Ktown -sailing

drove down to kingston, sailed right in the city 4.6 + 93 litre board.  cold but my new wetsuit works well!  Only a few sailors including jonathan from Ottawa.

Shirley's Bay - Sandy Superstorm

We got the scraps from Superstorm 'Sandy'.  It wasn't epic, but it was a rare north easterly and that meant Shirley's Bay.  With the day off work, I headed down in the morning and rigged up my 4.6.  A few kiters & sailors were out.  Sailors on site: Lisa, Marc, Marcus, Jonathan, Steve,....  Tried out my new patagonia wetsuit (with built in hood) - my first impressions:  super warm but hard to put on.  In fact I think I hurt my shoulder putting it on (if that's even possible).  I noticed right away when I fell in the water that I felt dry - not even close to being cold -soooo comfy!   Had a fun little session, but the waves weren't really lining up for fun stuff.  Took off around noon, but apparently the wind continued during the day.

Sunday morning ride on SMH trails

A cold, drizzly day, not really eager to move off the couch, but I got a call from Lisa and we hit the trails. It's hard to dress for this kind of weather because of the heat/sweat generated during the ride...probably end up getting a cold! I'm hoping for these Almonte riders to show me their new trail in town before the season's out. Got a warning from a fellow rider that the city is giving out tickets for slanted parking on 2nd line. I think the locals are complaining.

SBX - day trip

I hit the road around 7am, and hauled the trailer (still filled with hatteras gear) all the way to Lake O.  Things started looking good by the time I reached west lake...sun was out too.  Parked at the Mac's farm launch and sailed 4.6 / 93L all day - I was often over powered and probably should have rigged the 4.2.  Mounted the gopro and got some video.  Ottawa crowd: Dave, Steve, Bob, Simon?, Danny, Guy, Steeve, ..mtl guys Guy Trudeau..., Kingston... Fish, Toronto - John Vu...others...

clew view

lots of wave ridin!

afternoon ride - SMH

Andrew was in town so I picked him up in the jeep and we hit the trails.  He was dogging it half way through, but I think he was glad to get a ride in.  Met a few fat wheel (surly) bikers - envious.  Weather was nice, bike needs a tune-up sooo bad.

shwveaty undt stinkin

shrooms

crazy shroom patch

OBX - Saturday

Lisa and I headed over to west wind and got our last sailing session of the trip.  The lot of us sailed together and emptied the tank.  My hands were getting pretty sore, so the session was tame side for me.   I think everyone was spent. We packed up all our gear, said our goodbyes (Doug,Miro were staying one more night), and we hit the road.  Made it to Hazelton PA, by midnight and got a room.

Cameron (ok, only pic I took that day)

OBX - Friday

The forecast promised wind for the evening and into Saturday.  I got a chance to go across to the ocean side and catch some waves on the SUP.  It was pretty awesome - I was out with about half a dozen guys and there were tons of rides.  At one point I was down in the water with two guys (Ken and ?) bearing down on me - I ducked under but somebody nailed my rail and took a chunk out (ding-stick to the rescue).  So much fun though!
Miro,Lisa and I went up to the Kitty Hawk Kites store in Rodanthe -just then, the wind picked up.  We booted back home and got out on the water.  Miro and Lisa kited downwind until dark from the kite beach, and Doug, Cam and myself sailed from west wind.  After a hot tub session we retrieved the van from the kite beach and hit Ketch 55.  Service was slow due to a missing chef, but food was awesome.

Cam & Doug

Lisa - sunset session

OBX - Thursday

This day started out windy, and we had our small sails rigged the night before.  My 4.6 banzai / 85 L quatro/ 93 fsw JP was what I ended up sailing the most.  Jim had arranged a gift cert. at Wind NC for $120 from cash that he owed me for some of my gear he sold. I used it to get a clew-view mount for the gopro and got to try it out.  Lisa tried the 4.5 and my old 69l wave board  - she ended up way down wind.  We swapped gear and I ferried it back with a bunch of schlogging tacks.  Lisa and Miro later did a down-winder from a beach further north up the sound - Lisa on 9m kite / 130cm board, Miro on 10.5.  Miro and I were concerned that she might have some trouble getting back, but she got comfortable and sailed back to west wind.

