Memorial Day

Most of the family made it to OBX. My son is home recovering from knee surgurey and getting ready to graduate from HS.  The oldest is with college friends up in Duck.  The youngest and, my wife spent the weekend but had to get back to work and school. 

Sunday - Had a nice stay at Ramp 49 with the family.  Small surf but beautiful weather.  Saw a whale!

Monday - Just to fight my lonliness after my loved ones departed I surfed today and met a fun group at ramp 38.  Their chief was Phil who runs Kitewise kiting up in CT,   He was teaching some with a trainer kite while others were getting their feet wet trying stand up paddling in warm water and friendly surf.  Saw a pretty big sea turtle that hung out with me for a while. It was a pretty awesome day spent with awesome people . My 2013  beach season has started out great!

Tuesday - Morning SUP sailing in small surf at ramp 30.  IN the afternoon, SUP sailed at Ramp 38.  Not much surf in the choppy side on light breeze but I managed to get a few down-the -line rides.  Paddled a little and caught a couple weak waves, more for a work out than fun due to the chop.  Took a beach walk and saw Rowland and Wendy doing a SUP downwinder.  Rowland's striped board is easy to spot.  I've been thinking about a down-winder and seeing those two convinced me it would be a blast.

Wednesday - I had a sunrise SUP session at Ramp 38.  I had a couple long smooth rights on 4 footish waves.  Paddling out and looking out to sea with the rising sun is tough on the eyes!  I tried out the two "Tire Buddies" I bought yesterday.  They are pre-set deflators for your tires.  They were very accurate but took quite a long time to completely deflate. The rate slows a lot as the set point is approached.  Headed to Ramp 43 in the afternoon.  I paddled my 8'10" SUP in  amoderate breeze.  Pretty fun 3 to 4 foot surf.  Later I rigged a sail and launched in the side off breeze.  Really fun with lots of down the line rides.  Met Butch a senior surfer.  As I was packing Dale Bendula and Keith M showed up with their Sea Lions,  By then the tide had gotten low enough to cause issues at the outer bar.  So 43 appears to be better at higher tides.

Thursday - Caught a quick surf paddle at Ramp 38 in a light southerly breeze.  A couple good rides, should've gotten out earlier to get the lower tide.  38 isn't the best spot typically but it's less than a minute from my driveway.  SUP surfed almost all afternoon at Ramp 43 north end.  Pretty awesome.  Surfed with Butch and a couple surfing families showed up.  While a little crowded it was nice not worrying about fishing lines.  My last wave was shared with two big fish, 4 to 5 feet scurrying ahead of me in the shallow crystal clear water.  Definitely not dolphins.  May have been cobia or "the man in the gray suit".  Whatever, they made it a memorable wave. I dropped off my 8'10" SUP at Fox.  There is a bubble forming on the deck pad.  Could just be glue loosening up but I want to ensure the hull is sound.

2013 at the Beach

Welcome to Relaxation Station.  This is the Station's fifth season.  The house is cleaned and polished and ready for action. Enjoy your stay!

Wave Jam!

Photo Janis M

Friday Sep 7

Left home at 4:15 am to get to Hatteras for windsurfing competition later in the week.

Got to Avon around noon after a great drive.  I hooked up with Ralph who shared his hotel room that night.  Light wind big surf.  Tried SUP near the point.  Junky and choppy.  A big shark scared us off the water.  Casey Ralph and I tried the cove with over head mello surf and a light onshore breeze.  SUP heaven with very long rides from outer break through to the reform.

Saturday.  Strong SW wind and huge surf.  Folks launched south of the Oregon Inlet.  I did not go out due to the meaty waves and weird wind.  Ralph had some great rides but destroyed a sail.  I had a great high wind session at the hole.

Janis photo

Sunday.  Sam Ralph and I had a gloomy rainy surf session at the cove.  Pretty fun on mediium and mello surf (head high) but not quite as magic as the previous session.  High wind and a rising tide got us off the water.  Did some group road surfing after being misdirected by an overly optimistic kid and settled on a sunset session on the sound north of Avon with Ralph and Casey.  Beautiful.

Monday. Great day at Ramp 44 near the pond.  North wind started with Big boards and good surf with long rides.  Wind picked up through the day although surf degraded but still fun.  Lots of people showing up for the event.  Saw a big sea turtle.

Janis Photo

Tuesday. Moderate NE breeze and lots of current. Ralph and I surfed ramp 49 for 4 hours near low tide with a stiff offshore breeze.  Beautiful sunny beach day with waste high surf.

Wednesday. East beach gnarly fun SUP but contest moved to south. Great SUP sail with Casey to the right

Thursday.  Bath House attempt at competition.  Pretty horrible conditions.  Fun SUP paddle session with Rob C down to the right.

Friday. SUP at bath house all day much in gloom and rain.  Late sesh with Randy, Ralph, Casey,(paddling) and Andy (sailing). Rainbows, dolphins, heaven!

