Lost In Hatteras

Resurrection?

2011-11-18T14:11:00.002-05:00

Goodness Gracious, it's been awhile since I logged into this place! There's a layer of dust an inch deep in here!

Well, I just wanted to give y'all a head's up- Due to time constraints and the general hassles of blogging, the chances of me fully resurrecting Lost In Hatteras are slim. Well, at least not in it's full former form- I might surprise you with a little juicy tidbit every now and then, but I wouldn't expect daily posts here any time soon.

Luckily, in this modern age, it's really easy, fast, and fun to interact with people on the other various online forums, like Facebook and Twitter. I've been updating the Wind-NC facebook page very routinely, with lots of the same old good stuff that I used to put up here, like pictures, videos, and other glimpses into the Hatteras lifestyle. So, if you're looking for some stoke from Hatteras, I'd urge you to check out the shop's Facebook Page and "like" it to stay informed! You can join in the fun and post your own photos and recaps of the day right on our page, too- We're always stoked to see how you spend your days in Hatteras!

So, you've been formally invited! Come join in the fun- just Click below:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wind-NC/137627706291952

PS- This is what we sailed this morning:

Ramp 34, 4.7 Gaastra IQ on the DaCurve 85, with waist to head high peeling lefts! Loving it!

Hope to see y'all soon!

I Have A New Home (Please update your bookmarks)!

2010-01-28T12:51:00.001-05:00

***1/30/10 update- new link below***

In an effort to help you procrastinate as efficiently as possible, I've teamed up with WindsurfingMag.com! From here on out, I'll be posting all of my usual pics, vids, stories, and random off topic nonsense at the following address:

http://windsurfingmag.com/lostinhatteras

Please update your bookmarks! You can also update your Lost In Hatteras RSS feed here:

http://windsurfingmag.com/category/windsurfing-blogs/andy-mckinney/feed

Why? Because- If you're not actually out windsurfing, you might as well waste as much time as possible thinking about it. After you get your Hatteras Action Fix, you'll be able to access endless amounts of windsurfing news, stories, how-to articles, gear reviews, etc etc- All with just a click of the mouse, and all for free! Congratulations, your 3 minutes of Hatteras update will now most likely become 3 hours of online windsurfing information overload! Please don't blame us if you get fired for lack of productivity at work.

A short helmet cam video, and (Road) Surfing

2010-01-24T09:12:00.001-05:00

Hi- I've been slacking on the vids lately. So, first things first, here is a short helmet cam clip from Thursday's freestyle sesh:

Freestyle Windsurfing, POV from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

Visualizing is pretty important if you're trying to progress in windsurfing, so I guess the helmet cam is pretty good for that. But in all honesty, I like the clew mount videos much more because I think you get a better feel for the whole picture of what's going on.

Anyway, we've had a good bit of wind most everyday lately, and the surf has been just absolutely bombing! It's almost too big to really do anything with at the moment. The buoy topped out at about 15 feet at 15 seconds yesterday, which is just massive. To put it in perspective, 3 feet at 15 seconds turns into well overhead bombs on our sandbars... This picture is from up high on the dunes on the southside, where the swell had already been knocked down by Diamond Shoals and wrapped around a 90 degree bend in the island:

That line of white water running completely across the bottom of the photo was probably at least head high, to put things in perspective!

So Stuart, Anne, Banana and I just drove around all afternoon looking for a rideable spot, finally gave up, bought a 6 pack of beer and went fishing...

It ended up being a really fun day, but as far as I'm concerned, road surfing...

... is for the birds!

2 Different Days, 2 Different Swells

2010-01-19T20:13:00.001-05:00

Winter in Hatteras can just be so unbelievable! Feast or famine... After a total letdown for wind over the weekend, Momma Nature made up for it with two incredible back to back swells, warm(er) temps, and sunshine! Monday saw a bombing south swell hitting the Frisco and Hatteras beaches, with perfect, light offshore winds. Man, I ate some $(*& out there! The South swell was followed closely by today's quickly building North swell hitting all of the East facing beaches. Man, I ate some (*$& out there! Tomorrow looks to be insane, with light offshore winds forecast and a peaking North swell! Unbelievable... Man, I'm going to eat some (*&$ out there! Luckily, all this ($(*$ tastes pretty darn good!

Moon set over the pier

Barreling set under the pier

I think I've dripped about a gallon of water out of my sinuses over the last two days. And only one casualty so far (knock on wood)- Stuart gave himself a pretty solid fat lip this afternoon. Sweet!!

Keep an eye on the wind towards the end of the week- It might get pretty crazy out here!

No Wind, Teeny Tiny Waves, BUT LOTS OF.....

2010-01-15T11:35:00.000-05:00

...... FISH!!!! Black Fin Tuna, Puppy Drum, Stripers...

We have been eating like Kings lately! Stuart lucked out with a place on a boat the other day, and took a trip to the Gulf Stream. He sent me a bunch of cool pictures- Check 'em out:

It gets all foggy out at the Gulf Stream because of the interaction between warm water (~75F) and cold air (~35F).

The seas tend to be pretty rough, too.

Well, rough enough that Tyler needed to "look overboard" a few times!

All of their hard work ended with this: (Lucky me!)

So I got inspired, finally went and bought a license, borrowed Drew's rod, stood shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of friendly guys and gals pulling in Drum after Drum after Drum all around me, made sure to use the same setup as everyone else, and didn't catch a dang thing but seaweed and my neighbor's lines! Hahaha! Beginner's bad luck, I guess :) Oh well, try try again...

I did see a few Harbor Seals on the beach, though, which is pretty cool.

It looks like we're going to get some crazy weather this weekend, so keep an eye on Sunday/Monday as potentially great days for windsurfing!

Thawed out...

2010-01-13T12:01:00.000-05:00

Luckily, all of that ice was short lived! Stuart and I grabbed a freestyle sesh in the Slick yesterday afternoon, in some of my favorite conditions ever- barely powered in the gusts on a 4.7. All of the freestyle stuff just seems so easy in those conditions. The sail is light and easy to throw around, but it's not so windy that you're scared to try stuff. I honestly don't mind being bundled up in a 6/5/4 with hood, 5 mil boots, and mittens, either. It just seems like armor against the inevitable falls you're going to take...

