Kalmus beach

Great week so far here in New England! On Tuesday I crossed Narragansett bay on the Ezzy Zephyr 7.5 and the Goya 105. It was late afternoon (around 6 PM), so I made it to the other side and back as fast as I could. Kind of scary in the middle where the channel is, but fortunately the wind kept me on a plane all the way out and almost all the way back...
Today I had the afternoon off and the forecast read SW 20 mph, so I headed to Kalmus, in Cape Cod. By the time I arrived there were a bunch of windsurfers and kiters on the water, and my buddy Davide was tearing it apart with his freestile extravaganza (in the picture, throwing a vulcan). I rigged the Ezzy wave 5.2 and again, my beloved Goya (all terrain at this pont)... Five hours later I was still smiling as I got out of the water

What a session last Sunday!!! A low pressure system in northern New England generated 20-25 mph WNW wind all day. Larry and Don were heading to Horseneck, so I decided to check it out, if it was too tough, I would just head to the Cape, Chapin looked like a good alternative. When I arrived there the wind looked pretty strong, and after a few changes (and after I broke a boom half a mile from shore) I ended up sailing on an 85 L JP and a 5,2 Ezzy. The rest of the day was just great side-of wind, borderline scary waves and sun... what a day!!!
Special thanks go to my buddy Larry, who let me use his board, his sail and his boom... you can see him ripping in the last pic; and to Steve for the pictures, pure New England windsurfing spirit...

I know I said it before, but I'm going to miss this place...

See you out there!!!
No words...

Guess what happens when you wipe out in this section...

Larry going through the white water...

... and throwing some spray outside the breakwater

Mayflower, Cape Cod - 04/19/09

Surprise session today at Mayflower! The forecast was not promising, but you know how forecast are... Yesterday in the afternoon, it went from 10-15 mph to upper teens - low twenties!!! By the evening I dropped a line on iwindsurf to check if other boardheads were tracking the weather... of course they were, they always are ;)
Outcast and I, showed up early, and launched from Mayflower, a couple of miles east from Chapin. I had a blast with the ramps going out, and the friendly surf on the way in, the signature of the Chapin-Mayflower area.
I know that I said it in previous post, but what a place Cape Cod is... I'm really going to miss it... Kiters and winsurfers adding color to the beach

These guys were cruising around all day!!!

Outcast after a run in the rollers

... and taking advantage of the flat water jibatorium :)

Mayflower and Corporation - Easter 2009

Insane Easter weekend on the Cape. No work for two days in a row and windy...
Igor and I decided to hit Mayflower on Saturday, what a session!!! Totally overpowered on a 6,5, but it was raining, and I decided to keep going instead of rigging down, plus, if you want to catch Igor you better rig big... At the end of the session the wind had picked up and I was too overpowered, time to stop and drive home, as Sunday promised to be even better... Saturday night I had a dream about me playing basketball, and in my dream... I was able to jump...
Sunday started out sunny but as I arrived to Corporation, our meeting point, some clouds were forming above us... I was the first one to arrive, shortly after, Peter Kimball, a local guy of remarcable skill (a.k.a the dude rips!!!) Showed up, and rigged 4,7... Now... 4,7!!!! My smallest stuff is 5,2... Needles is to say that he had 75 liters on his feet, my smallest: 105... After exchanging a few words, he headed to the water and proceeded to kill it. By then, a few more locals had shown up, and even Steve was there, after his back acted up and put him out of commission for two weeks...
So Igor shows up, I was rigging VERY slowly, I thought it was suicidal to go out on so much stuff, so I hoped for the wind to... yes... come down a little bit... Igor gave it a try on 5,3 and 100 or so, and 30 seconds later he was heading back... too much... so I had no chance, I was tired from the day before, and it seemed that the call of the day was one meter and 20 liters less than what I had...
So time for plan B, Chapin... When we got there the tide was low... very low (see picture)... But soon it started filling in and in minutes the thing turned into a green pool, INCREDIBLE for fast runs in that transparent water, totally overpowered on 5,2... but no sweat, wiping out meant falling into waist deep water... As the tide raised, the chop became bigger and bigger, forming amazing ramps that we got tired of hitting at high speed...
Conclusion: It was an awesome weekend. Seeing the locals at Corporation, I got the itch for a smaller board, I would have loved to get out there, but it would have been a bad idea. If I keep going to the ocean, I might need 80 liters or something along those lines... we'll see ;)


Peter Kimball at Corporation

Lone rider

... and going back for more

Igor walking trough the dunes... Can you see him?
Flat water was perfect for kiting too!!!

Horseneck Beach 04/04/09

Big day at Horseneck Beach. It started by my mid-week with a promising forecast of W wind. No one said anything though, but by Friday the expectation was too much, and we were all discussing what was the best launch. After tapping the local knowledge, Igor and I decided to go to Hosdeneck. What I saw that morning was clearly out of my comfort zone... We launched from Gooseberry Island, a tough rocky spot East to the becah. Launching from there would put us in the waves whitout having to go trough the white water, which sounded like a great idea, and so we went for it, I was on my Goya 105 and an Ezzy wave 5.2... What followed was the most memorable session of the season (so far, hahaha)
Horseneck is an amazing spot, full of waves to ride, but so much joy comes with a price: the rocky launch was a death trap if you missed your chance, with white water pushing you towards the rocks, and trashing your gear, and likely your legs... Once out, there was no resting zone, so if you whiped out you had to get back on your feet in seconds, before getting punished by the waves. Once you got caught in the white water, it was a rinsing cycle until you reached the beach... However, if you endured those chellenges, you were priced with logo high walls of clear water, massive air, and runs that will stick in your memory for weeks...
I don't know what is with riding waves that is so hypnotic, and by no means I am an experienced wave rider... But if you want to know, come find me by the ocean on a big day, the answer might be right there, in front of you...
Geting through the white water...














Larry making a tight turn in front of a big rock
Larry again, ripping...
Long run on... flat water?
Igor, fearless as usual...

Fogland some day in March

There were 4 of us on the water that day... This is all I've got... Epic once again...

Test

No wind... Playing with my pictures...
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