I was hooting and hollering at everyone, trying to get them to step it up a notch, when I realized that I really haven't learned anything new lately... So I tried my first one handed loops! I'm stoked, as they came around much more controlled than I thought they would...

Anyway, here are a few pictures that I took right when I pulled up to the spot. It was great to see everyone out there, and the energy level seemed pretty high. Fun sailing with everyone, that's for sure! Cheers, to more (and better) conditions the next time we all get out!

George, going up!

Keith ducking, Stuart spocking

The Beach Scene

For more pictures and reporting, check out George's blog Live2Sail!


So I'm sure y'all have seen the Philip Koester video by now... But I'm gonna paste it up here, too, to give everyone an excuse to watch it again. Here's some basic background info: Philip just won the PWA Pozo wave event, at the mighty age of 15 years old! Every little bit of action in this movie occurred during the 11 minute final against Victor Fernandez (reigning 3 time Pozo champ). Pretty much any single one of the jumps he throws would make my lifetime top ten most bad-@ss moments list if I were to throw it, yet he did it all within a whopping 11 minute time span... You get the point. Watch the vid and be inspired to go huge the next time you hit the water!





Looks like there's some swell on the way... Time to wax up the surfboards!!

Surfin' and Sailin'

Lots of fun down here on Hatteras Island... We've had some great beach weather, some waves, and some wind to boot! No complaints! I don't have too many stories to tell, so hopefully you'll enjoy the pics. All shots from the beach taken by Anne! (Thanks!!)

Saturday's surf was glassy and fun, all day long, by all reports. Until, of course, closing time, at which point some SE wind gave the waves some insta-bump... Never fails! Oh well, bumpy waves are more fun than no waves at all!


Long one!

Still going...

Me and Drew

Speaking of Drew, he made an awesome announcement on his blog the other day! I am REALLY excited to check these puppies out! Just in time for hurricane season, too :)

By Sunday, when the wind really kicked up, the waves pretty much completely disappeared. Jim and I sailed at 34 in virtually non-existent surf, but juiced up wind, so it was fun. Here are some clew mount pictures:

Carvin'

Loopin'

Splattin'



Keep an eye on that forecast, folks! Looks like quite a bit of SW is ramping up at the end of this week!! Yeehaw!

Harness Line Length

Here's another short vid to help you size up your harness lines! Hope it helps. Try not to fall asleep.

Harness Line Length from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

Wind is on the way!! Woohooo!!

Have y'all been following the Pozo Competition? Check out the Live Ticker if you get bored :)

Here, there, everywhere!

It's been a fun summer down here on Hatteras Island! We've been surfing, sailing, SUPing... Down in Frisco, Buxton, here in Avon... Dawn sessions, sunset sessions, lunch break sessions... All the sports, all the places, all the time! :)


On Wednesday night, Stuart, Drew and I SUPed at sunset. The waves were alright, knee to chest high and pretty weak but clean. The tide was getting higher and higher, so we were moving closer and closer in toward the beach until we were basically dropping in on the shorebreak... on 10 foot boards... race down the section and kick out, or else! haha... no broken boards or necks so all's well that ends well. But as the sky lit up, pinkish-purple, with teal blue water underneath and reflections all around... Dropping into a wave was a task teeming with distractions. I'll never forget the visions of reflected purple sky morphing into teal blue water as your eye traveled up the contour of the wave... Indescribable really... I should have brought a camera out there... Sorry!


Wendy and Roland have been enjoying their Stand Up Paddleboard, too. They sent in a few pics from down in Frisco last week- Check 'em out! Sweet, thanks for the pictures!





We had a bit of NE wind Thursday. Stu and I sailed a morning sesh on our freestyle gear in side-onshore conditions at the lighthouse. Sheesh, it was fun! I guess we were inspired by all that Lanzarote footage. The freestyle boards plane up instantly, so even though conditions were far from ideal we were able to throw some perfect forward loops on the outbound tack and found the occasional ramp for a back loop attempt. The jumps, coupled with a few decent waves here and there, made for a much better sesh than I thought it was going to be when checking the conditions from the beach. Stoked on that one, for sure!

We went back for more this afternoon. I sailed a 5.0 on the Pocket 80. The waves had kicked up a notch, but the wind was a bit spotty. I was lucky enough to get a few down the line rides and throw a bit of spray, but I didn't have the juice to throw a single jump. I'm really impressed with how early the Pocket planes up, with virtually no sail power. It was kind of weird to see a ramp, and have board speed, but not be able to do anything with it because the sail was running completely on apparent wind and there was no juice to work with. Oh well, those backloops will have to wait until another day...

Tangent Dynamics Reapers!

Low and behold, the Tangent Dynamics weed fins have arrived! I know a lot of you have been waiting for a pretty long time for these puppies... I now have most fin boxes available in the bigger sizes, so give me a call at the shop or shoot me an email and we'll get you hooked up with a new fin!

Keep an eye out for wind on Sunday- It could be worth the trip! And, Pozo is about to start, so keep an eye on the PWA website for details and updates! They did a great job covering Lanzarote, I hope they keep up the good work!

4th Recap, PWA Lanzarote Event

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend! We had our fair share of fun down here in Hatteras, that's for sure! HIB has a bit of a tradition running, hosting a party for the last 7 (or so) years in a row. It's pretty sweet, since the fireworks are right across the street at the Avon Pier. So we had a band playing, the grill was fired up, and everyone had a great time!

Drew's got a big smile on his face for some reason

Some of the crowd

Some of The Band (who were awesome, by the way)!

The Surfing and sailing has been ok for the last few days- nothing epic, but I've had reports of a few hours of wind here or there, and some fun little waves around low tide. Wendy and Roland, and Rob, have all come in with stories of SUP glory and huge smiles on their faces :) You're skunk proof with a SUP, that's for sure!

On to some worldwide sailing news- Gollito and Sarah-Quita just won the PWA Lanzarote Freestyle event! This is such a cool place to have an event... When conditions line up, they've got big ramps on the outbound tack to throw huge jumps, and semi-smooth water inside for the more "traditional" freestyle spinny moves. I think it's a much more interesting, vivid, and radical set up for a competition, where competitors can really go all out and show some of the best stuff windsurfing has to offer (except for actual wavesailing). But whatever, check out the video of the last day of competition and make up your own mind:




Sweet, huh?! Let us know what you think in the poll on the top right!

Threading Your Downhaul Line

How-To:

Properly threading your downhaul line reduces line wear, and, more importantly, keeps people like me from constantly bugging you while you rig. Check out the proper method:

Threading The Downhaul Line from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

"Bueller?... Bueller??... Bueller???... Anyone?... Anyone?..."