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Bill's OBX Beach Life (6 unread)

The Pre-Wavesailing Diet

Fetched: June 29th, 2009, 7:32pm CEST by Bill

The fuel we feed our bodies definitely has an immediate impact on our windsurfing sessions. I used to experience stiff calf cramps, and other fatigue prior to, during, and after returning from the water. Following some trial and error, I have come up with a working diet which keeps my body powered though any wave sesh, maximizing duration on the water! This diet has been honed throughout my years of windsurfing both from experience and advice from others. I have tested it in all conditions ranging from bitter cold heavy wetsuit weather, to warm trunks only summer-time fun. Results are always the same, and if I miss the diet, I usually feel some sort of pain.

Bill's Wave Sesh Power Diet:
1) 1 Dannon Yogurt or "drinkable" version (these work best for consumption while driving south from Nags Head to Avon);
2) 2 ripe bananas;
3) 2 8oz V8 veggie juice drinks;
4) 1 king sized Snickers candy bar;
5) 1 quart of water (consumed though the course of the day);
6) 1 6 inch turkey and cheese sub (optional);
7) a few cold brews of choice ("usually" reserved until after the sesh, unless hanging with the Ride crew!);

Everything but the quart of water, and beer (depending upon sesh peers?!) should be consumed before launching into the surf.

I used to include Gatorade prior to V8s, but decided to cut out some of the high fructose corn syrup. Gatorade is also simply bad for your teeth.
Waves and Thunderstorms!

Fetched: June 28th, 2009, 5:02am CEST by Bill

We were all excited about Friday's forecast conditions. Strong SW winds, and leftover swell from a low pressure system spinning in the north Atlantic. Friday arrived, and winds ramped up into the upper teens/low 20mph range across the islands. The surf was relatively small, except for one spot where it was breaking quite nicely averaging waist with chest high set waves. Ramp 30 between Avon and Waves was the call. Ken K and I caught it for about 45 minutes. It was tough, but I had to come in snap some pics and contact the wave crew reporting conditions. Powered on the 5.3m and my "big" 88ltr board, outside sets were easily distinguishable and the tide was on our side with low passing during the early evening. Lots of fun DTL wave riding on the relatively mushy setup with some critical sections on the larger sets. Unfortunately, a huge swath of nasty weather was approaching from the west, which actually killed the wind. A few other local and visiting wave seekers joined us; however, the sweet spot time period was caught by only Ken and I. By 5:30pm lightning flashed in the skies west and south of us, and everyone packed it up. Bummer too since the wavesailing window was so short and we have not had a decent SW side-off day since June 5!

Oh well, still patiently awaiting that elusive strong Bermuda High setup?!
Its Been a While...

Fetched: June 22nd, 2009, 9:33pm CEST by Bill

First off, its my first Father's Day!!!

Since both my previous post and my last planing wave sesh! A combination of technical issues, and lack of sailable wind/wave combo kept me off the OBX Beach Life blogging wagon for a while. On the tech side, my laptop and DSL modem both died, though I now have a new desktop rocket (Velocity Micro Edge Z55 Loaded!!) and DSL modem. While on the windsurfing side, finally today, north winds ramped up in Nags Head, and I caught the sweet spot of the wind window for some side-on in town action! Following two previous slog sessions earlier this week where I was literally knee deep and near dead in the water, today's ramp up was a refreshingly juiced ocean ride, even if it was side-on. Conditions were small but building in the waist to chest high range. Water temps were in the 70s and felt great! North wind hovered in the upper 20mph range and I was wound on the 5.3m and 76 ltr combo. I sailed at the beach access across from BrewThru Jr near Jockey's Ridge, and caught some fun backside hits and a few delayed fwds! The sesh lasted about an hour as the wind began to fade. A few downwinding kiters were also out to catch it; though they sailed by after I was back on the beach. Other then the beachside vacationing spectators, I was solo out there on a windsurfing rig.

I did not shoot any photos since I was anxious to rig and get out there as the sand blew knee high. Though here is a shot from yesterday at the Washout. The surf earlier this week was quite fun; however, the wind never really hit sailable strength oceanside to ride it. I tried two sessions, but both times simply had no power in the ocean, even on my "big" kit (5.3m/88 ltr)!
Punta San Carlos, Baja Bound!!

