For those readers from far off places (I am assuming there might be one or two if I am lucky), I wonder if other sailors elsewhere in the world have a similar ritual.
The background: Canada is not known for its tropical nature. Relatively speaking, it gets cold here, damn cold. Generally cold enough that the water vanishes into solid sheets of ice forming an impenetrable barrier between us and our medium. Picture a smoker desperately eyeing a cigarette behind a solid glass window. That is us in the winter.
Generally speaking, most people around here are not willing to battle the extreme colds of the transition seasons, so a standard sailing season for a reasonably dedicated sailor is typically May (earliest), through November (latest). Outside that window, the water is unbearable for most, or the air is just too frigid. This leaves a hideously long off-season, bordering on 6 months or hair-pulling insanity. I imagine if a windsurfer were a smoker wanting to quit, it would be dead easy. We deal with severe withdrawal symptoms every damn year!
Hatteras gets nice and windy in the spring. With all these lost souls in desperation of wind and water, somethings gotta give. Fortunately, it's only about 12-16hrs of driving (depending on roughly where you live up here), rental homes are cheap, and its reasonably warm and windy! A win-win for all. Typically you see more Quebec and Ontario license plates in Avon in late April than NC plates! We INVADE the place, and love it!
That season is almost here... We've got a couple weeks booked in the spring and totally ready to pounce. Cheryl is going to work on her kiting a bit more and hopefully I can get working on some new tricks. Totally stoked! One week in Avon, one week in Rodanthe!
What do others out there do to satiate their winter-time jitters?
Thanks for those great photos last spring Steve! (Steve Slaby, 2010)
