RipCurl's Right Coast Raid Tour Stops in Nags Head

Today, we had the best of the best from the surfing world hit the water just north of the Nags Head Fishing Pier. RipCurl's Right Coast Raid Tour is in Nags Head today, and featured some world class surfing in some surprising surf generated by the afternoon NE wind. Conditions were messy onshore, but these guys ripped it up for the crowd of judges and onlookers for the contest/event! Tonight, the festivities continue at the Outer Banks Boarding Company (OBBC). See some photos from the BBQ party which included great food, music, autographs, and videos!

Some photos from the beach:

The event site north of Nags Head Fishing Pier



Competitors at the event tent


Tom Curren at the lip


Tom Curren coming in after finishing his heat


Action on the beach and in the water!


Mick Fanning with a nice cutback!


ASP World champ, Mick Fanning finishing a heat


Nice floater over the whitewater!


Cutback spray for the photographers


Some serious spray!


Evening BBQ Party:

Plenty of BBQ, slaw, collards, etc...for the party attendees!


Autographs signed by surfing's top pros!


The awards recipients from the earlier surf contest. The event was a team based competition between the local surfing shops with each team including one of the legendary pros. The first place team was WRV.


Tom Curren on the guitar with some fine acoustical indie style sound.

Windsurfing Skill Level, a Macro View

Recently, I ran a poll to gauge windsurfing skill level from visitors to the blog. Choices were based upon a Windsurfing Magazine Skills Chart highlighting various levels within broad discipline areas. Given that the majority of OBX Beach Life windsurfing readership comes from the north/central/south east quadrant of the US and Canada, an interesting sampling was gathered. Over 50% of respondents marked their skills as "Advanced." Per the skills chart, the breakdown for Advanced is as follows:

Longboard Crusing: Sails in limited local conditions. Uses harness 75% of the time; uses the footstraps occasionally. Can complete 50% of tacks and jibes.
Shortboard Giant Slalom/Slalom: Sails in limited local conditions. Uses harness 75%. Uses front footstraps. Jibes for transitions. Waterstarts easily.
Shortboard Waves/Bump and Jump: Sails in limited local conditions. Uses harness 75%. Uses front footstraps. Jumps and surfs faces of small surf 50% of the time.

Of course, this is not a "scientific survey," and may have about as much credibility as a current US Gallop political poll; however, it does shed some light into what today's average "US East Coast" windsurfer's experience level is. An interesting continuation of this poll would be to sample regionally. For example, how would West Coast USA skill level compare to East Coast? Or how would European or Australian skill level compare against US (east or west coast).

Bottom line being, how does windsurfing skill level break across various macro regions of the world?

I believe there are many factors which play into where current windsurfing skill levels reside including but not limited to:
- average "local" conditions;
- commute times/distances to both local and prime windsurfing destinations;
- lifestyle blend with career/family requirements;
- commitment to windsurfing as a pastime/hobby, or a way of life;
- age;
- motivational drive from fellow windsurfers;