Lisa on 4.5 / me on 4.6 fully lit!

OBX - Wednesday

Light wind day..we went over to the ocean side and played with Miro's 6m trainer kite.  I started to get the hang of it, trying to simulate waterstarting and getting dragged a little.  In the afternoon all of us except Doug went down to the lighthouse to try to surf.  The surf was pretty big and the locals were dominating the best waves.  I grabbed the red soft top board and paddled out with the crowd but only managed to catch one wave.  For reference, I was having trouble getting the board up to speed when I did try to catch the odd wave -  I think I could have used a smaller board and may have had more success if I was bold enough to work my way up the lineup.

playing with the trainer kite on the beach

surfing at Buxton Lighthouse

OBX - Tuesday

A little more wind this day.  Lisa rented some North Sails  (4.5/4.7) (ice).  She was thinking of buying one of them but sailed the 4.7 that day.  I was on the 5.7 and tried the 85 &  93.  Lisa gave the 93 a try too as well as the 85.

OBX - Monday

The launch at the house 'Sound's Fun' was not too appealing.  Luckily, Miro, Doug and his son Cam had rented 'West Wind' up near island creek.  The wind was up so we dropped by to say hi - Doug invited us to leave all our gear / trailer there and use it as a home base.  Sweet!  I think I rigged up some big gear and sailed 6.8 / 102 - Lisa on my 5.7 and her 85 L board.  Miro was kiting on a 14.5 kite.  Later Lisa kited on her 12 cabrinha (she surfed, sailed & kited within a 24 hour period).

Lisa hitting the sound

OBX - sunday

Kicked off a unexpected fall vacation with new friend Lisa Labonté.  We arrived on the outerbanks after spending the night in Richmond VA with her sister.  No wind, but the sun was out and the waves were nice and gentle down at the lighthouse.  I convinced Lisa to paddle out with me on the long boards and we caught a few waves.  She managed to stand up fairly quickly and even got worked through the rinse cycle.  We later got the keys to the cottage, got groceries and settled in - my parents showed up later in the evening.

SUP - Almonte

The beautiful weather (and zero wind) made paddling an easy decision. I almost felt like swimming it was so warm.  I did the usual one hour paddle during Liam's tkd.  Nothing spectacular to report and I didn't see much wildlife today - very quiet.  For fun I set up the camera for a timelapse sequence.

sinking the tail

sinking the nose

Britannia - first fall session

First official sailing session of the fall, and first session with a full wetsuit.  Winds were out of the west with some small ramps - nice sunshine too.  I was hoping to get out on smaller gear but it looked like the 6.8 / 102 jp was the call.  A few regulars out sailing but I suspect a few were at sbx or lake champlain.  Met Lisa from Vamos in Almonte - she was out when I got there on an 85L board and probably scored better wind than what I got at 11am.  Half decent session over all that lasted an hour or two.  I will try to bust out the camera next time if the wind is better.

no need to get a shower before sailing

SUP - Almonte

Saturday - Liam at tkd..time for a paddle.  Warm enough for shorts but not really feeling like swimming now.   Again a quick paddle and a mini yoga session up the river (far from any observers).  I've discovered that 1-legged poses are going to be a problem -they are super hard on the board.
Migration is ongoing with lots of ducks and geese congregating.  I think I see a great blue heron,kingfishers and an osprey every time I go now.
Right wrist pain is barely noticeable but I'm carefully watching my technique.

trying warrior i

40-60kph winds this morning but calm now

SUP - Almonte

Saturday morning paddle -it's getting colder so I didn't feel like swimming. Dad happened to be down at the beach with Gus. Gus is slowly getting back into the water retrieving, but his condition knocked a lot of the puppy out of him. Did a quick paddle with some core exercises (100 bicycle crunches) and some sun salutations, warrior poses and twists. Worked on paddling technique - trying to see if my recent wrist pain is being aggravated by an incorrect grasp. A nw wind made the paddle back pretty gruesome. Many more geese on the river now.