So, with all that confidence and the perfect conditions (and a slightly numb brain from the cold), I decided to try a few Chachos, with mild success. Read- I didn't die trying. I was nowhere close to sailing out of them, but I got through a few attempts and didn't scare myself, which is half the battle with this freestyle stuff. In fact, they seemed very controlled and approachable. So I'm stoked to try more in the future!

Stuart happened to get the second one on film while warming his hands in the portable hot tub. He was still numb, and wearing mittens, so I'm actually really impressed with the quality of the pic! Thanks for shooting, Stu!

Medium Rare

2010-01-11T11:11:00.000-05:00

Dan and I grabbed a quickie sesh yesterday afternoon- Lit up 4.2 conditions and cold cold cold! Turns out, it was just in the nick of time, as the sound has frozen over last night...

That's something you don't see everyday- Yikes! Luckily, we've got two things working in our favor:

1) The sound follows the air temperature pretty closely. We've got a big 65F Southerly gale on the forecast maps for this weekend, so my fingers are crossed for liquid water, soon!

2) The ocean is right across the street, and sits at a relatively balmy ~45F.

Speaking of which... Time for a SUP sesh with Stu! The report is waist high, super clean, and, well, an empty lineup. Can't imagine why?

Eighteen Days...

2010-01-06T19:54:00.001-05:00

...since I've had a boom in my hands... The only reason I decided to count is because one of my calluses just fell off. Hmm, time to suit up and deal with the cold, I guess! Perhaps Frisco is the place to be:

If you take a look at this map of Sea Surface Temperatures (obtained from marine.rutgers.edu) you'll be able to see some pretty cool things going on. Most obvious are the two different currents that meet off the shores of Hatteras Island- The (purple cold water) Labrador Current, and The (red warm water) Gulf Stream. The Gulf Stream almost always sits tantalizingly close to our shores, but rarely pushes all the way in. The Labrador Current, on the other hand, butts right up against the shore as it pushes down from the North.

Now, take a closer look at Hatteras and Ocracoke Inlet- They stand out as little plumes of (dark blue) cold water (from the purple sound) that jut into the warmer (teal blue) water of the ocean. The wind has been WNW lately, which is evidenced by the shape and orientation of the plumes. I'm not sure if the cold water plumes were completely driven by the wind, the tidal outflow from the sound, or most likely both factors working simultaneously.

Amazingly enough, though, the water along the southern beaches looks like it's over 60 degrees, as long as you don't get too close to the inlets. That's mighty tempting, especially compared to the 45 degree water (or less) found along the east facing beaches.

But the most interesting thing about those plumes of cold water? When comparing their shape and location within the 60 degree water, one will notice that they form the eyes on a teal blue sock puppet. Yay!

Road Trip

2010-01-03T17:02:00.000-05:00

Wow, epic road trip! Anne and I logged about 40 hours in the car in the last two weeks... we crossed 9 States... which is a lot, but we saw many of our friends and family and definitely had a blast! I guess I barely leave Avon for 11.5 months of the year, so I've gotta log some miles at some point...

I want to tell my brother Jim and his wife Pauline "Congratulations!" for their first child, Ethan James, born December 25th, 2009! I predict that he'll be throwing forward loops by 2015 : )

There are too many intricate (and most likely boring) details of the trip to write about, so here are a few random pics and a short video that tell just a bit of the story:

And, of course, there has to be an action video:

Sledding in VT from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-23T09:15:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays, Folks!

If you have some down time this Holiday Season, why not check out the latest edition of Windsurfer International?

The Venus Flytrap

2009-12-20T01:50:00.000-05:00

Due West winds are the preferred direction for sailing the Buxton Slick. Today, we had plenty! Stuart and I sailed our 3.7s completely maxed out. With that much wind, the Slick was no longer a slick. In fact, there was so much extra water piled up (due to the strong winds) that only about 30% of the normal land mass was exposed... leaving our normal stomping grounds a mess of micro-psycho-chop...

So we foraged further

to a place

Stuart has dubbed

The Venus Flytrap

Where the water is so smooth, and the wind so strong (and gusty) (and shifty) that the most routine endeavor becomes either effortless or impossible. More often than not, my luck swayed to the impossible side of things!

Regardless, it was a pretty sick way to finish off my 2009 season! Cheers, to an even windier 2010!!!!

Come along for the ride- here are 2 minutes of GoPro action, straight from this morning's session:

Windsurfing "The Venus Flytrap" from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

Progression!!

2009-12-17T20:14:00.000-05:00

Repetition is key... Stuart and I hit the Slick for the last 2 days, both days on 4.7. The wind direction stayed basically the same for both days, too, so we had a chance to really dial in a "course" of ridiculously flat water. And now, we've both got Grubby's pretty confidently in the bag! Stuart on both tacks, and I'm still stubbornly starboard... I'm stoked, for sure. And I owe Stuart a huge thanks for keeping the motivation up!

Here's a few image grabs of yesterday's massively overpowered slick sesh:

Tight quarters...

Slickety slick....

Stu (up ahead) halfway through...

Moments before disaster (Flaka attempt)

I know most of you guys only like to come during April and October, but Hatteras absolutely HOWLS the whole rest of the year (except August).... For example, in the last 2 weeks, I've had 2x3.7 sessions, 2x4.2 sessions, 3x4.7 sessions, and 1x5.2 session. And when the wind hasn't blown, the surf has been super fun and glassy. We definitely can't complain! Come join us for some fun!!

Super Windy Wednesday Video

2009-12-12T16:20:00.000-05:00

This video is long, but I think you'll like it. Gather up your friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, and pets. Pour everyone some eggnog (but leave the rum out of Junior's). Load the video, and turn up the volume. If you aren't enjoying the action, then close your eyes and absorb Tchaikovsky's soundtrack. Enjoy!

