Spent about an hour on the water just tacking, sailing backwinded, and watching a beautiful sunset.
Sunday, Assateague should be fun. Looking forward...
Live2sail
Friday, November 20, 2009
Sunset Training Sesh
Sometimes, its just good to get a sail in your hands. The wind was less than 10 knots, but i was itching to get on the water and work on my transitions. No need to wear a harness, and the water is still very warm. 
Spent about an hour on the water just tacking, sailing backwinded, and watching a beautiful sunset.
Sunday, Assateague should be fun. Looking forward...
Live2sail
Spent about an hour on the water just tacking, sailing backwinded, and watching a beautiful sunset.
Sunday, Assateague should be fun. Looking forward...
Live2sail
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Hatteras Wave Jam 2009 - Reliving The Main Event
The Beast of the East Wave Jam competition is covered in Windsurfer International, 3rd edition, which hit cyberstands today and what awesome coverage we've received! Click the link to check it out. It's amazing.
It was really hard holding back on the photos, but necessary. Links to the photos are now available. Ian, this is the day you've been waiting for! Everyone else too!
Venue: The Bath house south of Frisco
The format was four man heats last 20 minutes each.
Judging was based on the number of waves ridden, number of turns on a wave, wave transitions, aerials ON the wave (proved to be my undoing) as well as wave size.
The wind dropped significantly just as my heat was about to begin, so I pulled out my trusty ole’ light wind board, however I choose to remain with the 5.0.
Kav and Ian checking out the action
Ken with a view to kill for
John Waters drove all night to get here
This was a nice little jump I popped during my heat, but It didn’t score any points because its wasn’t off of a breaking wave, but rather outside swell. And that doesn’t count! Oh well, chalk it up to a learning curve.
Ken, on the other hand, hit this sweet backside aerial. Regardless the fact that wave was perhaps ankle high, it proved to be the difference in the amatuer division contest-thats how critical aireals ON the wave are.
The Man: Keith McCulloch
My best wave of the day
Mac Barnhardt
Judges where perched high above on the dunes. That spot proved to be an excellent vantage point from which to watch the action!
We waved a large towel to indicate the end of a given wave heat. Ironically, it was a "Shark Week" discovery channel towel ;)
I’m telling ya the spot reminded me of the bluff at Hookipa.
There were over 20 sailors present, conditions were not too big, yet not so small, and the day really was extraordinary. It was reminiscent of The Loop-fest Main Event
Coming in after my heat
Hi five from Ken
my shoulder was still hurting
Donald Obst and Mac Barnardt
Ken Kellar with a beautiful turn
.
Jesse Waters
Bill Bell
Donald
Janis and I really enjoyed meeting the Charlotte crew. Mac, Rob, Mark, Alain, Ralph and Donald. Some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.
After party at the Charlotte crew's house on Sunday night. A great time was had by all! Good memories for sure.
Here are the Picasa links to all photos taken by Janis. We apologize for the long, anticipated wait but we wanted to give WI first rights to publish these awesome photos.
LINK 1
LINK 2
LINK 3 - BEAST OF THE EAST!
Have fun reviewing the photos. Pick your top photos and let us know! Janis will prepare a beautiful personal and customized scrapbook just for you. These treasures (as seen in Hatteras Island Boardsports) can be created for anyone interested. Her scrapbooks are heirlooms that you can pass to your children and their children and so on. To see a sample of the awesome scrapbooks she's made for me, click HERE.
IAN - Janis is already working on your scrapbook. Cost is merely materials + a small labor and shipping fee. Anyone else intersted? You won't be disappointed.
It was really hard holding back on the photos, but necessary. Links to the photos are now available. Ian, this is the day you've been waiting for! Everyone else too!
Venue: The Bath house south of Frisco
The format was four man heats last 20 minutes each.
Judging was based on the number of waves ridden, number of turns on a wave, wave transitions, aerials ON the wave (proved to be my undoing) as well as wave size.
The wind dropped significantly just as my heat was about to begin, so I pulled out my trusty ole’ light wind board, however I choose to remain with the 5.0.
Kav and Ian checking out the action
Ken with a view to kill for
John Waters drove all night to get here
This was a nice little jump I popped during my heat, but It didn’t score any points because its wasn’t off of a breaking wave, but rather outside swell. And that doesn’t count! Oh well, chalk it up to a learning curve.
Ken, on the other hand, hit this sweet backside aerial. Regardless the fact that wave was perhaps ankle high, it proved to be the difference in the amatuer division contest-thats how critical aireals ON the wave are.
The Man: Keith McCulloch
My best wave of the day
Mac Barnhardt
Judges where perched high above on the dunes. That spot proved to be an excellent vantage point from which to watch the action!
