5-30-8

Wow what a great way to end the week!

I made it down to the sailing center around 5:30, rigged an 8.5 and headed out on the formula board. Found I should have gone out on a smaller sail and board, I had plenty of power. The wind was ENE, I could sail the channel and went under both bridges. Dino showed up a little later, we were on the water till 8:00 and had the whole river to ourselves.

Karen's cruisin.

Frank's getting the hang of it.

OK the wind didn't come up quit as advertised but it was good none the less. The bridges were jammed because of the Memorial weekend croud so we found ourselves at the sailing center. Sunday Art, Dick and Joel were on the water. Monday Art, Dick and James were out. Sarah and Frank joined me so they could continue learning and Dino was teaching Karen. It's been a year since we were at the Sailing Center and it was good to be back.

Art's setting up for a jibe.

I haven't been on the water for a week.....I'm feeling listless. Tuesday and Wednesday were looking good but I was nursing a sore shoulder. I have been watching the forecasts and it looks like Sunday afternoon will be good. The wind will build out of the NE and at 2:00pm it should be blowing 16 - 23mph. It will be nice to have some cooler wind out of the east and blow this smoke away. Happy sailing!

Smoke On The Water

Other than the smokey conditions, this afternoon turned out to be a good day. When I first arrived, there was about 5 Formula boards with sails up to 11m. It did not look too promising for me since the biggest sail I had with me was the 7.2m. One slight chance of hope was that Dorian, who's a big guy, was sailing on 7.5. I rigged my 7.2 and to my surprise took off like a bat out of hell, which sounds more accurate than it really was since the sky looked like it was on fire, with sun being darkened to a fiery orange color by all the smoke; it was quite a sight.
Flat water and gusty West/SouthWesterly winds made for great speed sailing. The water was clear, and few of us were even able to sail under the bridge and continue on North toward the Jensen Causeway. I believe Eugene did just that because for a while I could not locate him anywhere on the south side of the island until he finally reapered through the bridge.
While I do not wish these high winds keep adding fuel to the Florida fires, it sure was good to have them this late in season.

Brandon's catching some wind at the end of the day.

We were in Ft Myers for Mothers day, so Saturday we went out to the Sanibel causeway. Sarah and Frank put some time in on the water. Sunday on the way home the wind really came up out of the southwest. I was able to get out to the Stuart causeway at 4:00. Rigged a 6.0 on my 88L board and had plenty of power. Dino was there and Brandon showed up later. It was nice to make huge runs up and down the river. Monday the wind was still up, I got to the river at 5:30 and rigged the same as Sunday. James and Kathy were still there. The wind wasn't as filled in so I switched to my 118L board. I had a good time, when the gusts came through.

Sarah's uphauling that sail.

Dude, lets pull over for a hotdog.

The planets must have been aligned yesterday. The wind came in as forecasted and I was able to get on the water at lunch with an 88L board and a 6.0 sail. Dorian and Fred got me dialed in to the right rig. I was limited on time so when I got out to the House of Refuge I was able to make one run south of the spoil island to the west side and then back to the House. Then I caught a gust and headed off the wind and recorded 31mph on the gps. I know Art was out the whole time but didn't catch up with him. When I got back to the island James was heading out, but I had to pack it up. After work I picked up Willa, some smaller sails and went back out to the causeway. Brandon and James were out, Dino was rigging. There was flatter water out at the House, a fair amount of chop in the middle and the consensus was a good time had by all! Then to top it off for dinner I pulled in to RaceTrac gas station and got one of those hot dogs that have been cooking for about 4 hours and loaded it up. The way Willa was drooling you would have thought it was a steak, so I shared it with her. What a great day.

Saturday I didn't get out to the Stuart Causeway till 4:00. There was a lot of people windsurfing on the west island. The wind was more than I expected and the water was very low. All I brought was the formula board with its 58cm fin. Dave and Art graciously offered the use of their boards but I decided to launch on the east island. Kawabunga was packing up when I got there and he was out on a 7.5. I hesitantly rigged my 8.5 and headed out to the House of Refuge. I was really enjoying myself, had plenty of power and the water got flatter the further south I went. However, I had a run in with a jet ski and almost ran over the passanger. I was out about 2 hours and Brandon showed up followed by Dino. By this time I needed to head back, my legs were fatigued and the dog was "home alone". Once out of the flat water I discovered the wind had built some and it was a tough ride. Wish I could have sailed till sunset. Wind forecasts show Wednesday and Thursday afternoon may be good days, the best being the latter.

Here it is May 1st and we are enjoying a mild front that pushed through, thats awesome. I sailed at the Stuart Causeway yesterday and saw quite a few sailors out, some catching one last run before heading north for the summer. I thought the wind was going to be more easterly so I brought the formula board and my bigger sails. When I arrived it was blowing straight down the river and the wind line said 21mph. So I rigged my 7.0 and had a pretty wild ride. Cruised up to the cove north of Joes Point and caught some huge gusts. I was heading so far up into the cove I had to cut my run short because I wasn't sure of the water depth. I wish I had brought my gps because the speed on the flat water was unbeliveable. Today and Friday are looking good as well.