A quick last surf and bumping into Andy Brandt

Thursday was the first day out of 11 where there wasn’t any wind at all. So after a quiet morning Jen and I headed to the Ferry terminal to see about going to Okracoke. But there was a 3 hour wait. So we headed back and stopped to check out the waves in Frisco.

Yes, that is Andy Brandt!

I had packed the surfboards and wetsuits and got myself ready to go surfing. There in the parking lot was super inspiring windsurf instructor Andy Brandt of ABK Boardsports! We chatted about kids and life and I shared my excitement for Jen getting foiling.

Catching a wave

Thanks Jen for the photos

I surfed the small and inconsistent waves for around 30 minutes and caught only 2 waves. But Jen managed to get photos!

We headed to Pop’s seafood for another yummy meal and $3 Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Good food

Cheap beer

Pop’s Raw Bar

Later I helped Christophe surf at the pier.

The pier is closed now

Christophe caught a wave and I got a photo of it! 

A quick hot tub and it was off to Pangea for a great dinner.

Pangea with the sharks on the ceiling and a map of the world

Friday we awoke to a glassy sound. Jen and I went for a run. 

No wind this day

Our run/walk

Our evening beach walk

I cleaned up the trailer and put more stickers on it. I kept the foil and one sail rigged till 7pm and finally conceded that the wind was gone. 

When leftovers are this good, just call it dinner!

Everyone headed to bed early anticipating the long drive home in the morning. A great end to two great weeks in two huge houses with two wonderful groups of people.

Last morning session in Hatteras?

Fun to have a visit from our HIHO friend Bob in Cape Hatteras!

As predicted, the wind was dropping off. I had a yummy apple pastry and coffee and did a quick stretch. I put on my 4/3 wetsuit which was nice and dry as the 5/4 and 3/2 were still wet from yesterday. It was sunny and cold and I wasn't prepared for how chilly the water had become.

I put the 5.6 Idol on the Stingray 140 with the 99cm wing. I managed to windfoil for a full hour only falling in to my waist once. Even so, my fingers were freezing. I got one duck jibe on the foil which was rewarding. Certainly easier on the Idol which is flat when depowered than on a sail with cams like my old V6.

A satisfying GPS trail in the gusty and cold north wind.

A lot of good windfoil jibes in that session!

I went in and offered the Stingray 140 and 99cm foil to Kurt who found it much easier to use while learning to wing. I went in and pumped up my 6.0 Echo wing and put on some gloves.

My first few wing runs and jibe attempts were a disaster. I certainly got wet. So different from last evening. Eventually I got my rhythm and started completing jibes and doing some toe-side riding. The wind was shifting more to the NE and dropping with just the occaisional gust. 

Not many jibes completed in the first 1/3 of the wingfoil session

It was time to hit the hot tub and check my phone. HIHO buddy Bob was on route to our place with a truck full of gear but was fully aware that the wind was dropping. We had fun chatting and catching up and we wound up going for a nice seafood lunch.

Dinner was a scrumptious steamed seafood medley.

No wind expected tomorrow. Maybe Friday?

Jen riding high on the foil!

Jen’s first sustained windfoiling run!

We woke up to a sunny windy morning with the house buzzing with windsurfers and kiters getting their gear ready.

I went out for an hour long session on the 4.8 Idol and Freewave 116. After a huge long run that put me downwind a fair bit, I added some downhaul and got more dialed in and made upwind ground again. I was quite comfortable despite the much colder temperatures, this day wearing my 5/4 wetsuit which is my 2nd thickest.

That first run was a bit far downwind

Each run was around 2.5 km long.

Jen got into her 2 mil wetsuit and I rigged the 4.7 on the 140 Stingray with the 99cm foil and 24 inch mast. While it was clearly cold for her, she did several runs. She got up half a dozen times for extended flying runs on the foil! I was videoing and cheering - so cool to see how much control she has doing this completely new sport. I put a little video together!

Jennifer Spiess on Vimeo

Happy she got it?

Jen showing the housemates how she was foiling!

I took the gear Jen had been on and had a decent windfoil session myself. Andree from TWC / Solosports came by the house and went out on her wing. We checked out the waves upwind and south of the house. I had some fun doing duck tacks and downwind 360s during lulls. My carve 360 attempts were laughable. After I was done, Christophe had a great session on the 140 Stingray and 99cm foil. It is definitely a good combination for learning to foil.