We waved a large towel to indicate the end of a given wave heat. Ironically, it was a "Shark Week" discovery channel towel ;)
I’m telling ya the spot reminded me of the bluff at Hookipa.
There were over 20 sailors present, conditions were not too big, yet not so small, and the day really was extraordinary. It was reminiscent of The Loop-fest Main Event
Coming in after my heat
Hi five from Ken
my shoulder was still hurting
Donald Obst and Mac Barnardt
Ken Kellar with a beautiful turn
.
Jesse Waters
Bill Bell
Donald
Janis and I really enjoyed meeting the Charlotte crew. Mac, Rob, Mark, Alain, Ralph and Donald. Some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.
After party at the Charlotte crew's house on Sunday night. A great time was had by all! Good memories for sure.
Here are the Picasa links to all photos taken by Janis. We apologize for the long, anticipated wait but we wanted to give WI first rights to publish these awesome photos.
LINK 1
LINK 2
LINK 3 - BEAST OF THE EAST!
Have fun reviewing the photos. Pick your top photos and let us know! Janis will prepare a beautiful personal and customized scrapbook just for you. These treasures (as seen in Hatteras Island Boardsports) can be created for anyone interested. Her scrapbooks are heirlooms that you can pass to your children and their children and so on. To see a sample of the awesome scrapbooks she's made for me, click HERE.
IAN - Janis is already working on your scrapbook. Cost is merely materials + a small labor and shipping fee. Anyone else intersted? You won't be disappointed.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Epic Event At The Zamboni Cave
So recently the stars finally aligned, and we were all able to gather at the Zamboni Cave for gourmet food and libation, good tunes, and great conversation. Janis brought a few of her scrapbooks, she enjoys showing every little detail.
***More on her scrapbooks coming soon***
Blog author and his most amazing wife
I’m blessed to have some great friends, they surprised me with a birthday cake. Every time we visit, its world class treatment. Totally blessed.
Linda Pierce and my wife Janis. Linda, Janis is very fond of you, although I’m personally disappointed you didn’t bring any baked goods ;)
Andy and Linda Pierce.
Kathryn and Linda. So glad to hear you’re finally over that cold Kathryn.
Heather and Lu. Lu was great seeing you again, and a pleasure to meet you too Heather.
Blog auther and Andy Pierce. Andy, you an the Zamboni WILL be learning to wavesail next year.
I found my self quite comfortable in the captains chair.
This is the Andy Peirce suite of the Zamboni cave. I've had the honor of staying here on more than one occasion.
No pictures available of the mysterious Zamboni, he was last scene blasting on the water
***More on her scrapbooks coming soon***
Blog author and his most amazing wife
I’m blessed to have some great friends, they surprised me with a birthday cake. Every time we visit, its world class treatment. Totally blessed.
Linda Pierce and my wife Janis. Linda, Janis is very fond of you, although I’m personally disappointed you didn’t bring any baked goods ;)
Andy and Linda Pierce.
Kathryn and Linda. So glad to hear you’re finally over that cold Kathryn.
Heather and Lu. Lu was great seeing you again, and a pleasure to meet you too Heather.
Blog auther and Andy Pierce. Andy, you an the Zamboni WILL be learning to wavesail next year.
I found my self quite comfortable in the captains chair.
This is the Andy Peirce suite of the Zamboni cave. I've had the honor of staying here on more than one occasion.
No pictures available of the mysterious Zamboni, he was last scene blasting on the water
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Friday The 13th Noreaster-The Damage
The storm definately came at a price. Here in Delaware, we had severe flooding and massive beach erosion. Many of the waterfront homes in Broadkill lost their boardwalks and deck. Assateague looked like a war zone too.
The ocean destroyed the boardwalk, and the fencing along the top of the dunes.
Waves in Assateague on the 14th looked dooable, but there really was zero wind.
Half the time, they were closing out top to bottom, with extreme violence.
Lots of shell was ashore after these big storms
This is photo of the ORV access ramp, closed till Monday the 16th due to flooding.
I can just envision the angry sea, tide higher thans its been in 10 years, crashing over the dunes
The road that runs down the middle of the park was covered in sand, this is perhaps 150-200 yards from the waters edge.
The bath house had to be dug out.
This is a photo of the soundside at Assateague. The water, at low tide mind you, comes all the way up to the road. Ordinarily there is about 500 yards or so of grass and trees
The Mispillion River overflowed into downtown Milford. Looks like a great venue for the kiters ;) sorry Sam, I coudln't resist
The dunes along Broadkill beach took a big hit. Lots of lumber laying around from the destroyed decks and boardwalks.
Here is a link to a slide show of some of the damage down on the Outter Banks-I can't beleive the danage to the dunes at S Turns.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Nor'easter Day Two
Wow, blessed with yet another day of epic conditions.
What a fall this has been!
