Saturday, May 31, 2008

Finally! Assateague Delivers!

Epic day of wave riding and jumping today at Assateague, one of the best ever. Sailed a 5.0 downhauled to the max, and rode the 91 ltr. Waves started out kinda small, but the steady strong wind pushed in a decent wind swell, maybe 4-5 foot. Hit the water about 10, and the sailed till about 3.30. The wind was SSW, and steady all day. Basically mostly to partly sunny all day. Storms didn't move in until i was unrigged and on my way up rt 113. It just all lined up for me today, a day I'll be thinking about for a long time.

Fully powered all day. Thanks to my awesome wife for sitting on the beach taking these great shots. She got sand blasted all day, and I love her to death for enduring the punishment, all in the name of a good shot!. Ken, wish you could of been here to share this day. It was THE day we've been waiting for.

Hit jumps like this ALL day!







Big 'ol mean ass lip. As the tide came in, the waves got much bigger.

Same shot, wide view:






Windy!


Glad you came down today James. Was an amazing day. Like all epic days you share with friends, this is one we'll be talking about for a long time!


Cool shot. Identical 5.0 sails. James behind, me in front.







Happy sailors:



I tried to be aggressive today. I hit this wave late, but muscled it through:







We met this guy named Niko. We're amazed we've never met before, especially since he lives about 5 minutes from us. Niko rips! Dude, I'll email you the photos and I really enjoyed sailing with you today.

Beautiful hit:





I wonder if he knew his boom was on upside down?

I dont think it affected his sailing.







In between sessions:



Tacking on the inside to maintain my position. Current was pretty strong but the strong wind mitigated it's effect.


I like this one of James:


James again:



and again:









Charging:











ah.... yeah!



I'm so ready to go forward.



Here is some of the video action:


And some shots in this slide show:













Pulled from my go pro helmet cam:



Without a doubt my best session ever at Assateague
























Tacking again. I find my self tacking more than gybing on the inside. The exception being when i want to hit ramps at full speed on the way back out:


Dropping in on a small one:


Josh, it was great to meet you too. Send your contact info, and stay in touch. We'll hit it hard again next time!

I just love this sport and I can't wait to get back out there! I'm more fired up, more passionate, and more addicted to this sport than I've ever been. And thats saying alot.

Two weeks from today Ken and I will be in Hatteras to participate in the Hatteras Loopfest. Its time to rotate (and not bail out) !


Tomorrow's Chesapeake Bay forecast is calling for continued SW, so I'll shoot for a Kent Island afternoon session. Probable venue will be Kent Moore Harbor.
Live2sail.