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.