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.

Fall Fun!

Ramp 49 Relaxation!

Friday (11/11/11)

Arrived about 1 am driving straight from work.  Sailed the Hole in the morning on powered 4.6.  I tried about 20 loops with little results except a smashed nose on my JP 93 liter board.  I later had a noonish session on a 5.3 but the wind was backing off quickly by then.  The ocean was pretty huge and nasty.

Nice wave, bad position!

Saturday

Ralph came to visit around noon.  We went straight to the Avon pier for some head high SUP action in a fairly strong side off SW breeze.

With the breeze picking up we headed to Ramp 34 and sailed our SUPs at a little cove with two point breaks and a healthy rip inbetween.  You could catch a wave and sail down the line towards the little cove and when the wave ended you were in a friendly calm patch to do your jibe and head out for more.  The wind started geting unreliable so we tried a little paddling in the same spot but the wind picked back up and the waves were pretty elusive.  Ralph treated me to a pizza dinner to wrap up a pretty fun day.

Ralph coming in after a great session

Sunday

Warm and sunny and small surf.  Ralph and I surfed a beach break at Ramp 49.  In the afternoon we surfed Ramp 34 on the east side about a mile north of Avon pier at a little cove/chanel set up.  Chest high smooth rights.  Excellent session!

Monday

SUP sailing at Ramp 27 in the afternoon.

Ralph's perfect breakfast

Tuesday

A warm sunny SW wind came up. We headed to Ramp 34 and launched short boards in a gusty winds.  Too many lulls made it hard to stay upwind.  Eventually we figured we needed our SUPs about the time Bill Bell and Chad showed up.  SUPs turned frustrating gusty conditions into great wave riding in waste to chest high waves.

Wednesday

Ralph packed it up and left earlier than planned with a hurt shoulder.  Not clear on what caused it.

I scoped out sites with Ramp 34 looking good but the wind hadn't built yet. I had a noonish 5.3 session at the hole to warm up for the ocean.  I returned to 34 to find Keith and Chad schlogging after a half hour or so of short boarding in moderate waves.  The wind never returned so I went back to the hole to salvage the day with a nice 5.8 sunset session.

Thursday

Cold north wind blowing in. Packed up and headed out around 10:30 after arranging some work from the builders.

After Irene

Authorities allowed property owners onto the island starting September 10th.  Remember the storm hit around August 28th.  Access was via an emergency ferry from Stumpy Point, a 2  hour ride.  I headed down on September 11th and arrived at the ferry just after sunset.  My ride experience to the island was great. Only an 8 minute wait and then a beautiful ferry ride across Pamlico Sound.  There was a full moon shining off of the undulating water driven by a balmy breeze.

Once on the island I delivered some tools to my neighbor who owns a house in Rodanthe.  After a soda and some chatting I headed down to Avon.  The house looked great. Just a little muddy residue on the concrete.  The interior was perfect.

On Monday I picked up my new SUP from Wind -NC.  It was a free replacement of my broken board.I took it to Avon pier and although choppy in-shore breeze I caught a wave on my first try.  Out the back again I saw a weird patch of water on the outside and realized it was water churning due to a school of fish being agitated.  Not wanting to meet the agitator I took the next wave into the beach and headed to Frisco after visiting Andy and getting some loop tips.  At Frisco I caught one wave paddling but it was choppy and surf was poor.  I put up a sail and had a fun hour sailing back and forth.  Then headed up to Rodanthe near sunset to check out damage.  Visited Rod, who invited me to dinner.

Pretty empty beaches

Tuesday
A pretty fun southside SUP session.  Moderate surf with some fun rides.  Dave joined me to try his first ocean SUP session.  With a huge "lounge" and mostly waist high surf, I thought it would be a good first day.  However when Dave showed up some larger sets started coming in increasing the shore break.  There was also an onshore breeze making the water slightly choppy and making it harder to get out.  Unfortunately Dave didn't make it out.  It was a pretty rough day to start ocean SUPing.  SUPs are pretty hard to handle in shore break.  I recommend getting very deep, holding the board near the nose with it trailing behind you before climbing on.  Then get to your knees and give several strong strokes to get past that impact zone near the shore.

Wednesday
Surfed the cove with a local fellow.  The cove has a really unique wave wrap and from the perspective of standing near the point, the waves go down the beach rather than into it.  Saw a couple dolphins and a big game fish jumping.  That one kind of creeped me out as I wondered what may have been chasing it.  The waves looked beautiful, peeling lefts.  Catching them was much harder tha I thought it would be.  Although some were head high when jacked up, they broke very gently.  I found myself stepping on the tail too early or too agressively to avoid a pearl and then losing the wave.  I finally figured that out and stayed forward on the board longer which resulted in some successful rides.

