Not what I wanted to upload....

...but a funny picture none the less.

It will be really good....or a total bust

Not looking bad for the weekend on the homefront.....there is potential later in the day Saturday and early Sunday. East winds will either be a rare treat or a total skunk, but likely nowhere in between. With Glenn's sprained ankle on the mend, Evan and him are hoping to hit the water to finally initiate their new boards. Meanwhile, Mike heads south for Barbado-thon Phase 518 on Saturday, and the forecast looks better each day he will be there!

Ripping like a Veteran

Jared Mauldin of Pensacola, FL has not been windsurfing for very long at all....about 8 months to be exact. However, here he is sailing his Sailworks Retro and Bic Techno II like a veteran. He is planing, in the straps, using the harness, jibing, and asking questions about jumping. Way to go Jared, we are stoked to see you progressing so quickly!

Spencer on the mend!

We couldn't be happier for Brian and Kerri Casserio hearing that their son Spencer's battle with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia is going well. Latest reports on the Casserios website is that Spencer is ripping it up on late season snow, much to their joy I am sure. I am sure that anyone who knows or deals with Brian and Sideoff Video will be glad to hear that Spencer is doing well, I am sure the last 700 days have not been easy for the Casserios. Continued best wishes from us.

....the keen windsurfer would notice that Spencer is sharing his sled with Kevin Pritchard.

Jibe School with Professor Greg

Need to see how to rip a laydown jibe in light winds? Look no further than this sequence of local sailor Greg Pucher tearing this jibe on his Starboard Carve and Severne S2 7.0.......note the lack of whitecaps on the water. Props to Evan for putting this sequence together!

Forgot the Vent

"Hi Evan,
Maybe you have a solution to my problem.
I sailed more or less 10 minutes with my RRD without the plug screwed tight. I just forgot. When I came back to the beach, I tried to make the water go out. Do you have some tricks to save my board? Do I have to heat it with a hair dryer, a radiator?
Thank you very much..."

Luckily 10 minutes may not be long enough to really fill up a new board.

Find out if your board is the right weight still. Take off the straps and fin and weigh your board. You can compare with what it should be, maybe you will find out the board is ok. If it is heavy you can use the weight to track if you are getting any water out.
In the short term store your board upside down flat on the deck with the vent open. Stuff paper towel into the vent hole. If it gets wet keep changing it until it stays dry. If the towel does not pick up any moisture maybe your board didn't take on any water, or the water has had enough time to spread throughout the entire board.
Ding King in Maui uses a board spinner. They drill a hole in the nose and tail and spin most of the water out, then plug the holes again.
Others use low air pressure to push the water back out the vent. Drill a hole at the far end of the board and pump low pressure air through your board. Be very cautious or you could blow up your board causing a delamination in the foam. Then your board would really be dead.

Here is a link to a conversation on getting water out.
http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=251906;search_string=air%20pressure;guest=4641661#251906

Gook Luck

Hatteras Mystery

Local sharp shoot Craig Butler is just back from Hatteras, and snapped a lot more than just sailing shots (....I looked through your gallery Craig, and needed to "borrow" this one). Anyone who has ever driven through Nags Head towards Hatteras has likely noticed this castle in the sand, sometimes fully exposed, sometimes totally buried.

Sadly, the mystery isn't of a mystical city buried in the sand, but of a mini-golf course that was built in the wrong spot. The dunes here shift, erode, and re-deposit so much that the owners exentually had to abandon the course, but just left the castle standing. Just a bit of knowledge I acquired from a spring season a few years ago spent working mornings as kayak tour guide, and sailing afternoons!

Anyone for Head High Swell?

Glenn stands 6 feet tall, and all that is visible behind this just starting to break Patterson Swell is the the top of his head. 4.7 Gaastra Manic is nicely powered, swells lining up nicely......just didn't like leaving my wetsuit zipper open in the chilly waters!

Spring fling

Glenn and Evan got a quick 4.7 sail in Wednesday after work with winds blowing from 25 to 30 mph. Mike (who is off to Barbadothon 5 next week), stayed dry and relatively warm shooting the pics with the newly repaired shop digital camera finally back in action.

