Cold NW at the Boiler
Today the NW winds pumped in and brought some cold air onto the OBX. Luckily, I put the top back on the 4runner last week and packed the full wetsuit a few days ago. The air was in the upper 40s/low 50s and the wind chill probably brought it down to the upper 30s. However, the water felt like a warm bath with temps pushing 70 degrees! Once suited up, it felt great to get into the ocean. Wind conditions at the Boiler were light on the inside; yet the side-offshore flow produced some fun set waves on the sandbar. Size ranged from waist to head high on the bigger sets. It was fun while it lasted; however, the winds died into the afternoon. All in all, not a bad first cold weather Fall wavesailing session on the OBX, but hopefully the long range forecast will pan out and strong SW will arrive back on the islands by the weekend?! Again, we shall see...Here are some photos from today:
Charlie getting a little air off the lip!
Dan in full cold weather garb.
Caleb and Jim hanging out on the beach.
Caleb taking the Exocet and Aerotech rig for a spin
3 Comments:
Hi Bill,
Great web site, I can see and almost feel what life is like in Hatteras although I can only visit once or twice a year. I know surfers/windsurfers are protective of their spots, but I was curious as to where you can sail oceanside on a NNWest wind. Is the Boiler up near Waves or possibly on Pea Island?
I'll keep it a secret.
Rob
Hey Rob! Glad you enjoy the site. Yea for NNW winds the Boiler is probably the premier wavesailing spot. The land orientation is perfect for side-off conditions. The waves were a little junkier than normal for this report, but perhaps today it will look better as the swell hopefully builds.
The Boiler is located on Pea Island and is the second parking lot after passing the ocean overwash area south of Oregon Inlet Bridge. See the WindMap website for specific details.
As for keeping it secret, no worries. Here in Hatteras we welcome anyone and everyone to come out sailing at our favorite spots! There is just not that many wave sailors (local or visiting), and there is plenty of space in the surf! Though, yesterday I did snake a wave from Caleb?! : )
Bill, Thanks for sharing some local sailing spot info, maybe I'll see you down there next spring. One other question, I noticed that you guys are sailing with Aerotech's new Charge wave sails. How do you like them? I heard real good things about their Phantom line of sails and might pick up one or two of the larger sizes for the lighter conditions we get up here in NJ.
Rob
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