Driving to the cove

Thursday
Awesome cove surfing and then I saw at the same time: the rising sun, the setting full moon, a water spout, a double rainbow, and dolphins jumping out of the swells!

Heading back home!

Spring Fun

I just finished a quick trip to Hatteras. I spent a couple days with friends in a huge sound-front house and then finished the stay at Relaxation Station after the most recent guests checked out.

I had two days of high wind sailing on the sound during which I took a forward loop lesson from Andy, owner of Wind-NC. I made about 30 attemps in about 90 minutes with two complete rotations. I haven't sailed away from one yet but I'm getting there, and I have the bruises to show it!

The next two days were spent stand up paddling and surf-sailing a stand up paddle board. I got caught inside by a big set in light wind and the photo shows the results. A real bummer to break all that gear but what an awesome session! Read more at my friend's site: http://ncboardrider.blogspot.com/

Update, Starboard will honor my warranty claim for the broken board. The sail was already held together with tape and I intentionally used it only with my paddle board because I figured such a big board could be rough on a sail in the surf.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The family is wrapping up the 2010 beach season with a stay at Relaxation Station.

On Sunday, after a great breakfast at Diamond Shoals restaurant in Buxton, a couple hours were spent regaining the old sea legs Stand Up Paddling (SUP) at Avon pier. There was no wind, small surf and tons of dolphins on the outside. After sunset a beautiful orange full moon came up over the ocean. Just chilly enough tonight for the hot tub to feel really good. Spring and fall are definitely the best time to enjoy a hot tub.

Monday
I grabbed a coffee and caught a small wave SUP morning session in front of the Avon cottages via ramp 38. It was fun driving on a new part of the beach but it is narrow and steep there so definitely not for the inexperienced or less capable 4WDs. In the afternoon I surfed near the old lighthouse. It had clouded up making the sky and glassy smooth ocean merge. I was distracted once buy the perfect reflection of a pelican flying overhead. As a tight formation of dolphins passed close buy, I found myself eye-to-eye with one as it swam on its side beneath the nose of my board. Awesome!

Tuesday
A warm and sunny day. I sailed my SUP in a light side-onshore breeze with just enough surf to keep it interesting. Stopped by Indian Town gallery and chatted with Ann the owner about the latest on beach access. This fall, with the beautiful beaches and lack of crowds it's easy to forget that spring and summer are now very different with miles of beach closures, not only to driving but to pedestrians too. Beach house rentals are way off in the spring with local businesses feeling the crunch too. Fishermen can no longer get to the places they and their fathers fished from so many of them no longer come. The relentless expansion and reach of big brother has to be stopped. Please do what you can, vote, write letters, donate to organizations representing beach goer interests. So spring isn't looking good but it's supposed to be windy tomorrow! I'm looking forward to some high wind ocean action!

Wednesday
A strong north wind filled in this morning. I took a few quick runs at lifeguard beach with huge shore break and no surf. A few hours later I sailed at the old lighthouse beach with a fellow named Sasha. Fully powered 5.8 on my 93 liter board with some friendly waves. I got my first true cutbacks today, clew first heading back up the wave and having the white water kick the board back to the beach. Wow! They felt good!

The family is converging tonight. Three form the north and two via the ferries to and from Ocracoke. We have an obscenely big turkey in the fridge. We wonder if we have big enough pans to handle it. Worst case, we have a meat cleaver!

Thursday (Thanksgiving)
Thankful to have a nice beach house and time to spend Thanksgiving with the family. A few of us went to the south side near Frisco to do some paddling (SUP) and catch some rays on a beautifully warm day. Also kind of thankful that the surf and wind are both low today so it is easier to stay at the house and help with the cooking and cleaning.

Friday (Black)
Hooked up with Bill Bell at Ramp 23 and did some light wind surf sailing until the cold front blew in, straight off shore. A little scary getting back to shore which was straight up wind.

Saturday

Ken caught a 4.6 session at the hole early morning and Dan did a SUP down-winder from the creek in our backyard out to the sound and all the way to Canadian Hole using a strong NW breeze to help his paddling.

Sunday

Another great week on the Outer Banks is ending. It's time to take down the house sign, winterize the house and hit the busy holiday highway. I'm already looking forward to our next visit.

Back at Hatteras



The little guy that inspired our house sign takes refuge behind the sign!