My windfoil session had a few good jibes

After a few good scheduled charity, family and friend zoom calls / emails I headed out again. This was session #3 and I was on the 6m Echo wing and the Stingray 140 with the 99cm foil. It was an awesome sunset hour. I was linking more turns than I ever have. I did a lot of switchstance riding. And the best was that I did a duck? jibe. I’d told Steve that I was doing them, but I think I remember just doing it in the winter. I tried a few and figured it was impossible, until I got one! 

 Linking jibes and drawing "SSS"s is fun!

55 km covering 3 different wind toys

Wingfoiling for the win of my 3 sports today. But the real winner was Jen! Seriously, later in the evening we watched the videos of her foiling on the big screen while waiting for dinner. There was huge respect for her skill and determination taking on a new and challenging sport.

There might be a bit of wind left in the morning, let’s see.

Quick rainy session

After a stormy night we woke up to rain. Most of the day was spent on email and computers and doing some dinner shopping and preparation. 

Around 5pm Christophe and I headed out. I was on the 5.6 Idol with the Skate 108 which was a good choice. It was so warm I chose an old 3/2 short sleeved wetsuit. 

Christophe heading out in the rain

The wind was quite gusty and I headed in after 30 minutes thinking that there was another huge rain cell coming. Christophe was smarter and caught some more runs and then the wind actually dropped off for a bit. It was interesting to see just how much the wind clocked even during my time on the water.

Good GPS trails

46.7 km/h top speed

I made all 5 of my carving 360s which was fun. One pathetic Vulcan attempt and 0/2 duck tack attempts. A decent session and the hot tub felt good after windsurfing in the drizzle. Pasta dinner was a success and paired nicely with the Snoop Dog wine and good conversation!

Tomorrow looks like the best day for the rest of the week…

 

And on the 7th day - Waves!

Didn't expect to be trying real wavesailing later in the day...

After 6/6 days of windsurfing in Hatteras, we skipped Saturday to take Phillip back to the Raleigh Airport which is a 4 hour drive each way. Then it was time Sunday morning to change houses. We moved from the Soundhounds' Cayman Sunset to the Twin Tip house 3 doors south.

Gear by the old house

Moving the gear to the new blue house

It was a strong NE wind when I started my late morning Easter Sunday session. I was a bit distracted and didn't really get the 6.2 or 5.6 under control on the Skate 108. I then tried the 4.8 on the Stingray 140 with the 99cm foil in the strong gusty winds. It was OK but not a great session. The water had dropped in the sound and I had a long walk even with the short 24 inch mast on the foil. I did at least get the gear moved down to the new house and then took a break for lunch.

Fast windsurfing track in red, curvy foil track in yellow

Windsurfing is faster than foiling

After lunch we headed to Ocean Air and saw Derek Rijff who recommended the old lighthouse as an afternoon launch. I packed up the 4.7 and 5.2 and the 116 Freewave and we got there around 4pm. There were two kiters coming in on 7m and 5m kites and the wind and waves seemed very intimidating. I waffled on whether to go out until I saw Derek and Brian rigging up. Suddenly I felt a bit more confident and rigged the 4.7. I watched Derek go out and then followed.

The old lighthouse launch was daunting

The shorebreak was much easier to get through than I thought. Suddenly I was out in the ocean in the biggest waves I been on in many years. My gear was perfect which was a nice relief. My heart was pounding though. I was going super fast and on the way out one time a wave started jacking up in front of me and I decided jumping was the best idea. Wow, I got the highest I've been since Maui years ago. I saw my shadow down on the water below and had the presence of mind not to land flat! I sailed away grinning. My Ripcurl Flashbomb 3/2 wetsuit kept me nice and comfy for the 10 km / 40 minute session.

Getting ready to launch

Getting out there

Nice to have Derek out there for company

Rode a few waves

Getting out through the shorebreak!

Screaming back - slow down and catch the wave Carl!

I made it!

My GPS trail of the wavesailing session

Not sure the heart rate is correct, but decent speeds…

Windy walk backwards to the parking lot

It is fun to realize that board is the same one I was using in the Hatteras Wave Jam in Sept 2015, the last time I rode big Hatteras waves. Tomorrow looks cold and rainy.