Super Windy Wednesday from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

Everyone please say "Thank You" to Ace, because without his generosity this video (or any of the last half dozen videos for that matter) wouldn't exist!

Happy Holidays Everyone! There's still time to ship stuff out before Christmas, so shoot me a note if you're in need of a windsurf board to put under the tree.

Trumped

2009-12-10T21:04:00.000-05:00

I hate to say it, but I think today's 20 minute sunset session completely and utterly trumped yesterday's all day long 3.7 warm sunny blowout. Let's go through a checklist to try to quantify.

Was It:

Windier? No, not even close. The winds hovered right around 20 knots this evening.
Wavier? No, it was flat with backwash voodoo chop.
Warmer? No, not even close. My hands were freezing and I should have worn mitts.
Of longer duration? No no no no no. 20 minutes, tops.
With more friends? No, it was solo.
Radder action? No, all I did was mow the lawn. I didn't even get my hair wet.

So, by what quantifiable measure was tonight's session even remotely better? Well, none at all. But sometimes you just can't quantify the surprise of an unexpected sesh, the beauty of a setting sun, or the pure joy of experiencing the natural world while perfectly powered on a 4.7.

I forced myself to come in for 30 seconds to take this picture. No more, no less. Then it was right back out there for a few more blissful passes...

Windy Wednesday

2009-12-09T22:59:00.003-05:00

***Update: Dale sent in a few more pics!! (Thurs, 9:30am) ***

Wow, it has just been howling out here on Hatteras Island! I was smart enough to grab Anne's 3.7 today, and I'm glad I did because I ended up using it pretty much all day long. George, Jim K, Dale, Donny, Mark S, Freddy, and I hit the Hole in the warm, summer like SW winds. It's tough to believe that it's December when the thermometer reads 70F... We are LUCKY!! I took a bunch of video footage that I'll work through eventually, but in the meantime, check out these pics that Dale sent in:

Jim K and Mark S, full speed ahead! Jim gets the biggest sail award with his 4.0!

Mark, 3.4 and 66 liters

George (3.7)

Me (3.7 and 80 liters)

Thanks Dale!!

Mid-afternoon, I snuck down to Old Lifeguard Beach and sailed a 4.2 for about half an hour with Thomas, Charlie, Dan, and Lane. The waves were super clean and had nice size, probably a touch overhead in the better sets. Slight equipment malfunction cut the sesh short, but that's alright as it was time to get Anne on the water!

With an hour of daylight left, I ran back to the Hole and re-rigged Anne's 3.7 for her. She showed up, tossed on her wetsuit, and charged on out into some seriously gusty winds. After she had had her fill, I decided to let her in on a little secret- All of the other (190 pound) guys out in the water were on 3.7s too! She just smiled and asked for a 3.2 for Christmas...

No Strap Jibes

2009-12-07T10:43:00.000-05:00

There is a forum thread on iWindsurf.com where Spennie recommends jibing with both feet out of the footstraps. That is certainly an unconventional approach, but I know a few people who jibe this way. I figured that I'd give it a try, and recorded the sesh for posterity and a few laughs at the inevitable crashes. Check out the outcome:

No-Strap-Jibes from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

I found it harder to control the rig because I was too close to the mast base to have any leverage over the sail. It was fun to try, though, and I'll certainly keep it in the ol' bag of tricks.

Any other experiences? Add your 2 cents to the iWindsurf forum thread!

Cove Video!

2009-12-04T06:29:00.000-05:00

It ended up blowing 4.7 all afternoon Thursday, so I spent a lot of time tuning up the 2010 Surge. This sail is like a chameleon on the water depending on down and out haul combinations! If anyone is looking for help getting a certain feel out of their World Sail please shoot me an email, but I've been really happy underdownhauling and adding a little extra outhaul for most applications.

Anyway, I tossed together a video from Wednesday's Cove sesh! Conditions were Super Freaking Windy out of the ESE, with fun waves in the chest to head high range. Queue it up full screen, turn up the volume, grab a non-windsurfing co-worker, and press play:

Windsurfing 30+mph Winds in The Cove from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

Everyone please say "Thank You" to Ace for loaning me his video camera! I'm pretty sure he knows how sandy everything gets out here...

So Windy!!

2009-12-02T23:07:00.002-05:00

Something weird happened today. I was blown off of my 4.2. I couldn't hang on, I could barely waterstart. Bottom turns were manageable, but top turns were out of the question, unless you went one handed and flagged the sail. Very weird, indeed. My suspicions were confirmed upon checking the meters: Frisco Pier was reading average 38 with gusts to 47 mph! Yes, yes, it was FREAKING WINDY out there.

It's all good, though, because we scored a sweet day in The Cove! It wasn't until the last hour that it went truly ballistic. The waves were in the chest to head high range, and most people were on 4.2-4.7 or 6-8 meter kites all day long. One thing is for sure: there are a lot of smiling, tired, sore bodies on this island tonight!

Keith bottom turns as Stuart sets up for the next wave

I took a bit of video from the beach, and tied on a GoPro while sailing too. Here are a few frames from the clew mount camera to tide you over until I get a chance to edit the vid:

One handed one footed top turn... And yes, I sailed away from it!

No handed back loop... And no, I did not sail away from it :)

There is a lot more wind in the forecast for tomorrow and this weekend too!! Come on out and join us!

The Sylt of The Americas: Side-on in Frisco

2009-11-30T22:44:00.001-05:00

Thank goodness for iWindsurf.com!! Today was one of those weird days where it blew 25-35 mph all day in Frisco, but barely touched 20 in the gusts for much of the day in Avon. As the crow flies, these spots are only about 5 miles apart... Without iWindsurf's meters, I would have never guessed that Frisco was crankin'!

A bunch of us ended up sailing/kiting the Bathhouses in some super fun side onshore conditions. Good jumping and fun waves in the head+ range made for a pretty sweet afternoon on the water. Not to mention temps in the high 60s! It's tough to believe that it's almost December already! The only thing that kept me honest was the massive sideshore current, taking my power away right when I wanted it the most- right in the impact zone!