Saturday. Ralph and I found a point break bar down at 49.  It had great lefts into a channel.  Rights took you into some very shallow water.  Great rides to the right but scary poundings on the sand if you fell.  Rob C and Mac joined us.  Later went to ramp 43 to watch the pros in a freshening breeze and big ugly on shore wind and surf.  Participated in a short ameteur expression session.  Very exciting with some close callls in the crowded waves.  Supposedly got second but no prize for second! Very fun.  Closing party, played cornhole had nice BBQ and won some raffle-based swag.

Mac caught me looking back at him.

Another backwave shot by Mac (I'm in there)

Ralph catching a beauty (Photo Mac)

Sunday.Mornring surf session with Ralph, Mac and Rob later with Casey.  Some big stuff came through.  A very satisfying session with some dolphins visiting and nice long buttery rides.  Check out with lots of cleaning help from Ralph. Ordered a new board from Andy.  An epic visit. Quick trip home, 378 miles in 6.5 hours! Oh, and I wasn't speeding either!

Just for Fun!

Friday: Sitting in an Idaho airport the day before Hatteras. We'll be starting an actaul Hatteras vacation at my place tomorrow if my flights go well.  It's been two years since my family actually vacationed together at Hatteras.  Irene didn't help matters last fall.  I have been down quite a bit in the winter, spring and fall but that always involves work on the house, of course I always manage to squeeze in some fun too but not with the family. My youngest and her friend were a great help this last spring prepping the house for the rental season.

So this one is just for fun and most of my siblings are coming too! The only work I plan this time is to put up some eye-bolts to hang a hammock for some serious R&R!

Saturday: On the road at 6:30 am with Lindsey driving separately to get Dan at Boy's State.
We had an exciting pit stop due to a leaking tire valve stem on the trailor.  Luckily Jenna heard it hissing and got right to a tir shop.  In and out in under 12 minutes.  I recommend Colonial Tire for NASCAR!

Everyone arrived as scheduled and we had a nice spaghetti dinner.  No beach action due to an afternoon thunderstorm.

Monday: Ken got a quick morning SUP session at ramp 38.  After all had breakfast we all headed over to ramp 38 and spent most of the day there.  Beatiful clear warm water, perfecct!  Ken caught an evening surf session on a windless uncrowded beach.

Monday:

Nice sunrise

And by the way, a couple pics of Jenna riding two weeks ago:

Surfing Monday morning I thought I came upon Blackbeard's remains until I recalled his head was taken to Virginia:

We all spent most of the day together at the bath house near Frisco.  Very mello warm ocean.  Dan tried some ocean sailing without much luck.  God on him for trying.  Lindsey returned from Ocracoke with Lindsay.

As we were checking out the fishing scene at Hatteras the wind really came up.  I had a message from Bill Bell looking for some company at Ramp 30.  I headed out there in the late afternoon to an empty beach with the exception of Bill's truck.  I sailed a 5.3 in overpowered conditions.  Wild chop and chaotic swell with a strange surf break.  Pretty fun but not the best surf-sailing.

Lindsey, Lindsay and Dan went to the movies but a huge thunderstorm ended the show early.  They got a rain check (lightning check?)

Tuesday: The heavy wind clocked north.  Around ten am I sailed at the old lighthouse beach on a well powered 5.8.  Old man Jim was out there ripping it up.  Agian not great surf sailing but awesome big swell on the outside.  I later sailed at the hole.  Lots of sailors, 5.3 then 5.8. 

Wednesday:

Dan and I rented another SUP and surfed down at Ramp 49.  Small friendly waves in offshore breeze.  Dan got some good rides. Lots of shopping and time spent at the Ramp 38 beach, crowded but a nice mellow crowd. Repaired the broken foot wash faucet.  All ate dinner at Diamond Shoals restaurant.  Took some astronomy lessons from Dave on a beautiful clear night.

Thursday:

Dan and Dave were up early for an all-day deep sea fishing adventure.

Ken got his butt kicked during a couple morning surf sessions.  Dead onshore waves with some size.  He saw a sea turtle though!

Friday:

Ken did some road surfing with a trial launch at Ramp 30 . No good.  Met George at Ramp 43, we sailed 5.8s in good wind and bad surf.  Saw a huge sea turtle out there.  Wrapped up with  a couple hours of 4.6 at the Hole.  Got a board 360 from port tack first try but no luck from 20 tries on starboard!

How was your stay?

Please share your thoughts and experiences from your stay at Relaxation Station. If you experienced any issues or dissappointments please share those too and we'll do our best to address them to make your next stay even better!

Spring Break, Spring Cleaning!

Back at Hatteras for a week with my youngest and her good friend to prepare the house for the 2012 rental season.  We'll also try to squeeze in as much fun as we can between chores.  The girls had a couple kayak trips from the back yard after helping unload all our stuff.

