2011-02-03

Back in the Groove!

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A TON of FUN!!

Yesterday, we experienced our first day of winter "warm" southerly winds under afternoon sunny skies.  The "Monster" storm that ravaged most of the country; offered the OBX some fun windsurfing conditions!  The "100 Rule" was met with 65 degree air and 40 degree water, and I suited up for the first time in 2011 to catch a fun light air wavesailing sesh at Enterprise St in Nags Head.  Extremely fun outer bar waist high surf cleaned up by the off-side-off winds made for some excellent action on the SeaLion! This board is simply awesome for actually the majority of surfable OBX days!  Light 12 to 18 mph side off wind, clean outer bar surf, and a willingness to go is all that is required.  I had a blast yesterday catching wave after wave on the Lion!  Lots of turns, lip hits, and DTL rides rekindled the wavesailing urge which has laid dormant over the past two months.  My buddy Tony V joined me out there too for a birthday sesh (Happy B Day Tony!) riding a long board in the surf.  He too caught some fun waves, but remained a little cooler sitting on the board in the cold water, as compared to my standing ride.  No gloves necessary riding the SeaLion!  : )

For 2011, I am sure to log many, many sessions on the SeaLion, especially locally on the excellent in-town sand bars which are set up this year!  
I also ran a recon run down to Coquina Beach just north of Oregon Inlet, and this year appears to have some promising sandbar setups there as well!  Well formed outside bars with fun surf for SSW side-off conditions.  Nice thing about Coquina is cleaner wind as there are no buildings to block the inside as compared to Enterprise St.  

All in all, I have a feeling that 2011 will be the year for "light air" OBX wavesailing, and the SeaLion will be leading the charge for those days where it will be sharing the action with SUP and standard surf riders.  Nice thing about the SeaLion though is its wavvyness and ability to make the lip and execute when needed!

Note, I will likely be hosting a light-air oceanside SeaLion Demo in early May for anyone interested in taking the board out for a ride.  The very informal demo will be scheduled during a window seeking fun side-off conditions, excellent surf lineup, and minimal shorebreak!   Email me if you are interested in attending so I will have a rough estimate for board quantity available.  Also, if you are simply interested in light-air, small surf wavesailing, come on out!