I Need Surfing Lessons Drew

On Saturday, Janis and I spent the day in Assateague.


Nice swell rolling in, and I tried my best to catch a few waves.



No clue!


I definately need that Lesson Drew. I may be down next weekend, so if the wind doesn't cooperate, I'll be looking for that lesson!

My typcial ride is to paddle like my life depended on it, only to scoot down the wave face, pearl, and thats all she wrote.


Frustrating!



Janis even went out to try an catch a wave!



The Bullpen is where the overnite campers must huddle. Its quite the scene. Lots of good karma. Assateague has approx 16 miles of beach, but only 4 miles are open on account of new Plover nests. The remainder should open by late August.


exploring the dunes


I was able to ride a few, but mostly i blast straight down the face toward the beach. I need to learn to kick the board downwind, err, down the line.






A bermuda high appears to be setting up, so Janis and I are eyeing an OBX trip next weekend. Time to hit it up with my Hatteras friends with another jammer sesh. Can't wait....
live2sail

Happy Belated Fathers' Day

Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads out there


Fathers day late afternoon session at Queen Anne Marina on the Chesapeake


I know it was cranking on the coast. Even Dave came out of the closet to sail. Reports on Monday had the wind anywhere from 4.5 up in Lewes, to 5.0 down in Dewey.

I must admit I thought that after the most excellent wave sailing in Assateague on Thursday, I'd be able to take the day off without too much obsessing. Still wasn't easy, especially after Coyle called, purportedly from a windy beach.

Never the less, I did get out on the Chesapeake, but in much lighter conditions than I would have hoped for.

5.8 and the floaty board

It was mostly transition practice and callus buildup, but still fun!


Pack it up Jack it up!

Assateague Was Firing!

Photos by Kristin Markopoulos and Dave Hartman. Thanks for the great shots!

Today Niko and I scored some great wavesailing in Assateague. Powered 5.0 conditions with unsually little current. Surf was chest to head high, with a few bigger boys to play on! We had a blast! My daughter Kristin and here friend Porchsa where again along for the adventure. They loved driving out onto the beach!

Shot of the day-Niko takes flight, with style


Show time


Plenty of carnage today, mostly my own!

The amazing thing is that everywhere else, it was pouring rain, even lightening up in Milford. All of Maryland was socked in too. But Assateague stayed dry all day. The sun even came out.



There is an air show up in Dover tomorrow

The water was warm and the girls had fun, although they got a bit to comfortable in that shorebreak for my liking.














Crowded spot huh!


Fabulous conditions!






Niko was ripping


Formidable shore break today. Fortunately the current was not much of a factor











Niko making good work of it




I find the overhead carry method most effective in heavy shorebreak. Just walk your stuff out and toss it over the shorepound.
















I like this one


And this one isn't bad either!





I feel blessed!

Thanks for catching this moment Dave!




After the sailing, i took the girls exploring soundside




Great day of sailing the Delmarva. Assateague, my favorite wavesailing spot north of Hatteras.

Broadkill Beach

Well boys, June has been pretty dismal, but if it ended today, my consecutive month streak would go on. I can now say I got my june session on the books. Fun day at Boradkill beach. Kristin and her friend Porscha tagged along. Schools out for the summer! Wohoo!!





We pulled up and found reasonably good 5.8 conditions.


It wasn't anything epic, but its was still great to get out with a sail in my hands again for the first time in a few weeks. When that first puff of wind grabbed me and I slipped my feet into the straps, ahhh it felt sooooo good.




Plenty of tacking practice today.






For the regular visitors to my blog, I now have a twitter feed on the blog. See the upper right margin for the RSS feed. Using my blackberry, I can post real time updates on the conditions of the selected venue for the day. I’ll update as conditions dictate.


Speaking on the venue of the day, the Assateague forecast tomorrow rocks! We’re talking seas 5-6 feet at 9 seconds. Wind in the lo to mid 20s, lo tide is around 10 am. Finally! Niko, I'll see you there. Andy call me if you can make it down.

Chinook Tendon Maintanance

On my recent OBX trip, I spent one morning at Sailworld with my friend Andy McKinney. It hadn't started blowing yet, so we decided to give my extensions a close examination.

Now mind you, I think I take reasonably good care of my stuff. But I had never taken apart my extensions to examine the tendons.



I use the Chinook euro-pin tendon design. I have three of them, and they are all in their 3rd year. Overall the piece is bullet proof. Unfortunately you cant see the part that fails until its too late (2 Miles off shore in an offshore wind). the only part that tends to fail on you is the tendon itself. But the part of the tendon that fails is concealed just below the stainless steel.


Click on these pictures to get the full screen view

The hole you see thru the tendon is where the crew passes thru to attach to the stainless steel pin. This is where the tendon fails. I was shocked to see what i had been sailing on. That crack you see running out from the screw is not normal, and it was only a matter of time before this one failed completely. I was literally one solid crash or dues paying moment away from being in a potentially bad situation. Phew, can't tell you how blessed i felt to have examined mine. Thanks Andy!




In fact, ALL THREE of my tendons where compromised! Fortunately, you can get a replacement tendon for about $10.



Take advantage of those non-windy moments (unfortunately those have been all to frequent as of late) and tend to your gear. More specifically, I highly suggest you take a close look at your universals, and if you use the Chinook tendon, take it apart and examine it closely on a regular basis.

Live2sail.

I Miss Maui