Thursday, July 03, 2008

Windsurfing Hatteras


That's not me!

We arrived in Hatteras on Sunday for a family reunion. The wind was out of the southwest at about 35 knots. Lots of kiters in this area and one big windsurfing spot called Haulover near Buxton. On Monday it was still blowing pretty good so I decided to go sailing. Headed to a local shop and Luke helped me get set up with a brand new board from Goya called the Freerider. This board is an upwind monster. The sail was also from Goya, a 6.3 and brand new as well. I hit the beach and the wind speed was increasing with most folks on the beach and done for the day as it was 5pm. After making a few adjustments to the harness lines and footstraps, I was ready to fly. The wind was between 25-30 and I was the only one out! I was sailing on the Pamlico Sound which is a very shallow body of water. I sailed out a mile or so and it was still only 3-4 feet deep. This made for some great conditions as the water was flat and I could go very fast. At times I felt like a bird cruising across the water. It was fantastic. I have been windsurfing since 84, however since 2000, my focus has been on our Newport 30 sailboat and windsurfing has taken a backseat to sailing on the bay. Just like riding a bike, I was in the groove in no time and loving the fact that I can speed across the water at 20-25 knots on a good day. Cowabunga!

1 comment:

PeconicPuffin said...

H2uHo windsurfing!

I wonder where everyone was (blowing 30 but you had the Pamlico to yourself...unusual!)

Hatteras is one of the great places to windsurf, and also one of my favorite places to just Be.