This storm is simply amazing, its been blow 40+ knots since Wedensday afternoon.
I’ve named her the Friday The 13th Nor’easter of 2009. Yesterday was survival 3.6 sailing. Today was dialed 3.6. I tell ya, what a difference 10 knots makes. Yesterday the wind averaged in the lo to mid 40s. That was manageable, but it was the gusts into the mid 50s+ that made it challenging. Today the wind averaged in the upper 30s, with gusts only into the mid 40s. Perfectly dialed 3.6 conditions. Yehaaa! On top of that, there was no rain today, just the relentless Gales of the Friday the 13th Noreaster!
The wind had a lot more north in it today, so I sailed Broadkill beach. The wind was side on, and the conditions could be described as very ocean like, especially on the outside. Don’t let anyone tell you Broadkill doesn’t have a breaking sandbar, you just have the desire to sail to an outer bar.
I’d say the perfect direction for Broadkill is NNE. Just remember, when the wind goes too onshore in Lewes, Broadkill is the venue. You can find me there every time.
My wife takes such artistic shots. Mac, you coined it best, she IS my secret weapon! The best most supportive wife any man could have.
I sailed out into the middle of the Delaware Bay, and surfed very large breaking waves. One in particular, when it broke, the white water had to have been 4-5 feet high. Quite ocean like.
I saw on the news that one of the offshore buoys just off the mouth of Delaware Bay recorded a 26.7 foot wave during the height of the storm. Wow. I can tell you that some of the stuff I saw out there was definately spawned off of that giant stuff out in the ocean. Oh yeah
I like to hop off my board out in the middle of the maelstrom, and just listen to the wind and the crashing waves, watch the period swell roll under me, and see the spray flying off the top. Its sureal.
Awesome stuff. Andy in your honor, I chucked one today. Man you guys gotta come here some time. My home patch is quite fun! I've got Assateague for some worldclass wavesailing, and the Delaware Bay during a Gale is hands down epic.
Lit
Very ocean like
Throwin some spray
The jumps where unbelievable. Like I said yesterday, jumping in heavy wind is probably as close as I’ll ever get to a weightless environment of space. All you gotta do is pop a little chop hop and you easily go up 10, 15+ feet
and just freakin levitate up there!
Had my fair share of wipe outs. If you aren't getting wet..........
......you're not learning
Look at that shorebreak, that was pretty much a rogue wave, and not very representative of the shorebreak today. Still, you gotta respect it.
Stan launched from the Lewes main beach and sailed up to Broadkill to sail with me. I was going to sail back with him, but my awesome wife called and she was on her way to Broadkill for a photoshoot, so I had to hang around the area. Sorry I didn’t sail back with you Stan, but you know I just had to document the action for live2sail, and posterity.
I did this intentionally, and I'm getting quite good at it. Not quite as high as the one I did yesterday in Lewis. What do you think Stan? So much fun
Jumps on both tacks were epic today
At some point, I was on the beach adjusting my outhaul, Stan had already left to sail back downwind to Lewes (a 20 minute drive by car, but probably a 15 minute sail), and this guy came up to me. He’d heard a report of and orange sail going down, and staying down. I told him that was probably my friend (Stan was flying an orange sail today), so I got a little concerned. Having said that, I also knew that the wind was side on, so the worst that might happen would be a long walk. Plus, Stan is a great sailor, so I wasn’t too concerned. I fired off a text message, and a voice mail asking him to check in when he got back to lewes. Long story short, all turned out well. He did drop in to rest for an extended time, but it was nothing more serious than that. Reflecting back, I was glad that cop (he was in civi’s but had a handgun on his belt) didn’t force me off the water. I sail Broadkill a lot, and I suspect most folks with beachfront property have seen me out there before. So they probably weren’t alarmed to see me out there during the storm, “Ah Mable that’s that boy from Milford, he’s always out there”.
Tomorrow the wind should back down to about 15-20+, and with the surf quite sizable
SAT
N WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 9 TO 12 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF
12 SECONDS.
12 second period will make all the difference, so I plan to head down to Assateague. Definitely wont be mellow-yellow conditions, so I don’t expect to see Grendel, but you never know. I’m challenging him to come out and show me what he’s got.
Party tomorrow night at the Zamboni cave. Stoked, blessed, smile plastered on my face. I want more.........
Live2sail
***update***
Its been so windy, that my truck's alignment came unbalanced. Parking up on the beach over two days of gale force winds, sand had blown inside my wheels, so much had packed up in there that the wheels came out of balance. When i got up to highway speed, the truck starting shaking. I had to have the tires rotated! Lesson, always park your vehicle into the wind, i suppose pointing down wind so the sand also doesn't blow up into the engine, though i guess some sand up in there is inevitable. Just be mindful of the sand.
What a fall this has been!
