Tuesday the wind was a bit lighter but the direction was the same. I rigged an 8.5 on my 118L board with a 48cm fin and headed down the channel to that sandbar. Ron T, James, Dino and Austin came out and we buzzed along the edge but a bit slower. A very small sail boat was nearby and my 8.5 looked bigger than his main. As Ron was passing he said, "you may be faster but atleast I can carry a 6 pack". True enough!

After a great weekend of wind its still blowing

After work I went down to the causeway and rigged a 7.0 on my 118L board and headed out to the channel. The wind was out of the east and the tide was out. So the west side of the channel is fairly flat and heading north you could really fly. I was soon joined by Austin, Dino, Ron T. and eventually Brandon came out. Then we headed further south to a sandbar that lines up north and south and the water was super flat...it was unbelievable! You could sail within feet of the sandbar and make these beautiful jibes. The good news is the wind is forecasted to blow again tomorrow!

My favorite photo

Dave and Dino. Dave is on the left followed by Dino.

Sunday turned out to be another great day on the water. I was a bit stiff from Saturday and only planned to spend a few hours on the water to stretch out some muscles (we come up with the weirdest rationales to justify time on the water). I arrived at 10:30 and the wind was really filled in and I was kicking myself for leaving the 88L board at home. So I rigged a 6.0 on my 118L board and headed out. I was making my way swiftly up to the House of Refuge and the wind backed down. In fact we had a hole that lasted at least 20 minutes, so I headed back to rig a bigger sail. I went back out on a 7.0 and made my way out to the House and met up with Art. I sailed with him a short while and decided to head in. About this time Dino and Austin show up and Dino is encouraging me to go back out. So after a short break I sail over to the West side of the river and make quite a few runs with Andrea. Then Dino shows up and talks me into a race. So after beating me 4 times he talks a bunch of people (James, Austin, Andrea, Ron L, Todd, Eugene and me) into racing. After beating all of us soundly he sails off. What was the cause of all this......I believe the photo above!

Race at Stuart causeway

Wow what an event and what a day! We had a big turn out at the causeway for the race and the wind/weather couldn't have been any better. Wind was out of the ESE and I was on a 7.0 and a 118L board and was nicely powered. The course was fairly simple and it ended right at the island so it was exciting for the people on shore. We had racers from Daytona, Miami and as far away as France. I will post some photos, race results and links to other sites as well.

Click on this link For Ricks view of the event and early race results: http://www.miamiwindsurfing.com/local.html

Sarahs photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/teamtaylorproductions/sets/72157617320488696/with/3474193681/

race results:
1 Loic Legallois
2 Ron Kern
3 Alex Morales
4 Clark H.
5 Don Wagner
6 Steve Gottleib
7 Jon Plaster
8 Davd Zajicek
9 James Douglas
10 John Cerchio
11 Charles Dahan
12 Eugene Belogay
13 Mike Rayl
14 Sander
15 Andrea

Big thanks to David (at the helm) for the use of his boat and Rick (throwing the line) for putting this whole event together.

I also want to thank Sarah and Safina for getting everyone registered and recording the races. Sorry I didn't get a picture of Safina

April 25th race Stuart Causeway east island

Click on this link to the forum for race information see reply #19
http://treasurecoastwindsurfing.com/index.php?topic=67.15

Saturday I arrived at the west island in the late afternoon and rigged an 8.5 on my 118L board. I saw Ron T, Eugene, Larry, Dino, Brandon and a few others on the water. Wind was out of the SE and it was mostly sunny. I hadn't sailed the west island in a long time and it was good. I made my way out to the channel and some runs down to the spoil island and back. Then I switched over to the formula board and did the same thing. I didn't get out Sunday but from what Dino said the wind was better.

Thursday afternoon the wind came up and I wanted to get down to the causeway but wasn't able to. Dino said he was on a 7.2 and the wind was filled in, sky was clear and it was a good sail. Friday the wind didn't come up as predicted. When I arrived at the causeway a lot of sailors were milling about. I sailed an 8.5 on a formula board. Wind was NE and it was fairly sunny. I was out half an hour and the wind built to where I was getting overpowered. I rigged a 7.0 on my 118L board and went back out for another hour. The sky clouded up and I made the mistake of wearing board shorts and was getting cold so I called it quits. I saw David, Art, James, Ron T., Dino, Brandon, Don and another formula sailor on the water.

