Two Sessions Today

Today I had two windsurfing oceanside sessions! The experience was nothing to write home about, but fun to get in the water, and though cold, not too bad. The lunch break session was at the Blue Heron Motel in Nags Head. South winds were gusting from 12 to 30mph. I rigged 4.7m and well...it was not too great. Small to non-existent surf, and moments of fully powered to dead in the water conditions. Lauren came out and shot a few photos, but captured nothing too exciting given the small surf and lack of inside wind. Gradually, the wind shifted SW and thus straight offshore in Nags Head, completely shutting down the session.

Later this afternoon, the wind ramped up down south and I began receiving calls from the wave crew. They sailed Ego Beach and reported messy waist to shoulder high surf. I had some work to complete, so could not make the drive to Avon, but managed to catch an early evening session at the Boiler. The surf there was much better than in Nags Head. A solid waist high swell and occasional chest high wave sets produced super clean lines and a nice set up. My only mistake was leaving my big board and fin at home! I slogged out on my 5.3m and 76 liter wave stick, but it was not quite enough to comfortably plane. Though, I did catch a few wave rides which made the day. All in all, not too bad for a double session in early April, though bigger surf all around would have made the weak plane/slog a little more enjoyable.

For non-windsurfing visitors:
Definition: "Slog" To slowly creep along on a half sunken windsurf board with the mast sticking up vertically. Easiest way to visualize is if you see a windsurfer moving very slowly and hear him/her cursing at the wind. They are most likely at that moment "slogging!"

Weak plane, if not slogging, in the flat gusty conditions in front of the Blue Heron Motel in Nags Head.