Ego Beach Earned Its Name Today!

The gear sacrifices were plenty today as strong SW winds and a sizable ocean swell visited Avon. Ego Beach was the call with prime side-off conditions. A number of sails were shredded as the heavy inside wave made the trek out a timing effort. I was lucky and came out unscathed after a number of launches during the day, and some down time on the inside. Ego's wave offered sizable top to bottom pitching sections, but the sets were quite clean though fast and steep. You had to have your timing game down just right to avoid being pummeled. Classic Ego Beach style!

Many of local kiteboarding pros joined us in the waves. There were actually more kiteboarders in the water than windsurfers, but the wave setup was perfect for their riding style. Fast, big critical hits, and plenty of kite power on the inside barreling wave, made for some exciting kite riding action!

All in all, it was a fun Friday afternoon 4.7m wavesailing session! I do not have any photos or GoPro footage, but with all the Ego Beach action today (both kiteboarding and windsurfing), along with the large spectator crowd, there are bound to be some shots posted online soon. If I find any, I will let you know!

Hatteras Loop Fest 2008 Almost Here!

Hatteras Loop Fest 2008 is approaching with the aerial action to begin in June! The month will be a celebration of aerial spins with focus on the FWD Loop "commit" for those aspiring to go for it. The event phrase is Ready to Rotate?!!, and for those taking the challenge; hopefully June will be your month!




The two fixed date events include:
- The Loop Clinic, June 14 hosted by local looper, and Sailworld shop guru Andy McKinney, and;
- The Loop Off, June 20 - 22 which will be an aerial spinning extravaganza in the Outer Banks surf. FWD, back, push, whatever...if the board and rider go for an aerial spin, that is what the Loop Off is all about. Who knows, will we see a wave aerial FWD loop attempt in Hatteras? If so, this will be the event to go for it!

Ready to Rotate?!!
If so, register for the Hatteras Loop Fest today!

What I Missed!!

Following the strong low pressure which passed the OBX on Monday; Tuesday, the east facing OBX was pounded with huge surf, whitewater, and strong NNE winds. Perfect setup for the south facing side of the islands where clean side to offshore wind provided a true wavesailing experience! Izzy's Inlet and Ocracoke were the spots to be had, and most of the crew reported awesome wavesailing sessions at those locales. I chalked it up as a "Missed It!" in my calendar, and from the photos, it looks like a major missed it!

The images speak for themselves!
Photographer: Lane Du Pont
All shots from Izzy's (ocean access site just outside of Hatteras Village)

Andy and Keith sharing a line


Andy approaching the wall of white! (Note, Andy has the full report posted on his blog from the day.)


Keith at the bottom of a mast high line!

Some shots from Monday at Izzy's

Caleb ahead of the logo high pitch!


Olaf setting up for some action down the line


Rick on his way out through the pound!

3.7m in the Lulls at Jockey's Ridge!

Today, a strong low pressure system crossed the northern OBX producing gale force conditions. The day began with strong westerly winds gusting into the mid 40 mph range. Lots of sound side flooding and liquid smoke on the water! The ocean in Nags Head looked awesome with clean waist to overhead high set waves; however, the westerly direction was near straight offshore. Given the strong offshore wind, and no one else to venture into the ocean with, I decided to hit it at Jockey's Ridge. I actually had two sessions at JRidge. The first was extremely windy and mostly overpowered on the 3.7m. I had the sail rigged with heavy downhaul, flat and tight, but it was still like walking on egg shells on the water! This is the session where I recorded the video with the mast top mount, and I look like I am "crawling" around on the jibes due to the excessive wind! The second session was during the late afternoon when the wind switched to the NW and dropped a few mph. Again, the ocean looked awesome with building head to overhead high feathering peaks, but conditions were deteriorating rapidly as the the low moved offshore and the wind clocked more northerly. Again, I was solo, so I hit JRidge. The afternoon session was ugly with extremely dark skies, heavy rain and wind ranging from 20 mph to 45mph! I had fun though with more control since the average was in the low 30mph range. Lots of big jumps, more loops that earlier, and better overall control. The only drawback was the foreboding skies and intermittent heavy blinding rain. I kept a keen eye for any funnel clouds, but saw none.

Overall, a crazy day and though I had a good time, there have been better days. Some of the Avon crew caught it on the south side at Izzy's. Andy detailed insane airtime during a huge backloop off a big bomber down there! I saved the gas for either a run south tomorrow, or perhaps when the SW is forecast to return later this week?!

Here is the video of the mast top mounted GoPro. This is the first time with this angle, and I think I can get some really cool footage, especially during an upcoming ocean sesh!

$17.50+ Round Trip to Avon!

Well, as an OBX local residing in Nags Head, I determined that the round trip mileage from my house to the Canadian Hole/Ego Beach in Avon is exactly 100 miles. At around 20 mpg for the 4runner, and gas running $3.50+ per gallon...that puts me at or over $17.50 per trip. Likely the cost will be higher since gas prices continue to rise, and I believe is now above $3.60 per gallon in Nags Head. All in all, chasing the wind now has true fiscal ramifications! This Spring, we have had a number of windy days; however, most all have been "up and down" with short periods of strong wind followed by long periods of lull. I've experienced everything from remaining local and catching juiced 5.3m sessions at Jockey's Ridge (2 min from my house), to driving to Avon and getting skunked. The worst is when you leave wind to find wind, and where you left gets windier! This scenario happened last week when I was hoping to find some side-onshore waves/whitewater on the south side (east facing surf was non-existent) and made the drive to Buxton. The wind never happened on the southern OBX; however, Nags Head sites ripped with 30mph SW conditions! All in all, beyond the time spent driving around to find the perfect conditions, the fuel costs are now a real issue when making the trek. I can only imagine for the visiting crew who drive 100s of miles one way to catch an OBX weekend forecast; which either does not materialize, or is too crazy to enjoy.
I believe I may have to adopt a few road rules:
1) If SW wind is blowing, and the sky is cloudy, remain local.
2) If the ocean is completely flat, and winds are strong in Nags Head, remain local.
3) If strong SW wind but storms are approaching from the west, remain local.
4) If day 1 of a strong NE, remain local.
5) If day 3 of a strong NE and east facing ocean is all whitewater, head south for Izzys, Hatteras Inlet, or Ocracoke.

local = 20 mile radius, down to the Boiler

Well, these rules would be great if I could follow them, but...do I want to miss this...of course not!?! At least once June arrives and the consistent afternoon SW thermals return, Salvo Ramp will be back in the spotlight, and that site is about a 60 mile round trip for me, or somewhere over $10.00!

On the flip side, maybe I should invest in a kiteboard rig, and head south fully armed to catch any wind found!