Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Sandbanks is yummy.

It has been a long time coming, but everything lined up for an epic near-classic Sandbanks day. The directions were not all that perfect, but it just goes to show that Sandbanks has a good lot of variety to it and just being so exposed to the big part of the lake, can deliver challenging conditions and nice waves - you just gotta go to the right spot!

Well, Mac's was the right spot. Could have had a bit more West in it, but that is splitting hairs. It was awesome. The wind ramped up around 2pm to a juicy 30-40kts from the Southwest. It was a mad rig-down frenzy as people rigged smaller and smaller. In the end, I was maxed out on the 3.7, while others were around the same size and smaller, down to 3.2. The waves on the outside got pretty damn large. It was an interesting mixture of messy choppy, interspersed regularly with big meaty mast-high sets coming through, enough to produce beautiful flat jibing areas on the wave faces and between. On the inside, it got interesting. As I said, a bit more angle to it and it would have been a touch more smackable, but it was still awesome. If you were in the right spot, you could get a handful of turns, perhaps sometimes even more. A smaller-than-average Ottawa and Quebec contingent made the trip this time, but all these guys are fun, and solid solid sailors. It was a pleasure to sail the spot with such a good gang, and there was a great vibe all around.

Needless to say, the lack of sailing lately is definitely showing up in my abilities, control and confidence. It was a battle to sail that long (I think I must have sailed at least 4-5 solid hours in the end), but I was dead tired by the end and slept like a log (after barely making a dark, rainy & ugly drive home). To top that off, being juiced on a 3.7 is not exactly my best scenario for trying tricks. I tried a few back loops, a couple pushies and forwards, but I don't think I landed anything but a few out of control shove-its. Near the end in fact, I was so tired I was barely able to make any top-turns without losing grip on the sail.

Amazing. Epic. You name it. Days like this make you realize why we windsurfers endure those long windless spells, just waiting for these amazing days to come along. Epic Sandbanks, strong winds and warm weather: More please!!

... and a great video done by Nic Chapleau!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Not the vacation I was hoping for...

Well, that wraps up 2 weeks of the worst vacation ever, by vacation standards. We were off to Montreal and the Quebec City areas for one week just to do some camping with our family, relax and get outdoors for a while. Well, three days in and Bradley has an awkward fall in a play park and busts his little femur. Poor little guy. Anyway, we spend the next 10 days confined to a hospital in the west end of Quebec City while Bradley enjoys the pleasures of traction. He was casted last Thursday, but unfortunately, things are not set right and he will need to endure some more traction, probably, and get recasted. Thankfully, at least we are back home in Kingston now.

Hatteras in the spring for 2 weeks - hopefully that one will be better. Stoked to get the boys on board.



UPDATE: The doc here in Ktown says the situation ain't so bad. Apparently, about 20% of most femur cast jobs need resetting after a couple of weeks. Next week, they will do another X-ray, and then likely redo the cast at a better angle. Anyway, good news is that there is no delay to his healing and no need for more traction. Time for a case of beer... Parenting is frickin' stressful.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

SUP or Big-Fatty?

Just looking for a few opinions. I've got these wee twin boys you see, who are nearing 3yrs old and I'm keen to get them out on the front of a board with me, here and there when the conditions suit (i.e. light, flat & shallow).

At the moment, I would never invest in a SUP just for myself, BUT, I certainly wouldn't mind playing around with one. The main purpose though is for family sailing. So, is the big wide 200L-ish beginner board the better bet, or a padded SUP? I would think that the beginner wide-style board would offer a lot better ease of introduction of the kids, and anyone else for that matter, to the sport, but the SUP would have that bit of extra bonus for me, and I bet my wife too would take an interest. Both is not an option.

Any thoughts?

The heavy-weight contenders:
In this corner, weighing in at a girthy 13.5kg and standing at a height of 280cm tall and spanning a massive width of 85cm: the big, the bloated, the incredibly stable... "Goya Surf".

AND, in the opposing corner, wearing the stark grey paint job and cushy EVA padding, weighing in at a wee 11.3kg, but dwarfing all who dare oppose him at whopping 345cm in height: the long, the slim, the cruisy... Quatro 11'4" SUP!

Ding ding ding!!