Evan was tearing it up and charging hard today after just getting back from 10 days in Hatteras with Gaastra sail designer Dan Kaselar and assorted friends. An early start that bodes well for a windy spring and summer!

Mast Mount Cam

Rob Born of So. Cal was out on his new Starboard Evo 70 with his camera this past Friday. This one is my favorite, but I wil put all his shots up in the gallery when I have a spare minute. Great shots Rob!

"Old Man Strength"

While he's not an old man, Evan has been known to say his ability to hold on larger than normal sails in crazy winds is because of his "old man strength". Here is Evan on a 4.1 in winds gusting over 50 knots, liquid smoke on the water, and he is still boosting big air. Where are the rest of sailors on this epic day? Blown off the water on their 3.5's long ago!

Happy Pappy

Long time customer Luc Genest of Florida sent a couple of pictures of his trip to Hatteras last week. His 8 year old Alex and 10 year old Pierre Luc were killing it, sailing hooked in, planing, in the straps, and handling the 20-25 knot winds like a couple of pros. Kids stoked, Dad stoked, all is well in the Genest world.

Hatteras

Evan is in Hatteras for the wedding of friends Dan M. and Seanna. The weather could not have been better. With the wedding over they can surf and sail all the time.

Here is new groom Dan Michaluk at Rodanthe after sailing his new 2006 Gaastra Poison 5.0. With Gaastra sail designer Dan Kaseler also attending the wedding (and honeymoon!), Evan used the red 4.7 Poison 2007 proto supplied by Dan K. in the foreground. The wind had just picked up (it must be really windy if Evan is on 4.7!) and the ocean was not pretty but they all had a good time.

















In the morning they had light offshores and small waves so they surfed the shorebreak in front of the house. This is the groom getting yet another of his many rides.

www.windsurfing-the-game.com

This game is pretty cool, even though I have only played the demo version. Definetly worth checking out if you have a couple of mintues for it to download.

Small picture, big commitment

Congratulations to Dan and Seanna (far left and middle), who are getting married in Hatteras this weekend. Dan joins us to sail at home or Sandbanks when it is good and is always ripping, and from what Evan says, Seanna is becoming a better sailor by the minute. Congratulations on the big day, and all the best for many years to come.

New Digs

From the star, which is Glenn's new house, to Patterson Park, local favorite sailing spot, is about 30 seconds. To Everitt, which I can see from the back deck, is about 2 minutes.

The saying "Its best in your own backyard" has just taken on a hole new meaning!

Countdown Started

Evan heads to Hatteras later this week for a a wedding (not his, but congrats Dan and Seanna), then Glenn and Dinah head out just after he gets back. Lots of wind and waves hopefully to come.

You have to look really hard to see Glenn in this picture from 2001, just off Ego Beach. This was a standout Hatteras wave day, with lots of wave rides but also a few long swims.

Not at all windsurfing related, but....

.....we all like a good deal.

These are on the "Must have" List....

Rarely do boards come along that offer so much. The Techno II 160 and Fanatic Shark 160 are two of the best offerings for 2006 that offer performance, durability, range of use, as well as value! With lots of volume and width for light wind stability, lighter weights novices who are quick learners can use either of these boards to learn on, but also progress to waterstarting, jibing, planing, footstraps, and beyond. For a first time shortboard for heavier weights, these boards plane quick, and offer fantastic performance. The ASA skin offers great protection against bumps and brusies like no other peformance contstruction can offer, and the price leaves lots left over for that new sail you have also been eyeing. With great pre-season pricing, these are certainly worth looking at and giving us a call with more questions on how either of these might work for you.

Done

As much fun as snowboarding is.....it isn't windsurfing. Dinah and I got a great last day of the season on Sunday....and as Dinah collapses at the bottom of Tremblant after a few top to bottom leg burners in the spring slush, so ends the snowboarding season which while great, is always the seasonal equivliantant of "the friend with the great personalilty" when compared to windsurfing.