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...
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Hardings Beach

Last Sunday we sailed at Hardings beach, on the Cape. It was prety clowdy in the morning, and not that windy. When I got there Steve was ready to go on his 6.2. Close to the beach the wind was mild, but you could see white caps at about 300 meters from the coast. I saw him shloging his way out, and suddenly take off. The wind was N to NW, strange direction for that spot, but it worked perfectly for speed runs. The sky cleared by mid morning, and I was really impressed with the beauty of this place. I'm really going to miss this place when I move to Chicago.
Getting ready for more speed.
My quiver for the day: Goya FXR 105 and Ezzy Wave 6.5.

February 27, 2009

Last Saturday we scored a 5.2 session at Chapin Beach, Cape Cod. I don't know if the pics are that good, if you haven't ben there you'll hace to use your imagination. The place has about 300 meters of flat water, and then some sweet shoulder high swell. By the time I got htere, Steve, Igor and other windsurfers were on the water... "It's perfect" said Steve, as he was comming back to rig his 4 something sail. It was nice to see that with the warmer temps, more people are showing up at the beach.

Face to face - 02/15/09

Igor and I have been putting some hours of mini wave sailing under our belt lately, mostly at Chapin and Corporation. After a great session on Saturday with Steve and local sailors Jerry and Barry, we decided to come back for more on Sunday morning... Today, however, things got a little rougher. The wind was NW at average 20 mph, and there were waves everywhere. OK, other sailors may not call this real waves, but for us there was plenty of wave power... We got rolled over, ass kicked, we swallowed gallons of water and saw our gear stumble and get washed ashore... but a few times we were granted a run in which we could see a swell get bigger, steeper, and turn into a beautiful wave in front of us... face to face... This entry could have had different names: Wave sailing for dummies; trapped inside a laundry machine: survival skills, and others; buy I liked "face to face" the most. It represents how humbling the power of Nature is, and how grateful I am that from time to time, I get to see that face to face...