We got back from Hatteras on Sunday and late in the afternoon I wound up at the causeway. I spoke with Art, Marsha and Dave from Mich. Dino and Austin showed up and I rigged an 8.5 on the 118L board. I caught one gust and that was about it. But, after 9 hours in the car it was great to be on the water.
Monday I was on the causeway to Sanibel around 2:00. I rigged a 7.0 on my 118L board and was fairly well powered. Wind was out of the south and I was making runs from the causeway out past the lighthouse and back. Some small swell was coming around the point into San Carlos bay.
Today I was at the Stuart Causeway for over an hour and the wind didn't come up as predicted. I saw Dorian, David , Jerry, James, Jon, Brandon, Henry, Ron T., Larry, Dave from Mich and Ron L waiting on the wind.

sunrise @ Waves

Hatteras

Thursday turned out to be a light wind day so we visited some friends down in Frisco Woods and poked around some shops. Today the wind was out of the south so I went out at 12:30 and rigged a 7.0 on my 118L board and had plenty of power. There was at least 10 kite boarders out and two windsurfers at Salvo day use area. The wind was fairly warm, mostly sunny and it felt like a Florida spring day. It was a great way to end our Hatteras trip.

Salvo day use area. Photo from tuesday

Hatteras

This morning the forecast was 26 mph early morning and late afternoon, so I decided to go early. I rig a 5.0 on my 88L board, winds out of the west and its a toasty 42 degrees. I was nicely powered and the water isn't that choppy so jibing wasn't that difficult. But, within 20 minutes my fingers are hurting so bad I have to go in and get gloves. Fortunately its sunny out and I'm able to get warmed up on the leeward side of some bushes. I head back out but after an hour I was done.

Sunset Hatteras

Cold Front Moves In

While the warm weather left us, high winds continued although not as strong as Monday's which I learned gusted up to 60mph at the Stuart's Airport which is minutes from the Causeway.
Tuesday's highs were only in the low 70s, but winds were in the 20 to 30mph range from the W/NW, perhaps with higher gust at times and this time the sailing was only good on the north side of the East Island. I showed up a bit late, around 3pm and there was only 3 to 4 windsurfers still willing to endure the "harsh cold" conditions. Mostly they were on 5.0m to 5.6m sails, so after some deliberation I put on my shorty wet suit and rigged a 5.0m sail with the 95l board which turned out to be the right combination. Forecast for today is 5 to 10mph, but tomorrow looks more promising... and warmer.

Hatteras

This morning while drinking coffee I'm watching the white caps and thinking I should get out on the water but the tempertaure is in the mid 40's. So at 9:30 I head out and end up down at the Salvo day use area. I put on my 3/2 wet suit and feel cold and I haven't gotten in the water yet. Unfortunately the wind had been decreasing since 8:00 and I end up chasing gusts to get up on plane. After an hour it felt to much like work so I headed in. There were 2 windsurfers out and some kite boarders. I went out at 4:00 and put some fleece on under the wetsuit and feel much better. I rig a 6.0 on the 118L and had way to much speed so I switched to the 88L and had a pretty good time. The wind blew out of the west all day so you could sail up and down the coast which was nice and it was partly sunny.

Hot and Windy

There is not many days on Stuart Causeway that you see people on 3m sails. Yesterday was one of those days that no matter what size you rigged at times it seemed to be too much. Winds were SW/W and one could sail either north or south side of the island. Having the right size board and sail was imperative. I was happy to have half that combination. My 80 liter board was sitting comfortably at home, but at least I had the 4.2m sail that I downhauled as much as I possibly could and with the 95l JP board was able to make a few less than comfortable runs to the sandbar and back to the East Island. It was not until I borrowed Ron's board that I felt in control and able to enjoy what seemed to be 40+mph winds.

Name that shop

Hatteras

Today the forecast showed SW at 40 from 11:00 - 2:00, so I headed out at 9:00 to see if I could catch some "lighter wind". As I was backing down the drive a storm cell was coming through with small hail. Did I mention I was in Hatteras? I ended up rigging a 5.0 on my 88L board and went out for an hour. I was well powered and should have probably rigged a 4.5. When I finished the wind was blowing 32 with gusts in the 40's. It was overcast and there was 7 kite boarders out. I went back out at 4:00 and rigged a 6.0 on my 88L board and sailed for an hour. The sun was starting to come out and the only other people on the water was some kite boarders.

4/1/9 Wednesday turned out to be a decent ride on the water. I rigged a 5.5 on an 88L board as Jerry, Art, Big Bill and a few others finished up. I was out 45 minutes and then real dark clouds and rain was headed our way. Fortunately I made it to the island as the rain came in and the wind died. Dino, Ron T and Dave M were there and we derigged as the rain passed on.