It looks like there will be alot of wind and alot of sailors at Van Pugh Saturday. WindSense/Gene's Consignment Shop is providing a CATFISH STEW in the afternoon to help warm everyone up. We also may build a fire in the shelter with the fireplace, so come on out, even if you dont sail. With that much wind, it'll be fun to watch. I'm going to try to take some pictures (cant sail yet) as I know there will be alot of major air and lots of crashes.
If you dont have small enough gear, check out Gene's Consignment for some great deals on some smaller sails, (and we currently have an awful lot of fins.)
http://www.expage.com/genesconsignment
And for your new gear, dont forget WindSense:
http://www.expage.com/windsense
See you tomorrow!
Gene Mathis
Gene Mathis
Hey, Gene, it will be great to see you up and about, even if you're not on the water.
I'm bringing my gear but I think the wind and water conditions are going to be too much for my big sails and my small skills. It should be fun to watch the flying and crashing.
Hmmm.... I might even bring the boat and go out to get some close-up pics.
Gene & Lisa: thanks for bringing the catfish stew and the brownies. With 36F temparatures and 5.5 conditions, they provided much needed sustenance!
It was great to see all the hardy souls who made it to Van Pugh yesterday, both those who sailed and those who didn't. Not sure how this compares with other ice breaker events, but I certainly had a lot of fun.
Chuck Painter
Here's some photos of those HARD CORE SAILORS with the wind and the air tempt in the 30's:
left side: Chuck, Marek (nailing a gybe), Joe,
right side: Voltar, Chris P (close-up nailing a gybe)
http://gmathis.photosite.com/JAN14/
Gene
Gene Mathis
AND we also had Emilio of Locus Wind, the new Kite Sailing shop in Atlanta do a little kiting in the Gusty Cold winds.
http://gmathis.photosite.com/Jan14KiterEmiliofromLocusWind/
Locus Wind is talking about a Special Beginners Kiteboarding Class Weekend at Jekyll Island for our club members, possibly the weekend of March 11 & 12 with some very discounted rates. If you've ever wanted to try Kiting but the cost of lessons was alittle too much, this could be your chance. More details soon. Of course we all know WINDSURFING is the greatest sport ever. But maybe on some of those lite air days?
http://www.locuswind.com
Gene
Gene Mathis
Gene,
Thanks a lot for the pictures, the food and the moral support.
I know that without you guys cheering us on we would not last out there so long in the cold wind. With the group being there it made it that much more fun.
Marek
What a great group of windsurfers....you are so nice, I am going to try to seduce you all to at least give kiting a chance. Thanks to all for your support yesterday. Without that CAT FISH STEW, I for sure would have frosen!
Yes, yesterday's conditions prooved to be tough for kitting. After my "swim of shame" however, I came home with a big-big smile I could not erase from my face....(and no, my mounth wasn't frosen with a smile), so when my wife asked me how was it? I replied: uhmmm..... the worst day at kitting, is much better than the best day at work...and did say no more.
Hope to see you all again, with same wind intensity, but not swirling in spirals like a huricane.
Rgds,
Emilio.
Dang . . . I miss having buds to sail with. Yesterday was 25 gusting to 38 with air temp at about 58 and water about 60. Can't say I miss the cold lake water and sub-40 sessions. 5 kiteboys came to the beach but only one rigged - he was the only one with a 7M kite. He got in several good runs and a couple of huge jumps before crashing and dropping his kite in the surf. Long swim cross-current to get back to solid sand.
I was on a 4.0 and still having a hard time staying on the water. After the kiters left, I started thinkin' it might not be a good idea to be sailing alone in those conditions. So I took another lap to talk it over with myself and see if what I was hearing was the same as what I was thinking. Before I could make a decision, I hit a sandbar on the outside that just built up with a storm a couple of weeks ago. Slammed so hard my harness blew apart and I saw 5 of the closest planets. I propped on my elbows to make sure all body parts were still working and to let my head clear. From there it was a pretty easy decision to sail back to the beach and bag it for the day.
There was nobody there with catfish stew. You guys got it so good... Glad to hear Gene is continuing to improve. peace s, tc
tc / thin'air
How do you improve on perfection??
I think I'm back to normal (or as close to normal as I've ever been.) I feel great. I do have a little nagging pain but let's leave Lisa out of this, (just kidding.) I'm just waiting on the Doctor's all clear on Jan 31, which I expect, and then back on the water.
Tim, We miss sailing with you also. You could always pretty much count on Tim to be there if there was any wind to be had. I remember riding out to Van Pugh just looking when it was cranking and 33 degrees and there was Tim rigging up. What an animal! It's not that long of drive from Hilton Head, and you're always welcome to crash at my place. And if you decide to move back to the WindSurfing Meca of Atlanta, NO you cant have WindSense back.
And one other thing about Saturday. Thanks to Jeff Knight for knowing how to build a fire.
Gene
Gene Mathis
here's the report Richard House wrote up from over here in ACWA* land at Lake Thurmond. (Note the complete lack of catfish stew.)
" It was a truly windy day at Scotts Ferry yesterday. Someone called it
the Strom Thurmond Gorge and from the video and photos I've seen, that
may have been a good comparison. I think many of us were on the
smallest board and sail we had - sails ranging 3.7 for Chris Campbell
and 5.2 for Jonathan Pellet. Jonathan said 5.2 felt good in the lulls
but was survival mode in the gusts. I'm guessing around 30 mph (25-35
mph.) For a lake wind this strong, it was steadier than most.
Everybody seemed stoked and powered on the small stuff yesterday.
Jumps were plentiful. It was one of those days that I quickly
discovered how out of shape I am. Those that enjoyed the weather included Patrick, Chuck, Chris, Ashley, Richard, and Roman. After getting worked on the 5.8, I put on the 4.3 and got more than enough. I can't remember that many hours in a row of honest low 4s weather at the lake - from at least 10am - 3pm, when I had to leave. "
(*Augusta-Columbia Windsurfing Association)