Sorry, no pictures, but think of Sylt, minus the freezing temperatures, a foot or two of wave height, and thousands of cheering fans!

Looks like another massive storm event on Wednesday/Thursday! Come on Down and JOIN US!!!!!

Gobbling Up Good Waves

2009-11-26T07:51:00.000-05:00

GOBBLE GOBBLE!!

The surf has been just gorgeous for the last day or two! Light offshore winds and overhead sets... What more can you ask for?!

Happy Birthday, Dad!! I hope you guys have a great Thanksgiving up north! Miss ya!

Holiday Reading

2009-11-24T09:54:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. For my international readers: Thanksgiving is all about sharing and being thankful for what you have, and has roots in the US's adolescent history when the first European settlers were getting their feet underneath them. Basically, everyone just gets together with family and friends, watches some football, drinks some beer, and eats a lot of delicious food. It's really fun!

In honor of the tradition, let's all take a step back for a minute and think about who and what we truly love, and give thanks for those parts of our lives.

And now that you've got a few days on your hands with nothing to do, check out the latest edition of Windsurfer International: (go ahead and click, even you non-windsurfers, it's free to read and has great stories and photos from some amazing places all around the world)

I'm especially smitten with this Edition (#3), as it has a feature article about the Hatteras windsurfing scene and the Hatteras Wave Jam in particular. It's pretty cool to get some coverage on the event, as Bill Bell, Keith McCullough, Stuart Proctor and I have put a lot of time and effort into the whole thing (Bill especially). So, thanks for writing about your experience George, thanks for tirelessly photographing the event Janice, and thanks for publishing the article Brian!!

I know a lot of you Northerners are starting to think winter, but bear in mind, there is LOTS of windsurfing season left down here on Hatteras. For proof, check it out- the hibiscus plant on my porch is still flowering! If that doesn't scream "Warm enough to windsurf" I don't know what does!

And check out this picture of the moon from last night:

Coming up: Looks like a very windy end of the week!! That's a nice compliment to the

END OF THE YEAR SALE

at Sailworld Hatteras, which starts Friday November 27th at 10 am!!! We have some killer deals for you guys on what's left of the 2009 gear, and a few opportunities to get your hands on 2010 stuff, too! Shoot me an email or give the shop a call (252-995-5441), or better yet come on out to the beach, check out the goods, and get some sailing in to top it all off!!

Lighthouse!!

2009-11-21T18:39:00.000-05:00

Well, I think I know where all the sand from S-Turns ended up- It's all at the Lighthouse! That sandbar is working insanely well right now! We've been getting hooked up with North to NE winds for the last few days in the 20-30 mph range. The waves have been really fun, too, ranging from chest high to occasionally a bit overhead if you find a good set.

It's a lot of work to sail at the Lighthouse, especially in a due north, as the jetties and the town of Buxton really block a lot of wind on the inside. Couple that with a jet stream of current accelerating through the gaps in the jetty, and you can definitely get yourself worked if you're unlucky with the timing. I spent a lot of time in the drink this afternoon, and got pushed a solid 150 yards down the beach before I made it out, on more than one occasion... But when it all lines up for that perfect wave, you realize that it was definitely worth all of the effort...

Here's Bill, lining up a hit on a nice peak this afternoon:

And... showing off the bottom of his new 92 liter twin fin!!

heh heh heh, sorry Bill!!

Looks like more of the same for the next two days, then a mid week lull, and another good front at the end of the week!! Sweeeeeet!!

RT 12 is open, and the waves are firing!

2009-11-17T21:16:00.000-05:00

First item:

Route 12 is open to ALL traffic! 2wd cars, tractor trailers, everything. NC DOT built a temporary surface on top of one lane of the existing highway. You may have to wait a few minutes until oncoming traffic clears, but that's a heck of a lot faster than taking the Stumpy Point to Rodanthe emergency ferry service... That also means that the supply chain is wide open again, so things like gas, groceries, mail, et cetera are all readily available again. Don't fret, you WILL have Turkey for Thanksgiving! More updates here.

Next item:

The Lighthouse was Firing today! Well overhead set waves, and pretty light winds kept the faces clean and barreling, and the consequences high. Keith, Caleb, Stuart and I windsurfed, and every one of us took a pretty solid beating at one point or another. Personally, I schlogged/positioned for 27 minutes before I caught my first solid wave. It took me 9 minutes to get to the outside, and 18 minutes to get back up to the peak and find a good set wave that was lined up. It was worth the effort. After that first good wave, I lost all inhibitions and sailed much more carelessly, dropping in on most anything that came my way. 'Twas a very fun sesh!!

Keith gets the only pictures of the day:

And I caught a rare glimpse of his secret weapon- a 34 cm freeride fin!! No wonder he never has any trouble staying upwind...

More wind in the forecast! GET HERE!!

Ida Action (2 Videos)

2009-11-16T00:33:00.003-05:00

It's no secret, Ida caused her fair share of destruction across the Eastern Seaboard, including taking a good chunk out of NC12 up in Rodanthe. NCDOT is working furiously to repair the road, and they even had a lane open at low tide today to let 4wd vehicles on or off the island. There's lots of info all over the net about the storm damages and repair schedules and what not, so I'm not going to add any more to the confusion. Check out islandfreepress.org and ncdot.org for the latest info and some crazy slideshows.

I will, however, add to the action report! Ida kicked up some serious swell, but our winds were slow to catch on as the low hung out pretty much directly over us. So, the first day or two were a wash (literally). By Friday afternoon, however, the low slipped off shore just enough to kick up some North winds. Friday had potential to be an epic wavesailing day on the southside, but North winds are straight offshore down there. It doesn't sound like much of a difference, but NE is really the money direction, while due North is downright dangerous, especially when it gets big. With the East beaches an out of control washing machine, we decided to hit up the sound side at Island Creek. 4.2 and freestyle board. Check da vid:

Ex-Ida Windsurf HQ from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

Major thanks go out to Drew for filming and Ace for the loaner on the camera!!