This storm is simply amazing, its been blow 40+ knots since Wedensday afternoon.
I’ve named her the Friday The 13th Nor’easter of 2009. Yesterday was survival 3.6 sailing. Today was dialed 3.6. I tell ya, what a difference 10 knots makes. Yesterday the wind averaged in the lo to mid 40s. That was manageable, but it was the gusts into the mid 50s+ that made it challenging. Today the wind averaged in the upper 30s, with gusts only into the mid 40s. Perfectly dialed 3.6 conditions. Yehaaa! On top of that, there was no rain today, just the relentless Gales of the Friday the 13th Noreaster!
The wind had a lot more north in it today, so I sailed Broadkill beach. The wind was side on, and the conditions could be described as very ocean like, especially on the outside. Don’t let anyone tell you Broadkill doesn’t have a breaking sandbar, you just have the desire to sail to an outer bar.
I’d say the perfect direction for Broadkill is NNE. Just remember, when the wind goes too onshore in Lewes, Broadkill is the venue. You can find me there every time.
My wife takes such artistic shots. Mac, you coined it best, she IS my secret weapon! The best most supportive wife any man could have.
I sailed out into the middle of the Delaware Bay, and surfed very large breaking waves. One in particular, when it broke, the white water had to have been 4-5 feet high. Quite ocean like.
I saw on the news that one of the offshore buoys just off the mouth of Delaware Bay recorded a 26.7 foot wave during the height of the storm. Wow. I can tell you that some of the stuff I saw out there was definately spawned off of that giant stuff out in the ocean. Oh yeah
I like to hop off my board out in the middle of the maelstrom, and just listen to the wind and the crashing waves, watch the period swell roll under me, and see the spray flying off the top. Its sureal.
Awesome stuff. Andy in your honor, I chucked one today. Man you guys gotta come here some time. My home patch is quite fun! I've got Assateague for some worldclass wavesailing, and the Delaware Bay during a Gale is hands down epic.
Lit
Very ocean like
Throwin some spray
The jumps where unbelievable. Like I said yesterday, jumping in heavy wind is probably as close as I’ll ever get to a weightless environment of space. All you gotta do is pop a little chop hop and you easily go up 10, 15+ feet
and just freakin levitate up there!
Had my fair share of wipe outs. If you aren't getting wet..........
......you're not learning
Look at that shorebreak, that was pretty much a rogue wave, and not very representative of the shorebreak today. Still, you gotta respect it.
Stan launched from the Lewes main beach and sailed up to Broadkill to sail with me. I was going to sail back with him, but my awesome wife called and she was on her way to Broadkill for a photoshoot, so I had to hang around the area. Sorry I didn’t sail back with you Stan, but you know I just had to document the action for live2sail, and posterity.
I did this intentionally, and I'm getting quite good at it. Not quite as high as the one I did yesterday in Lewis. What do you think Stan? So much fun
Jumps on both tacks were epic today
At some point, I was on the beach adjusting my outhaul, Stan had already left to sail back downwind to Lewes (a 20 minute drive by car, but probably a 15 minute sail), and this guy came up to me. He’d heard a report of and orange sail going down, and staying down. I told him that was probably my friend (Stan was flying an orange sail today), so I got a little concerned. Having said that, I also knew that the wind was side on, so the worst that might happen would be a long walk. Plus, Stan is a great sailor, so I wasn’t too concerned. I fired off a text message, and a voice mail asking him to check in when he got back to lewes. Long story short, all turned out well. He did drop in to rest for an extended time, but it was nothing more serious than that. Reflecting back, I was glad that cop (he was in civi’s but had a handgun on his belt) didn’t force me off the water. I sail Broadkill a lot, and I suspect most folks with beachfront property have seen me out there before. So they probably weren’t alarmed to see me out there during the storm, “Ah Mable that’s that boy from Milford, he’s always out there”.
Tomorrow the wind should back down to about 15-20+, and with the surf quite sizable
SAT
N WINDS 15 TO 20 KT. SEAS 9 TO 12 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF
12 SECONDS.
12 second period will make all the difference, so I plan to head down to Assateague. Definitely wont be mellow-yellow conditions, so I don’t expect to see Grendel, but you never know. I’m challenging him to come out and show me what he’s got.
Party tomorrow night at the Zamboni cave. Stoked, blessed, smile plastered on my face. I want more.........
Live2sail
***update***
Its been so windy, that my truck's alignment came unbalanced. Parking up on the beach over two days of gale force winds, sand had blown inside my wheels, so much had packed up in there that the wheels came out of balance. When i got up to highway speed, the truck starting shaking. I had to have the tires rotated! Lesson, always park your vehicle into the wind, i suppose pointing down wind so the sand also doesn't blow up into the engine, though i guess some sand up in there is inevitable. Just be mindful of the sand.
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