Dad & Gus 

warm when the sun was out

SUP - Almonte

I wasn't expecting to paddle this weekend, but the weather permitted an afternoon outing.  The water level is the highest I've seen all summer.  Not quite warm enough for a swim, but at least I got a few yoga exercises done.  A slight headwind on the way back - paddling is not fun in the wind btw.  I'm also suspicious that a pain in my right wrist is related to paddling...don't remember injuring it.

SUP - Almonte under the stars

When I saw that the weather for the weekend looked lousy I figured I'd get a paddle in tonight...but maybe after dark for a change.  Around 9:30pm I drove down to the beach and conditions were perfect - warm evening, warm water, zero wind and a clear sky (moon still hadn't come up).  It was pretty dark and quiet.  The water mirrors the sky and when you look down, it looks like you're paddling in space.  I could hear some wild life but the most dramatic was the beavers that seemed determined to scare me off with tail-slap warnings (sounds like a cannon ball being dropped in the water).  Sometimes being alone on the water is fine for the introverted types like myself but I kind of wished I had someone to share the experience with.

view from the beach

lots of stars tonight

SUP - Almonte

Just another Wednesday night paddle with super calm water and higher water levels.  Warm enough for a swim too.  I see the local osprey & herons regularly these days.  Very quiet and peaceful tonight - wish I could float out there for a long time but I have to get back to pickup Liam.

Liam on the weekend

SUP - Almonte

late afternoon paddle and a little yoga on the river - nice enough for a swim too.  Cleaned out the garage a little and made a small board rack for the boards

warm day (29C)

SUP - Almonte

Nice warm Saturday morning  - perfect for a quick paddle, dip, and a little yoga.  Brought the gopro along to test test out the forward facing setup.  Also experimented to see just how far forward I can stand on the board while paddling before the nose goes under (further than I expected - enough to submerge the camera too).

took a dip

upward facing dog

headstand

Britannia afternoon

I was one of the first sailors to arrive at Britannia beach and I had high hopes.  Sunny and warm with a sw wind predicted to reach 20knts.  Cute bikini blond showed up and said she'd been sailing for 15 yrs but left her mast at the cottage - she was bummed when she saw I was rigging my 5.7.  (I mention the hottie because that doesn't happen often).  She didn't miss much because the wind was somewhat lousy. Sailed the gusts..the wind veered more west but really didn't  get consistent.  Spent the whole afternoon hanging out and eventually put rigged up my 6.8.  Some more sailors showed up (craig, steve, alex, steve slaby, peter, jon, dave...others) Got planing a lot of times but it only seemed to last for a few minutes.  I should have taken a pic of this one dudes rig - it had more tape on it than  monofilm...at first I thought it was a graphic.  His board was painted sea blue and looked like it came out of the garbage.  I told him next time I come to the beach I'll bring some old sails that he can take.  Met some female triathletes that were swimming the bay and chatted about the sport.  Today I took the trailer because all my stuff was already in it.  Guys are thinking of sbx for friday but I don't think I can swing it.

SUP - Almonte

Wednesday night paddle on the river - not much to report, just a relaxing quick escape from reality (and a quick swim).  I know it's not windsurfing, but I still feel somewhat satisfied after being on the water.  Despite only getting out sailing once this year so far at Britannia, I'm surprised that I'm not in withdrawal as much as I should be - it's got to be due to the paddling.  Still have a bubble over my head with ddd in it.

this is bad board storage - I have to find a better place for it