We had another batch of wind on Saturday morning. Fluky 4.7 at the same spot, with really very similar conditions to the video. By late evening, the wind died down, and the swell backed off to 12 feet at 15 seconds or something ludicrous like that. I caught word that a few guys were thinking about paddling out down at the lighthouse, so I grabbed Anne, Banana (the dog), and the video camera and headed to Buxton. Joey Crum and Brett Barley made their way off the beach in the fading light and caught a few mackers. I've got nothing but respect for these guys, as these were exceptionally difficult conditions, and they made it look easy. Check da vid:

Ex-Ida Surf HQ from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

Yow!!!

Epic!

2009-11-11T20:21:00.000-05:00

You guys are not going to believe how sick it was today! Remember that forecast I showed you the other day? Well, check out what ended up happening:

Epic!! from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

OBX Marathon, some surf, and looking ahead

2009-11-09T21:12:00.000-05:00

So Anne ended up doing really well at the OBX Marathon yesterday! She ran the 26.2 miles in 4 hours 15 minutes 40 seconds, which is 30 minutes faster than her last marathon time! It was one heck of a scene up there, with a total of almost 7,000 people running in the 8k, 1/2 marathon, and full marathon. What an event! Here is a little video showing the scene:

OBX Marathon 2009 from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

After we made it back to Avon, Drew, Stuart and I paddled out and caught some waves. It's been a really long time since I've surfed... It's just been so dang windy! Luckily, my first wave lined up perfectly, so I got a great ride, and built up some confidence for the rest of the sesh. Laura and Anne stretched out on the beach and snapped a few pictures of the action:

Drewski

Drew posted quite a few more pics and a recap of the Marathon here.

Keep an eye on that forecast! It looks like it's going to get pretty crazy out here... of course, you never know what you're going to get until it actually happens, but some of the forecasts have been touching on 50+ knot winds and waves in the 8+ meter swell range... Yikes!! I doubt it'll get that crazy, but I won't be surprised if the road gets washed out. I'd plan on being here by Wednesday afternoon or not at all. Oh, and make sure you don't have to be anywhere until next Tuesday, because that might be the first time you'll be able to leave!

windguru.com forecast as of Sunday evening. We don't see that shade of purple all too often...

Loop Face

2009-11-07T18:56:00.002-05:00

My, oh my, it has been windy... Until today. But that's okay, because we needed a break anyway. I strapped up Stuart with the GoPro camera yesterday for his Buxton Slick Sesh on a 4.7. Check out his flat water loop face:

Haha, nice!! I took a bunch of footage of him from shore, too, with Ace's hand-me-down video camera (THANKS ACE!!!) but it's going to take me a while to get around to editing anything.

In the meantime, check out this video from the Reunion Wave Classic. These guys scored some unbelievable conditions, it's pretty insane, really. Chargin' it, too!! Bear in mind, the wave breaks over a really shallow, urchin infested reef. Yikes!! My vote for best overall rider goes to Alex Mussolini, mostly for his smooth, yet aggressive, style... For example, his wave that starts at 1:20... unreal!! Although, it might be Thomas Traversa on Alex's gear, so, uhhh, yeah, maybe Thomas gets my vote. Don't skip out on the video's ending, either. Watch it all the way through for the grand finale!

Ravine on Fire from Arnaud on Vimeo.

Wicked, eh?? (For my Canadian readers, haha)

In other news, the shop will be closed on Sunday the 8th, because Drew and I are going up to Manteo to cheer on our ladies as they run in the OBX Marathon!! Wooohoooo!! These gals have been training hard. I think we're going to see some new personal bests! Wish them luck!

Old Road

2009-11-03T18:54:00.000-05:00

From the dunes, the setup at Old Road looks very tempting- little itty bitty waves lapping up on the shore, an inner bar that looks fairly heavy but fun, and then an outer bar that gently throws and fizzles for upwards of 50 yards... Very inviting!

Until...

...you actually step foot into the ocean. Immediately, the sideshore current sweeps you off your feet. And you realize that there's no shorebreak because the inner bar is shin deep and 25 yards wide, eventually opening into a little thigh deep tidal pool at water's edge. That fun looking inner bar now looks mean, as it sucks out below sea level, hurls a thick lip, and then continues to churn all the way in, coming to rest in the little pool that you're standing in.

A tiny puff fills your sail, just enough to lure you onto the board. As you drift with the currents, you inch your way closer to the heaving section. The water pushing in under the board gives you a sense of speed and power, that really isn't there. As soon as the tidal push evens out, you sink to the bottom, with zero actual sail power. Just in time to watch the next wave heave, peel down the line, and then spit it's churned up exhaust as the last section closes out just 5 yards in front of you. Ain't no gettin' over that one, so you get washed all the way back into the little pool, in a matter of seconds.

Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and declare "Old Road" as unsuitable for windsurfing, at least for now. Maybe with more wind? Here's the best moment of my windsurfing session this morning:

Other than that little swimming sesh, it's actually been really fun down here for the last few days! We've had decent wind every day, 4.7 or 5.2, decent temps, and that chilly, overcast, spitting rain that keeps most normal people indoors. Luckily, we as windsurfers, know how to make the best of a crappy day!

Looks like more wind through the end of the week, with an emphasis on Thursday and Friday, which might provide the first real solid NW blow of the Fall. Reef Run, anyone?

Telltales

2009-10-30T10:52:00.000-04:00

It has been a super windy Fall, here on Hatteras Island. Wanna know how I can tell? Check it out:

These are some of the only flags left here in Avon. All of my shop flags have been completely thrashed by the relentless winds. Most everyone else already took down their tattered remains, and probably won't put up any fresh flags until Spring time. How will I ever know what direction the wind is blowing? : )

Stuart needs a shout out for yesterday's freestyle session at the Canadian Hole. He was ON FIRE out there, just killin' it on his 4.7. I'm going to need to chug some Red Bull to keep up with him... Yeeeehaaa!!