9/10/10
I picked up a new sail and SUP today. I had a nice light wind wave session at Ramp 30 with Keith M. Waist high waves were just the right size for my reentry into wave sailing after a summer with no sailing since June. After the sailing session I headed to the south side to get side off winds and got my new SUP wet. I saw a few dolphins and had a blast surfing the small waves in the warm clear water. A great first day back at Hatteras!
9/11/10
I had a short morning SUP session at ramp 38. High tide with no breaking surf and a light N breeze. I paddled into the wind for a quarter mile or so and then "downwinded" back to my launch.
In the afternoon, I headed south to the airport ramp. I launched amid a fishing tournament spread out along the entire beach and was quickly greeted by a dolphin. After a few failed ride attempts, I finally saw a good break back east where it was a bit too crowded to park because of so many fishermen. Once I got up there I immediately started catching some fun waves. I was joined by James on his 9 foot SUP. James and his wife Teresa were staying at their beach house in Salvo down from their home in Portsmouth, VA. I admitted to James that I wasn't thrilled to see another SUPer because I didn't feel ready to ride in the vicinity of others. But James laughed at my concerns and gave me great encouragement and tips. We even had a couple party waves. My only regret was when out on the water he loaned me his Werner Nitro carbon paddle with a narrow 7 inchish wide blade. I loved it. When he handed back my fiberglass paddle it felt like a rock! Maybe I'll get lucky and break my paddle.
9/12/10
Very rainy. Hello mosquitos! Had a great sunset session at the Hole with Andy, Frisco George and another fellow. Tried fwds about five times. Good progress.
9/13/10
Morning wave session at Avon pier in a north wind with my SUP and a five eight sail. Pretty fun but I cut the session short as I was a bit intimidated by some of the big shore break should I go down inside.
Mid-day and the north wind has filled in! Spent a couple hours at the Hole. Tried about three forwards on my first few runs out (5.8, 93 liter). They are starting to come around!

Looks like Igor's swell will be hitting Hatteras around contest time. Just before sunset I took the SUP to the hole. No one on the water as the wind was a light 6 or 8 knots. I sailed the SUP and tried different mast track positions. The board is awesome on flat water in light winds. So stable yet very turnable. This session brought back memories of my first year sailing in Florida. The magic of being propelled quietly through the water with no roaring motor or exhaust smell is still there!
9/14/10
West breeze SUP session at Avon pier in the morning. Caught a couple and a couple caught me.
Mid day Dave C visited and later Bob Ramsey and Andy from Delaware. They are in the competition.
Around 5:30 headed for Ramp 30 on Andy's advice. Ken and Stuart were there and just launching with a couple other surfers. George M caught up with us. Pretty hard to catch waves at first but it got better. First nose ride, awesome. Saw a shark in close or a reasonable facsimile.

9/15/10

Wave Jam started today. I had a nice SUP session at ramp 30 before the 10 am skippers' meeting. We sailed the ocean near the Hatteras ferry docks. For me all SUP, first with a sail and then paddling the rest of the day.

9/16/10

They held the amateur contest today due to rising surf from Igor and a questionable wind forecast. I was eliminated in the first heat but my heat winners took 1st, 2nd and 3rd so I can blame my early elimination on bad luck on the heat draw.

9/17/10

Very light wind and huge surf. Only one sailor made it out to catch one wave while a few bold SUPers made it out for some exciting 12 foot wave action.

9/18/10

Crazy huge surf. Pro Graham Ezzy even looked pensive as he prepared. Graham and a few more made it out to sail some mast high waves. I caught a light wind sound session and headed home.

A Great Week at Hatteras

June 26th to July 3rd
Ken got his fill of strong warm SW winds the first three days. We brought a trailer (5X8) which works great for Ken's windsurfing. We can drop Ken off at a sailing site, unhitch the trailer and leave him with all his gear and a loaded ice chest. The rest of the family then has the car for other fun stuff.
The trailer is also great to pack a ton of food including prearranged frozen meals (Dream Dinners) so we don't have to go to the grocery store the first thing at Hatteras when it is usually really crowded.

Some of our activites:
The boys and Ken and Sharon kayaked out of the back yard.
Of course Ken sailed on the sound in high winds.
We all had great fish dinners at the Diamond Shoals Restaurant in Buxton.
We went to the Indian Town Gallery art fair in Frisco and picked a few nice things. It's great to meet some of the artists that made the art in our house.
We had a bon fire off of ramp 38 and cooked smores.
Finding the ocean along Avon a little chilly, we drove down to the south side near the airfield and drove on the beach there. The water was warmer and very clear and the waves were much more boogie boardable due to the more gentle beach slope.
Ken rented a stand up paddle board at Wind -NC near Village Video. The two older kids took it out for a few tentative forays in the ocean. On Ken's second day of SUP he got his sea legs and started catching and riding waves. The day after that he sailed the SUP with a windsurfer sail. I think he's hooked.
Lindsey took a surfing lesson, she could get going and could just start to stand before getting dunked. She made great progress for her first time and is looking forward to more water time.
The weather was pretty cool. Hot southerly winds the first half. Then some heavy rain and a tornado in the middle! Then more comfortable northly breezes the rest of the week

Well that should give the general gist of how our week went. Can't wait until next time!