Wave Jam 2009!!

Wave Jam is scoring some super fun conditions!  It's not huge, it's not flat, it's not too much or too little wind.  It's just plain old fun sailing.  We've had two days straight of side/sideon winds in the 5.7-5.0 range, with waves in the waist to shoulder high range.  Basically, Perfect Clinic Conditions!

Friday was NNE so we sailed at Old Lifeguard Beach.  It was a blast.  Very little current, very fun waves, lots of juice for some great jumps and backside/frontside hits.  There were a ton of people out, and the energy level was way high.  Very good stuff.  Janice took A MILLION pictures (actually 1,583).  You can check out the cream of the crop here.

Here's Stuart, on a wave indicative of Friday's conditions

Sailworld hosted a wave sailing clinic on Friday night.  A solid bunch of people came out and listened to me wax poetic about the onshore-wind switch-stance clew-first bottom turn technique.  Luckily they had beer to amuse themselves with.

The Crowd

We ran a bunch of Heats for the "Beast Of The East" Wave Jam competition all day Saturday.  The wind had shifted to the East, so we ended up down at the Bathhouses in Frisco.  It was very similar to Friday's sesh, except the current was stronger, the wind was flukier, and the waves were warblier.  Regardless, it was super fun to head out for your heat and throw down whatever you could with what was available.  Just hanging out on the beach was rad, with all the energy and stoked sailors.  Everyone was looking to push their own personal limits, and the venue provided the perfect arena for wavesailing newbies and experts alike.

I'm sure Janice and George are tirelessly sorting through hundreds of photos as we speak.  Keep an eye on Live to Sail to check out the latest action photography.  Janice is a Superstar behind the lense, and George deserves some serious recognition for all the work he puts into his blog to promote windsurfing.  Go Check It Out!!!

I just want to give a quick thanks to Bill for putting this whole thing together, and a huge thanks to all of the sponsors who helped to make the Hatteras Wave Jam 2009 a massive success!!  Cheers, to a great weekend, and to future installments of the Hatteras Windsurfing Festival Series!!