Wasted Wind

2009-10-27T21:32:00.000-04:00

Hi! Wow, this weekend was ALL over the place. We saw south winds, north winds, strong winds, light winds, sunshine and 70s, rain and 50s... Some of those variations were within a span of minutes! Regardless, lots of people flocked to Hatteras to go windsurfing, and man did we have fun! Personally, I got some time on the 2010 World Sail Surge, in a 4.7 and 5.2. They are feeling super light, very pumpable, and they go neutral very easily, making them a great choice for freestyle. I've got a few available for demo at the shop if you want to give one a try.

For lack of a better story: Last night we got hit with a major thunderstorm. It was gnarly. The iWindsurf.com wind meter at the Avon Pier recorded a gust of 51 mph! Wow! That same gust ripped a piece of the sign off of the roof at the shop. Luckily, the parking lot below was deserted, since it was 2:30 am. I'm kinda bummed about that chunk of wasted wind, because:

It was dark out (doesn't always dissuade me from windsurfing)
It was due to a major thunderstorm with tons of lightning (always dissuades me from windsurfing)
It woke me up in the middle of the night, so I then proceeded to oversleep, and missed the 5.2 dawn session
I have a new 3.7, but obviously, that was not a good time to give it a try

Source: iWindsurf.com

Looks like more wind over the next few days, and this weekend. Don't forget: ABK Boardsports clinic this weekend, Fri-Sun. Sign up here. Anne is taking the clinic, and I'm insanely jealous. She's probably going to be throwing flakas by Monday...

The Calm Before The Storm

2009-10-24T10:56:00.000-04:00

Serenity... I was lucky enough to enjoy a 15 minute sunset sail last night. SSE winds, 8-12 mph.

(Photo: Anne)

Week's Recap

2009-10-22T23:37:00.000-04:00

Phew- Alright- Here's the week's recap:

Early in the week, it was windy, and cold. It felt like winter, but Stuart, Justin, and I snagged the year's first good Buxton Slick sesh! Booyah!! There's no photo evidence, but it was sweet. How about a pic of Anne and Jenny de-rigging after their sunset sesh, instead:

Then the wind died but the swell was macking for a few days! Check out this video on Surfline to get an idea of the conditions!

Andy Brandt came to the shop for a THIRD FREE CLINIC on Wednesday! That has got to be some kind of record, we are hooking you guys up!! It was another good size crowd (50+), with topics ranging from The Sail Flip to The Shuv-It.

Then the swell faded and the wind hasn't come back yet. Today was as flat and windless as it gets around here, and honestly kind of rare. All of the beach goers and everyone who owns a Standup Paddleboard is still loving life, though. Warm and sunny all day today!

I'm loving life, too, because a few 2010 World Sail Surges showed up at the shop this afternoon!! They are looking sweet, with a cool color scheme and some nice construction details like lots of x-ply, hemmed batten sleeves, and a heavy duty double thickness head cap strap (among lots of other things, of course). I rigged up the 4.2 and am pretty stoked with how it looks. Can't wait to get some wind to try these sails out!!

And check out the sweet graphics on the Chinook Carbon Big Wave boom! Dang, lookin' hot! Give me a call if you want to get your hands on one!

It looks like we might get some wind this weekend... C'mon out and join us!

Super Fun Morning at The Cove!

2009-10-16T12:07:00.002-04:00

***Update 10/18/09*** Check out the re-cut on the vid! (It's not really different, just smoother edits)

I Love Windsurfing At The Cove! That place is just so much fun. Soft, easy waves, lots of jumps, and down the line rides... What a rad place!

It started off pretty small yesterday, so I sailed the freestyle board for awhile. It actually worked really well on the soft waves, but I don't know if I'd ever take it out on a more critical day. Once the wind came up a bit and the waves built, I switched over to the Pocket 80 and had an insanely fun time! There were lots of folks out, I think I counted about 10 windsurfers and another 10 or 12 kites at one point, which got a bit crowded, but no-one was really stepping on any toes or anything so it worked out alright. Here's the scene:

And a cool shot of Lane:

And here's some GoPro boom cam video:

I just want to shout out a major "Thank You" to Keith, Rick, and an unknown kiter who helped me get my board back after I had a little separation issue... Much appreciated, folks, thanks for keeping an eye out!!

Cheers, to many more days just like that!!!!

North Winds =

2009-10-14T12:11:00.001-04:00

Wetsuits!

It's been windy, every day! In the last post I made the claim that I hadn't put on a wetsuit yet. Well, yeah, that's all changed. I've been suited up every day since! I had a few Lighthouse sessions, in pretty weak waves but it's all good. Here's an image grab from some boom video:

See the Lighthouse in the background?

Yesterday was pretty solid, too, NNW in the AM so I went to the Hole and threw down some freestyle. The crowds were building just as I had to leave, but I took a few little video clips of Andy Brandt, Dave C, and West Coast Meredith on my way out.

Andy Brandt Old School at the Hole from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

Speaking of Andy Brandt, he threw down a huge windsurfing clinic at the shop last night. I counted over 60 people before everyone even showed up, at which point it was impossible to even try to count! I'm stoked that everyone came out, it was a great time and I think everyone picked up a tip or two. Hopefully, they're all out on the water trying some new tricks right now!!

The forecast is looking... interesting... ? Keep an eye out for soundside flooding Thursday night/Friday morning...

Sorry, but...

2009-10-10T20:02:00.000-04:00

...I've gotta rub it in!! Two things:

I haven't put on a wetsuit since May.
It's been howling!!

Last night and this morning were just awesome- Well powered 5.5 and 5.0 respectively, trunks and shirtless, freestylin' it up at the Canadian Hole with lots of people out and about on the water. If you're here, you're stoked! If you're not here, well.... Get Here and Join Us!! It looks like it's going to be a great week to be on Hatteras Island!

Check the forecast here.

And, an announcement:

Earlier, I announced a few free evening clinics at the shop with Andy Brandt. Surprise! We've got an addition to the list! Tuesday, October 13th at 7 PM! Be there, or be not as good at windsurfing as everyone who was there.

