An-ti-ci-pation.....

So yeah, the east coast has turned the corner into spring. The southerlies have been blowing almost daily, and I can’t wait to get out and play in the waves. I’m curious to see what has happened to my favorites breaks down on Assateague. No doubt all of those NorEasters this past winter have reshaped the beach. You can bet the sand bars have certainly shifted. It’s a magical time of the year, filled with excitement and wonder.

I’ve tweaked the gear I requested from RRD, primarily made some changes to my sail quiver. I’m also excited to be getting a SUP. I think there is huge potential in Delaware/Maryland. From the ocean, to Delaware Bay, to the countless lakes and tributaries, Janis and I plan to explore every venue from the perspective an RRD SUP. If you’d like to try one, get in touch with and I’ll hook you up!

How is the shoulder you ask? The shoulder is doing very well. I no longer wake up in pain, and I can feel it growing stronger and more flexible every day. I am not allowed to have a sail in mu hands for about another month, but come April 30th, I’m gonna be chompin at the bit. I’ll probably start with some light SUP work in a few weeks. I envision SUP down-winders from Broadkill to Lewes. I’ll eventually toss a sail onto it, if only to putt around down in Dewey without a harness in light winds to toughen up the hands.

Ahhhhh, the anticipation is huge!

Please allow me to promote my daughters’ volley ball team, the MVSA Wahoo’s. They are dialed, playing well, and gearing up for regionals on April 11th. If they win the Gold, they’re going to Nationals! Go Wahoo’s!!

My daugher is Kristin Markopoulos, she wears number 9. She plays the setting position, and we're so proud of her. Here are some shots from the Northeast Qualifier this past weekend in Baltimore.

Here is Kristin serving:

Setting

This play was kinda funny. The team was out of position, and the mismatch at the net pitted Kristin against someone much taller. Up against the net, height will wins most every time. Great shot though, and great effort!

 

Working in between matches:

Goofing off in between matches:

Focus

Serve-receive

Sharing the Stoke with The Next Generation of Windsurfers - St. Mary's College of Maryland

This is George's wife Janis with a guest post today.

Thanks so much to Adam, Sara and Sam for their time today. I was able to make the 2 1/2 hour trip down to St. Mary's College to donate some gear to the Windsurfing Club from my husband as he prepares for new gear from RRD. We hope they are able to use the gear and that it helps others to love the sport. We look forward to sailing with you guys in the future. Let's keep in touch and have you guys out to our home beach of Assateague for some wave sailing.

Click HERE for a Slide SHOW of all of today pictures from St. Mary's College of Maryland. "Now is a GREAT time to be a windsurfer" (Jason Polakow)

Fueling The Stoke

I’m donating a bunch of my older gear to the sailing club at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Better to let someone else get some use out of it, rather than let it sit in the garage and collect dust. While not in the best shape (some of it may need a repair) there are some gems in there, and the gear would be excellent for anyone that has the desire to learn to sail. I encourage everyone to consider doing the same.

Perhaps we might fan the flames of collegiate stoke, or insprire the next generation of windsurfers.


That’s what live2sail is all about: Fueling the stoke.

And if I may borrow a phrase from my friend Dana Miller, the state of the stoke is high!

on another topic-my daughters volleyball is gearing up for regionals. An invite to nationals goes to the winner of the gold. Talk about stoked!

Kristin is the teams setter:

Intense Rehab

The stitches came out a couple of weeks ago, and I'm now beginning some intense rehab.

I'm hopeful that I'll be doing this:

.....real soon :)

Check out the RRD Stand Up Paddle Boarding product line. The RRD website is updated with the entire range of SUP products out there.

Source: Surfingspots.com

 

RRD standup boards are no-compromise paddle boards, they can all be used with a windsurf rig, making them even more versatile. I'm hoping to have one with me this summer so if you think you'd like to give one a try, get in touch with me and I'll hook you up!

Hawaiin Pro Line Carbon Boom Head Retrofit

During the preheat warm ups of a Hatteras Wave event last fall, I seriously screwed up an attempt at a forward. And don't let them tell you that so long as you hold onto the boom you wont get hurt. The better way to frame it would be "so long as your hands hold onto the boom, AND, your feet hold onto the board", you wont get hurt. On this crash, i bent the hinge on the boom head, and seriously bruised my shoulder.








I also won the award for most spetacular crash during the event.



...but it came at a cost: a destroyed hinge on the boom head.






.





New Boom head on the left, whats left of the old on the right



See that pin, lemme tell you it was a bit&h trying to pull that out. I started by tapping a screw driver wit a hammer to drive the pin thru the hinge. I could do no better than what you see here, about an inch or so. It took brute force to just get it this far.





So i took a hack saw and literally cut thru the plastic hinge, so that the pin eventually simply dropped out. Of course you literally destroy the old boom head, but I saw no other way, and there wasn't much that was salvagable from the old one anyway







I subsequently learned that the trick to getting that pin out of the old style head is to use an electric drill. Once you had the pin pounded out the first inch you could've grabbed onto it with the chuck of the drill. It's much easier to PULL it out than to keep trying to pound/PUSH it out (which tends to bend it and cause binding). So long as the drill is set to rotate in "reverse" the jaws stay locked onto the pin as you pull/rotate the pin out with the drill.



Here is how the boom looks once you've completely removed the boom head



Nice





Brand new retrofited boom, with new 26 inch harness lines to boot, ready to rock and roll!

Kahakuloa, Maui

Traveling along the West Coast of Maui is one of the most scenic drives on the island. Past the Nakelele Blowhole and the Olivine Pools, the one lane road narrows considerably for about 1 ½ miles as it descends the mountain and enters Kahakuloa Village. The large hill in the back ground is the Kahakuloa Head. The trip around this side of the island is something we make every trip just make sure you do it counter clockwise

It Wont Be Long Now

The water is warming up, and my shoulder is healing nicely.

I can't wait.

I Need A Sesh!

I haven’t sailed since the New Years Sesh back in January 2nd. That’s 61 days. My consecutive month streak is also history.

I’m officially jonesin…….

Check out the March Edition of Windsurfer International Magazine by clicking on the icon on the right sidebar of this blog. 

A must read for any sailor.

Delmarva Sunsets

Onshore And Huge At Assateague

Two months off the water now, and all I can do is dream of past sessions, post up reruns. and look forward to returning to the water.

This was an onshore day down in Assateague back in December. I tried and tried to make it out to ride some of those big boys, but it was just too onshore. It was all i could do just to get off the beach.

Oh well, was still tons of fun!