2007-03-18

Road Sailing Weekend

The styrofoam/firebird house in Nags Head.  I actually helped build this big icebox back in the early 90s.  The firebird was added in recently.  This year there are excellent sand bars formed just north and south of the beach access from where this shot was taken.  Look for this place on the oceanfront while driving though south Nags Head across from the Outlet Mall.  You cant miss it!It has been windy on the OBX over the past 3 or 4 days; however, you had to have been in the right spot at the right time to catch it! I spent Friday and Saturday "road sailing" down to south Nags Head waiting for the wind speed to bump up to the right velocity to hit the water on my 5.3m. It never happened. The wave lineup at "the styrofoam house" appeared perfect for wavesailing. Conditions were slightly over head with high peaks peppered throughout the zone. The side off shore winds cleaned up the chop nicely and the current appeared to flow opposite of the wind direction. Perfect setup, and I probably would have went for it, given the light winds, if the water was not 45 degrees!

Saturday, again spotty wind conditions, but much cooler air temps hovering in the low 40s. The 100 mark was not reached, so I do not think any of the local crew made it out. The wind speed also hovered in the upper teens/low 20s so not too enticing given the cold.

All in all, though WindGuru and IWS had the stars up and red showing respectively for Friday, I did not catch it. Some of the crew in Avon had better luck and reported big conditions at the Cape Point and chop fun at Canadian Hole. Keith sent me this link to some windsurfing photos from the Canadian Hole shot by Lane on March 14 at the beginning of the multi-day warm weather-a-thon. Sailors include Jim M, Keith M, Andy, and Martine.