Fetched: June 12th, 2009, 2:36pm CEST by Bill

Its been literally 10 years since my previous visit to Punta San Carlos, Baja. The trip, back in 1999 (Aug 19 - Sept 5), remains the best adventure vacation of my life. Now, in 2009 I will be returning (Aug 29 - Sept 5) with SoloSports and Alan White's group from southern NC! The airline tickets to San Diego are booked along with the SoloSports fly-in package! Everything is included so all I need to bring are my clothes, a wetsuit, and harness! Definitely cannot wait to hit the Punta San Carlos wind/surf, and enjoy the hospitality and camaraderie from SoloSports and Alan's group! Definitely will be an excellent precursor trip for the Fall Hatteras tropical season, and leadup to my 40th BDay coming in January, 2010!
Ramp 27 Wavesailing and the Triple S on Friday!!

Fetched: June 7th, 2009, 2:42am CEST by Bill

Finally, a return of summer-time excellent surf and wind conditions on the OBX! What a finale day for the Real Kiteboarding Triple S Invitational which held its wave expression session at Ramp 27 on Friday afternoon. I headed down there to check the Ramp following the last awesome wavesailing sesh we had there during the Spring Edition of the Hatteras Wave Jam. As I approached the turnoff to Ramp 27, I was surprised to see numerous kites in the air, and a ton of cars in the parking lot. Lots of spectators and photographers/videographers were on the beach to catch the action for the Triple S. The set waves looked sweet in the chest to slightly overhead range, SW winds hovered in the 4.7m range, sunny skies prevailed; thus, I decided to join the fray in the ocean! When I first launched there were around 4 kiters in the surf, but as the session continued, about 20 riders packed the zone.

The top international kiteboarders attended the Triple S, and were on the water ripping along side myself, Caleb, and Dano on windsurfing rigs. It was not too bad out there given the number of kites in the air, though one guy did crash his kite lines into my rig as I was working out through the surf zone. Nothing was damaged or tangled, and he apologized which was cool. Wave etiquette was also kind of out the door, as there was plenty of rider turns onto occupied swells, and backstalling. However, I did not mind as there was plenty of surf, and if someone got onto a swell I had, I simply kicked out or stalled for the one behind if it was clear. It was their day and all lenses were on them so I just wanted to share the surf. With so many kites confined to the small area in front of the photographers, I simply kept a keen eye on what was happening around me. It was a fun sesh with great surf, though with so many kiters out on the water, I had a few missed hits and remained relatively conservative with my wave sailing. We were sharing the waves for the Triple S, and did not want to spoil their gig. All in all, everyone had a great time, and I even called on a few riders, while packing up for the day, to help me break loose a stuck mast!

There will likely be a ton of photos/videos up from the sesh as it was quite good. Stay tuned to Real Kiteboarding's coverage of the event, along with the kite forums and other related web sites. I posted a few TwitPic shots of the sesh yesterday. See the latest OBX Beach Tweets located in the right side bar.
Its Summer... Time to Go Topless!!

Fetched: June 1st, 2009, 6:54pm CEST by Bill

Well, its June 1, and over the weekend my summer time transition for the 1988 4runner is complete. The hard top has been removed ready for the hot open air days of OBX summer! Included are a couple of pics of how I remove the top with a rigging system I hooked up in my garage. Makes it quite easy for myself to remove or replace the top!

In windsurfing report news, Friday and Sunday offered some fun late afternoon/early evening SW wind! Dano and I caught it at Ramp 27 on Friday night for a sunset sesh. Small surf, but a few fun wave hits were found along with warm water and trunks only. Sunday, SW returned and I caught it at Salvo Ramp (23). Not much in the way of surf; however, there was a swell out there but high tide was in place and kept the good stuff at bay. Both days were powered by the Quatro Wave 76 and MauiSails 5.3m Legend, with wind speed hitting low to mid 20 mph range. Fun times, and definite Hatteras Summer conditions! I posted onsite pics using the Twitter TwitPics located in the right side bar of this blog (located under the Facebook badge). Stay tuned to the Twitter feed for on-the-beach reports and photos of conditions "now!"

Regarding summer OBX windsurfing/wavesailing, all eyes will be looking for a classic June Bermuda High forecast! If one locks in place, we can expect many days of solid afternoon SW wind, and plenty of action in the 5.3m and down rig sizes! If surf is forecast as well, definite bonus material! The Hatteras Wave Jam 2009 continues, and the Summer Edition focuses on the Bermuda High. Stay tuned for the next event window which will be scheduled based upon an upcoming BH forecast! Want to come out and hit it with us?! Be sure to sign up for the event! Also, if you cannot make it, but would still like one of the killer t-shirts, be sure to see the merchandise page for online ordering!