Rejuvenating...

2009-10-08T22:20:00.003-04:00

So I've been pretty locked up in that shop... Combined with the shorter days, it's been a bit tough to hit the water... But I did snag 5 minutes of 4.2 weather Wednesday morning after teaching Craig some waterstarting techniques. I really enjoy sailing, even if it's only for a few minutes. Sometimes the short sessions are the best- just go out and throw down for five or ten minutes, make it happen as best as you can, and then go ahead with the rest of your day feeling revitalized and ready to rock and roll!

These guys were probably feeling the same way about their SUP sesh tonight:

One of the reasons I've been locked up at the shop is because it's pre-season time of year- as in, now is when we're placing orders for our 2010 shop goodies... So if you've been eyeing anything up or are in need of a new board or sail, please give me a call so that we can discuss your needs and make sure that your dream board actually exists come springtime!

IBSCC Week Roundup

2009-10-03T09:21:00.002-04:00

Not too much action for me the last few days... But Anne and I grabbed a moonlight sail with the IBSCC guys last night, with 5.5 on the 100 Freestyle board. Super fun! Thanks for the hospitality, fellas! It was great having you around this week! After the crazy winds earlier in the week, they've been busy SUPing, and have put together some great little movies. Check them out here and here and here.

If y'all are looking for some more fresh material this weekend, check out:

Windsurfer International Issue 2

And be sure to tune in to the Live Ticker for the PWA contest at Sylt! It's gusting over 40 knots with 5m waves right now... Sounds pretty epic!!

**Update** Tabou/Vandal team rider Alex Mussolini won the Sylt Wave Event! Check out some of the pictures on the PWA website!

And don't forget- Free clinic with Andy Brandt, Wednesday October 7th, 7 PM, at Sailworld Hatteras!!

Wave Jam, Take 2

2009-09-30T01:39:00.001-04:00

So Monday ended up being extra windy SW!! After scouring the whole island, we ended up at Old Lifeguard Beach. The timing was such that everyone showed up exactly at high tide when everything got weird... The waves were doubling/tripling up, hard to read, voodoo chop inside, voodoo chop outside, the North swell instantly faded as the new South swell tried to take over... Tough conditions to make anything happen, to say the least... But everyone tried their best and did a great job out there!

Luckily, once the tide switched around and started pulling back out, everything reorganized. Just in time to rig down to a 4.2!! Even then I got yanked over the front while trying to drive down the line on a few waves... man that wind was punchy! Anyway, the sunset sesh was sweet, to say the least! I don't know that I've ever seen a bigger, redder, sun make contact with the dunes... It was very distracting...

Bill posted up a bunch of great pictures on OBX Beach Life (Thanks for shooting, Keith and Martine). Hint- if you click on a picture, a slideshow comes up, with captions.

While rigging, I snapped a few pics too:

Caleb, lining it up...

...And smacking it! (or getting smacked?)

I also tied on the ol' boom cam. I've had a bunch of requests for pictures of the GoPro Wide setup that I've been using, so here y'all go:

Put a safety knot in the straps (around the boom), and use the extra outhaul to tie a safety line around the camera itself.

Tie it up as snugly as possible, and angle the camera down towards the mast base for best results. In the camera menu, set the record mode to "upd" (upside down) since the camera is hanging upside down from the boom.

And here's what I got for video from the early sesh, on a 5.0 with the weird high tide waves. When am I going to learn to save the batteries for the real deal footage??? Oh well, something's better than nothing, right? :) Enjoy!

Wave Jam '09 from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

Wave Jam 2009!!

2009-09-26T23:26:00.001-04:00

Wave Jam is scoring some super fun conditions! It's not huge, it's not flat, it's not too much or too little wind. It's just plain old fun sailing. We've had two days straight of side/sideon winds in the 5.7-5.0 range, with waves in the waist to shoulder high range. Basically, Perfect Clinic Conditions!

Friday was NNE so we sailed at Old Lifeguard Beach. It was a blast. Very little current, very fun waves, lots of juice for some great jumps and backside/frontside hits. There were a ton of people out, and the energy level was way high. Very good stuff. Janice took A MILLION pictures (actually 1,583). You can check out the cream of the crop here.

Here's Stuart, on a wave indicative of Friday's conditions

Sailworld hosted a wave sailing clinic on Friday night. A solid bunch of people came out and listened to me wax poetic about the onshore-wind switch-stance clew-first bottom turn technique. Luckily they had beer to amuse themselves with.

The Crowd

We ran a bunch of Heats for the "Beast Of The East" Wave Jam competition all day Saturday. The wind had shifted to the East, so we ended up down at the Bathhouses in Frisco. It was very similar to Friday's sesh, except the current was stronger, the wind was flukier, and the waves were warblier. Regardless, it was super fun to head out for your heat and throw down whatever you could with what was available. Just hanging out on the beach was rad, with all the energy and stoked sailors. Everyone was looking to push their own personal limits, and the venue provided the perfect arena for wavesailing newbies and experts alike.

I'm sure Janice and George are tirelessly sorting through hundreds of photos as we speak. Keep an eye on Live to Sail to check out the latest action photography. Janice is a Superstar behind the lense, and George deserves some serious recognition for all the work he puts into his blog to promote windsurfing. Go Check It Out!!!

I just want to give a quick thanks to Bill for putting this whole thing together, and a huge thanks to all of the sponsors who helped to make the Hatteras Wave Jam 2009 a massive success!! Cheers, to a great weekend, and to future installments of the Hatteras Windsurfing Festival Series!!

Upcoming Fall Events

2009-09-23T12:53:00.001-04:00

Wow, you guys have got it good! There is a ton of stuff coming up this fall. Check it out, and mark those calendars!!!

Friday, September 25th, 7PM: FREE wavesailing clinic at Sailworld Hatteras! This is part of the Hatteras Wave Jam, and is centered around getting newbies out into the surf. Come one, come all!!

