2009-02-12

A Taste of Spring Windsurfing on the OBX - minus the surf!

If you follow Hatteras weather forecasts, you probably saw the "yellow stars" aligned for a warm windy mid-week! The forecast was spot on; however, you had to remain north to catch it! Yesterday and today, Nags Head was blanketed with strong SW and W winds. I road sailed down to Avon yesterday chasing SW wind and waves to find an afternoon drop with the IWS Avon Ocean wind meter reading the lowest of all the OBX meters. Jockey's Ridge and Windmill Point however were at the top with SW hitting the upper 20s with gusts into the 30s. Andy was out at Ego Beach yesterday, but it was primarily a slog sesh with a few wave rides. Lane, Wendy, and Brian had the kites up and were ripping in the lighter wind. Yana caught some of the action! I raced back to Nags Head; to try and salvage a session, but my timing prevented catching it at Jockeys Ridge where 4.7m would have been the call.

Today though I remained north and caught it at Jockeys Ridge. The wind was due west and with Lake Atlantic along the east facing beaches and a mess/light wind reported from the southern side, I decided to forgo the 100+ round trip mileage to Frisco and hit the spot close to home (under 2 miles). It was quite fun with juiced 4.7m conditions, looplicious ramps on both tacks, and lots of sound water to play in. Tim K and I were solo at JRidge under a sunny cloudless sky.
Lake Atlantic as seen from Oregon Inlet. Barely a hint of surf out there!