Sunday

A nice dry sunny day!  Chores, kayaking, then a trip to the beach.  I paddle surfed in small beach break in an offshore breeze while the girls flew a kite and played on the beach.  As we drove off the beach we were escorted by a pod of dolphins swimming close in. Our new neighbor is building quickly:

I'll try to grab a picture of the construction daily from the kitchen window to show the progress.

Monday

Rainy and windy last night into the morning.  After a sunrise lull the wind kicked in.  Sailed 3.8 at the hole after short runs on a 5.3 and then a 4.6.  Joined by Mark staying on the OBX for a month! and George L who just got a job in Maui!

Back to the house to get some cable TV stuff installed and get working with the girls. 

Tuesday

The neighbor house got its roof framing today.

We headed to the beach before noon for some science fair work and fun.  Jenna marked out a 100 yd stretch of beach and documented the amount and types of trash on the beach.  There was surprisingly little.
I tried some SUP paddling while Jenna was surveying.  No luck though as there was about zero surf other than a modest shore break.  The east side was pretty wild from the last two days of wind.

On the way back from the beach we bought fiudge, I picked up my repaired board (another masterfull job by Donnie Bowers), and Susie bought some great flip flops at Fox. Visited Andy and Anne at the shop with their new baby Katherine.  Congratulations! Back at the house the the girls went for a long kayak trip out to the sound while I did some chores.  We had dinner at Diamond Shoals restaurant.  Not much work done today but pretty fun.

Wednesday

A warm but gloomy day.  We did lots of chores this morning, great work girls.  Hot tub was repaired.  We headed to the beach which was pretty rough and a bit chilly but fun.  Stir fry at home after some hot tubbing and kayaking.

Thursday

A gloomy cold windy day.  Time for .....shopping! We ran the Avon gauntlet of shops and all three of us picked up various souvenirs and gifts for our families. 

Also the Charter cable guy fixed out TV issue and Midgett inspected the house and blessed it for the season.

Friday

Lots of road surfimg on a very windy rainy north wind day.  Finally hooked up with Bill Bell and did a reef run from north of Avon.  We were on a 3.8 and 3.7 and it was pretty wild.  Bill was looping as usual and scored a really high semi-endo loop out at the reef.  The girls hung out at the house all day and were nice enough to clean out the car for our ride home tomorrow.  Good job girls.  Lat in the day the sun came out and the wind stayed up.  I headed to the hole for a sunset session and met Andy and Dale there.  Dale advise I rig a 4.6 and it was spot on.  I tried a few forwards with some moderate success.  Sailed into the sunset and head ed back to a dark parking lot.  Awesome last full day of our visit.

Saturday

Pretty blue-sky morning.  The house is ready.  So much thanks to Jenna and Susie for all their hard work to get the house ready.  We have gusts visiting today.  The 2012 season (fourth year) begins!

February Visit

I drove down Thursday night (2/16) after work.  After ninety minutes of creeping on the DC beltway the rest of the trip was smooth. 

On Friday I worked around the house.  In the afternoon I bought a $120 beach pass for 4-wheeling and stuck it next to my $90 Assateague pass, ughhh!  I rigged up my 5.8 sail for my SUP  on a gloomy NW breeze beach just north of Avon (ramp 34?).  Just before launching the sun broke through and on my first run out I saw a pod of dolphins.  They stayed very near me for my hour-long session.   Nice mellow wave rides mostly 3 or 4 feet with a couple shoulder high sets.  A nice rentry into the Hatteras waters.

Saturday was a sunny light wind day.  I had an am SUP session at ramp 34.  Pretty good sized swell, easy to catch but closeouts mostly.  In the afternoon I launched a SUP with sail at lifeguard beach in an onshore light air.  A few nice rides but I quit early as things were setting up a little too much like when I broke a SUP board and trashed a sail near the lighthouse.  I tried out the south side. Ramp 49 where I saw a whale while driving on the beach.  I surfed knee high beach break in a light offshore breeze.  Nice mellow fun.  Oh by the way all action was in the presence of dolphins.  Quite close at times, got startled once by two six feet to my side.  Supposed to blow tomorrow.  Maybe a surf sailing session?

Well Sunday was gray and rainy all day.  The wind came up but tired after chores all morning, the gloomy cold windy rain did not beckon.  That night the northerly wind picked up to gale force.  The house really rocked!

Hopping at the Hole (photo Andy McKinney)

Me at Canadian Hole (photo Andy McKinney)

Monday the wind continued but the rain stopped.  I launched at the Hole with a 3.8.  Soon I was joined by Andy and Lopi.  What a great session!  Fully powered 3.8 sailing with Lopi and Andy spinning and looping all around me.  I got some shove it tips from Lopi and had a lot of fun doing nose first jumps off of the occasional steep chop. Andy took a couple pics. Check out his Wind-NC link. After the session packed up and headed home via Edenton to see what the place was like.