Texas rippage

The Chicago guys are back from Texas, and it seems they had a pretty good time. After all, what's not to love about a two-day cross country road trip that culminates in a week of sun, thermal winds, great food, and a bunch of your buddies shredding in flat water. 

For what I gather there has been some wave riding in the Gulf as well, but that's as far as I know... 

The annual Corpus Christi pilgrimage is becoming a tradition, a way to start the season strong... Will 2015 be my first in Texas? I seriously hope so!

Convoy: they drove all the way from Chicago

Flat water blasting

Rematch at Waverly

This time the wind showed up on time at Waverly. As I got to the beach I saw Corrie on 6.0 and 100 L slalom, so I went 5.2 and 105, not enough... Came back, rigged 6.5 flat, but I needed a little more, so I powered the Ezzy to the max, and that was perfect! About an hour later the 6.5 was becoming a hands full, to I flattened it again, I never stop being surprised by the range of the Ezzys. Anyway, the grand finale was a teeth grinding, holing on for dear life 20 minutes, what I call a "caveman ride", when the rig is too, big, and you know it, but you're so stoked and tired that you (me) don't stop to re-rig... I love those moments, I love riding powered up, just holding on, blasting like a caveman...

Corey ripping in yellow

Quickie at Lowman

There's wind coming up tonight, until tomorrow, at least that's what the forecast says. By this afternoon there was already enough to go out on the longboard and cruise around on the sound, a quick and beautiful session. It's rainy outside now, and that's a good sign, if NOAA gets it right, by 9 AM tomorrow I'll be ripping... Let's just hope!

Puget Sound

Glass half full

The forecast was't technically wrong today. It just was four hours delayed. We got to Waverly expecting 15 to 20 at 2 PM, and it was dead. Greg got out on his long board, later I found out he made out to Sail Sandpoint, and was ably to come back when the wind picked up. We waited, and waited, and waited some more. Then we left. On my way home I stopped at Alki and there it was, 20 mph out of the SSW, steady as a fan. It was late, I was on my way home, but I still went for a quick sesh. Sweet.
So yeah, it wasn't a long sesh, it wasn't what I expected, but it never is, and I scored a sesh when I thought I was coming home empty handed... Glass half full man...
In other news, I saw somebody upwind from me. He was going way out, and ripping back. West Seattle is not the most friendly place for storm riding, and it was getting late, but this dude knew what he was doing. I need to befriend this character!

Nailing that jibe, finally powering through the turn like it's supposed to be

Find Waldo. I've got to find out who the lone rider is!

Coulon Park

The warm days are back in Seattle, and that means no more winter storms. It's time to pack the small gear and and get the big stuff out. Today we hit Coulon Park, in South Lake Washington. The wind was in the single digits, gusting up to low teens, at best, ideal for long boarding. I'm always surprised at the planing capability of the F2. The thing gets on a plane with such little wind! I'm talking about 12 mph stuff, incredible. So all in all it was a great session: sunny, warm, beautiful.
The Chicago crowd is on its way to Corpus. They are driving all the way with loads of gear. I'll post pictures soon.

Coulon Park, with beautiful Mount Rainier in the background*

* I downloaded this pic from the internet, there is no author so I can't give props to anybody

Skunk proofing your gear

Want to skunk proof your gear? Get a long board. You may say: weren't those boards hot when the movie "Back to the future" had just come out? You are right, the pinnacle of long boarding was back in the day. As an example, the board I rode today was made when I was 13 years old, the graphics show a picture of a guy riding, with no harness! (the harness was actually invented in 1974, so I don't know why this dude on my board is riding with no harness, he looks ripped though)

Nevertheless, those boards had a huge advantage in light winds, getting on a plane easy and piercing through chop like nothing. These boards are like torpedoes, meant to shoot on a straight line. But don't expect them to be snappy or lively, they have a turning radius bigger than the USS Theodore Roosevelt. I

n a any case, they will save you from a skunk, they will get you out on the water, and put a smile on your face as you drive back home, watching other drivers get out of your way, afraid that the thing on your roof will fly off and destroy their vehicles. 

Imagine this with a mast track