Cape Hatteras is beautiful.

Cape Hatteras is a really neat place. If you are the type for long beaches, lots of waves and not much to do aside from enjoying the good company you came with, or making the most of the slow paced towns along the Cape, then this place is for you.

It just so happens, we are getting lots of wind this time. You never know what you are going to get here. Sometimes you get nothing, but sometimes you get choice wind and maybe even waves all week (or two) long.

Here are a few more photos.

Oh, and the forecast looks good too.

Oops, not a rest day after all.

It picked up this afternoon. 4.7 for 2 hours. However, this dumb ass figured he could get away with shorts and a rash guard. Frozen solid by the end. Thank goodness for the hot tub!

Having a hard time keeping upwind with the new 20cm fin. I don't know how real free-stylers do it.

And another fun little run in the a.m. with B-Rad...

Wind on the way...

Rest day today and yesterday, but good forecast for coming 5 days straight! YEAH! Blister's take more than two days to heal dammit.

Best Session Ever....

One dock start, one tack, one frozen and wet kid, smiling and wanting more...

... and dinner with friends.

Hatteras Day4

Could be a rest day today. I was hoping for another morning session at the slick, but alas, Ma Nature did not produce her magic.

Hands are wrecked, arms are sore... a rest day or two is what the doctor ordered.

The weekend is looking good with potential for evening session on Thursday and Friday.

Hatteras Day3

Got a nice early morning warning from Andy McKinney. Windy, still. Met up at the Buxton slick, and had the good fortune to meet and sail a fun but short freestyle session with Stuart and Andy. What a blast, trading tricks, good times... wish it would have lasted more than an hour!

Thanks to Keith M for snapping one photo of me yesterday at ramp 34, on Bill Bells blog. I think that was the only wave I found, and thankfully he did not snap that shot 1 second later when I miss-timed that top turn.

Hatteras Day2 pt 2&3

Windy, still. I tried to chase down Bill Bell up at Oregon Inlet, but only managed to get north about 1 mile to Ramp 34, where I found a couple of guys (Keith and Jim), and decided to give it a shot there. Tire pressure down to 25psi, I took the Subey out on the beach and rigged up there with the big 4WD trucks in the peltering sand. I couldn't get it right out there. Rigged the 4.4 and 76 and just couldn't keep on a plane (potato chips? extra 15lbs?)... and I couldn't find the waves either. I didn't give it much chance either - it was sapping all my strength. Packed it in, came back to the house and Pt 3:

Sailed another 1hr in the sound, fully lit on the 3.7/105. I am much more a freestlyer than a wave sailor I realize, even though quite the hack at both. I did manage a few nice shove-its, some forwards, a few wymaroo attempts, spocks, flaka trys etc... Fun stuff, and by the end, no one else out whatsoever.

Still kooking it up though... doing lots of dumb things and just not quite comfy with it all. But still loving it!!

Hatteras Day2 pt 1

Windy. Very. Again. Sailed 3.7 with the 105 in the sound. Kookery is prevailing. I can't even seem to tack anymore. Gotta iron out the cobwebs here.

Pt2 on the ocean side to follow. Lets hope there are some tales of nice rides rather than bashing in the shorebreak.

Hatteras Day1

Windy. Very. We pulled into Avon at about 2pm and our house was all ready for us. Ran the bags and family up, and rigged like a madman. It looked to be blowing 25-30kts out on the sound. I rigged a 4.2 and 105L and got blown off the water pretty quick. The 4.2 Guru was nice and forgiving, but not that forgiving. I guess it was 30+. Switched to the 3.7 Guru and Q 76 waveboard. Problematic for my fat ass. I struggled. Very rusty. Best move of the day was a fat flat-water forward right in front of my kids who came down to the water for a peak.

Nice to be sailing again. Lots of wind in the forecast.

Sailed a bit later on a bizarro 3.7/105 combo. That 105 is smooth as. Love it already. And it carves much better than the older version.

Didn't see anyone out there I know yet. I think I caught a glimpse of Amine or Christine a few hundred metres downwind, hope to catch up with them soon!

I'm sore, and the hand blisters have a solid head start. Damn pansy desk-job hands...

Hatteras bound!!

It's been a long winter! I haven't sailed since late November. This is unusual - usually I get away for a trip or two to get my fix, but this year I was flat out of holiday time and dollars. Needless to say I am desperate to get out on the water.

Scott MacDonald photo, 2008.

I'll be staying with my family at 30 Miles Out, behind the Dairy Queen in Avon, on North Albacore. If you are down there and keen to get out for a session together, feel free to drop by. While for some the big island in front of our place can be a pain in the arse, for a freestyler, it is an added bonus because of the nice flat-water it always creates downwind of it.

And joy! I'll be testing out a bunch of new gear. The 2010 Goya X1, 2010 Goya sails and a couple new Aeron V-grip booms!!

Fingers crossed for lots of wind!

Shadowbox Action

The footage from Maui often blows me away and gets me scheming on ways to get the hell out of this office and head there for some waves! The latest video footage is some sweet as action from a recent nuking session at Ho'okipa. Check out this video by Jake Miller, taken about a week ago during an impromptu jump-off. What is extra neat about it is that each rider had a "Shadowbox" GPS unit attached, which not only measures XY geographic positioning, but also elevation. So, the actual heights of the jumps were derived from the record flight path data.

Check out the great jump-off video here, by SnakeBite Films.

Click here for more info on the Shadowbox.