Great Weekend!

Today the wind came in much better than predicted. It was blowing out of the SE and it was mostly sunny. I rigged a 7.0 on my 118L Bic and put on a big fin (52 cm) because the wind was a little light. It was tough heading towards the House of Refuge because of the current, chop and boat traffic so the fin was a big help. Once out there the wind really filled in and it was good. I sailed with Art and Ron T made his way out on his "new ride". It's a 115L RRD X Fire and he had a 7.2 Neil Pryde race sail and this rig is definitely fast, watch out Dino! Eduardo and Dino made there way out and we had a great time on the water.
Saturday we had a real nice turnout at the causeway cookout. There was plenty of great food to eat, a gentle cool breeze and time to chat with everyone. The only thing missing was a tad more wind. Although that didn't keep people off the water, Art and Glen were on SUP's and as the evening progressed the wind turned south and came up a bit so Ron T and Dino rigged a 10.0 and an 8.4 and went out on the formula boards.

Causeway cookout

We are having a cookout at the causeway February 26th. So bring your family, friends, your favorite cookout food and beverages. This will take place on the Stuart causeway east island and start at 2:30. I will bring charcoal, ice, plates, cups and eating utensiles.

I was able to sail after work today. The wind was out of the SE and it was nice and sunny. When I arrived at the causeway Art was packing up and he said the last 45 minutes of his session was good on a 7.5. I rigged an 8.5 on my formula board and sailed till sunset. It was good, but frequently I had to hunt for a gust to get back on plane after jibing.

I sailed south jetty at Ft Pierce inlet on Saturday. I rigged a 5.2 on a 92 L wave board. There were some holes and some huge gusts, so I guess I rigged right. It was a beautiful day, sunny with a cold wind from the north. I sailed with Norm and another windsurfer. There was 6 - 8 kiteboarders on the water as well.

Yesterday a front was slowly moving down the state. early in the morning it was blowing SW and clocked around to the North late in the day. When I showed up James was packing up and the parking lot was deserted except for a few fisherman. Their was heavy cloud cover and the wind was really filled in. I rigged a 7.0 and was nicely powered. I had the whole river to myself and didn't see a single boat. Jibing was nice on the west side up near that catamaran and on the east side once you got into the flatter water the wind was a bit lite. All in all it was a decent sail.

Wind was blowing hard today. From 1:00 to 5:00 it was 25 - 35+ out of the SSW. I got there right at the tail end of it. I rigged a 5.2 on my sinker board and south of the spoil island it was flat with huge gusts coming through. I was out a half hour and then limped back in and changed to my 118L board because the wind was backing off. I stayed out till sunset and had a pretty decent time.
Saturday the wind was out of the south and wind line was saying 25 - 30. There was very little wind around the causeway but you could see white caps out at the House of Refuge. I rigged a 7.0 and a huge fin so I could make it out to the wind line. Once I got out there I downhauled the sail but the fin was a problem. Dino and Ron were out buzzing around but I didn't want to follow them south of the spoil island because of the shallow water. So I was making runs from the House to the north side of the spoil island. Jibing in the flat water by the spoil island was great until I clipped the sandbar and snapped my fin off.

No Cold Spells Here

On Tuesday and Wednesday we experienced unseasonably warm days which combined with the 5.x to 6.5 winds made it a great time to be in Florida. Warm Southeast winds continued to build from noon until about the sunset. Very clear and somewhat shallow water made it for some exciting speed runs over by the House of Refuge. I underestimated the winds upon arrival and rigged the 7.2 sail. I managed it OK while sailing the flat waters, but the trip back to the causeway sure was one "hang on for your life" ride.