Friday, September 25th through Sunday the 29th: Hatteras Wave Jam "Beast of the East" Wavesailing competition. Event locations/times TBD (condition dependent), although there will be daily "Meet and Greets" at 9:45 am at Sailworld Hatteras.

Wednesday, October 7th, 7PM: FREE windsurfing clinic with Andy Brandt at Sailworld Hatteras!

Wednesday, October 21st, 7PM: FREE windsurfing clinic with Andy Brandt at Sailworld Hatteras!

Monday, October 19th through Friday the 23rd: ABK Boardsports 5 Day Windsurfing Camp!!

Friday, October 30th through Sunday, November 1st: ABK Boardsports 3 Day Windsurfing Camp!!

Wow, that has to be some sort of record! This is going to be an EPIC FALL!!! Get Here!!

Tabou Rocket 125

2009-09-20T16:08:00.001-04:00

Quick update for y'all:

We're back to the NE winds again! It's not really cranking, but there's plenty of wind to sail. I've gotta tell you guys about my lesson with Greg. He's been tooling around his local pond for a month and a half, and has caught the windsurfing bug pretty bad, so he decided to come to Hatteras on a whim. He's a natural- I got him beach starting, into the harness, and fully lit up over the course of just one hour! He was going so fast that I couldn't keep up on my freestyle rig!! Needless to say, his smile was pretty big... And I have a feeling he'll be back to good ol' Cape Hatteras... He's gonna have to feed the addiction... haha

After the lesson I ran down to the Lighthouse and sailed with Keith for a while. It was pretty fun, although I was mostly schlogging. The waves were about head high, and they were lined up for a few good hits. Fun spot; we're lucky to be getting loads of days there so far this fall!

Last night I ran down to the Hole and rigged up some freeride gear for a change- Tabou Rocket 125 and a 6.1. Man it was fun to just go fast and lay into some jibes! That board is so smooth and fast, it's ridiculous. It's in the demo fleet at Sailworld, so you can try it out the next time you're in town. Check out the short vid:

Sailing the Rocket 125 from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

Argiope Aurantia

2009-09-16T15:23:00.000-04:00

After our 11 day streak of Northerlies, we just made it through a few days of virtually zero wind. Luckily, there has been some swell, so we've been surfing it up, dawn and dusk. Got out on the SUP, too, and had a blast the other night. Check out the vid:

Evening Surf from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

Fun stuff! Wendy and Roland were out last weekend, also, and just sent me a few pics. Killin' it!! Check 'em out:

Roland on the outer bar in Avon

Wooohaaa!!!

And then down in Frisco

Look at that smile!!

Wendy and her dolphin friends!

Anne and I have a hibiscus plant on our porch. I've noticed that some of the leaves were looking chewed up lately. This morning, I found the culprit:

And then I noticed this guy:

See it??

And then I went to get my board and almost walked straight into this little lady:

Eeeek! That thing is the size of a tennis ball!! Huge, and freaking scary. So I looked it up, and it's called an Argiope Aurantia- eeek! Sounds scary, eh? Then I got to the common name: Yellow Garden Spider. Not even remotely poisonous or lethal or territorial or anything. Sheesh, what a letdown... Stained the old underoos for nothing!

Can we please just go ahead and call it Fall already??

2009-09-12T14:41:00.005-04:00

I just checked the iWindsurf archives, and it's been blowing out of the North since Monday, August 31st. 11 days straight, with cooler temps, and punchy wind. I think we can go ahead and just say that we've moved on from summer... And right into one of my favorite times of year!! Yeehaw!

Tuesday, September 10th, iWindsurf meters

Donny Bowers at the Hole

Anne, 3.7 and 75 combo

Jim Krenzel

Anne, Mach 2 Jibe...

...Attempt :)

Don't forget to smile!

It felt too windy to do much more than loop and hero jibe!

After the big winds, it faded and went west... with a leftover northeast swell... which equals insane surf conditions! Again, the sacrifices were many- buckled and broken boards, and a bit of slice and dice action on some legs. Coulda been much much worse, but Stuart ended up with 11 stitches! Again!! More on that later...

That's way bigger than it looks...

Oh yeah- more insane sunsets, to boot!

Wave Jam is fast approaching! If you don't have your travel plans, you'd best get on it!! Free in-store wave sailing clinic on Friday, September 25th, 7 PM. And the competition is scheduled for that Friday, Saturday, and Sunday... Cross the fingers for waves and wind!!

More North Wind!

2009-09-10T10:59:00.003-04:00

Well, I can't believe it, but the North wind has held on... We've been sailing everyday!! It's starting to feel a little chilly- I had to put on an insulated rash guard yesterday... Oh, the terror! hahaha

The wavesailing has had it's ups and downs, so Stuart and I have reverted to the ol' Freestyle to have some guaranteed fun. Last night we ended up running an impromptu SuperCross race against each other. I can't tell you how much fun it was to chase a buddy: he loops, you loop, he spocks, you spock, he duck jibes, you duck jibe... All at top speed, trying to get in front... Fun fun fun!!

Sorry, I've been slacking on the photo/video documentation, but I'll make up for it. Check out this footage from the Reunion Wave Classic. It's a pretty sweet idea for a competition- Invite a handful of pros to a spot with guaranteed insane conditions, team them up with other pros and a handful of local hotshots, and peer judge the whole thing. The PWA has been doing a really good job lately of running some great comps, but they're a little tied down by their sponsors. These grassroots comps don't have the $$ to throw around but they're more free to move around to score the best conditions... so the images that come out of them are almost always just fantastic... But hey, judge for yourself:

Reunion Wave Classic 09_Teaser 2 from Open Ocean Media on Vimeo.

Wo! Pretty sweet, eh?

Tropical Storm??

2009-09-08T15:07:00.006-04:00

Hey hey- Hope y'all had a great weekend! First off- Thanks to everyone who took advantage of the Labor Day Sale!! I truly appreciate your business!! And if you're still thinking about something, just give me a call, I'll get you hooked up with the goods!!

Secondly- we scored some seriously beautiful sunsets for about 4 evenings straight! Check 'em out:

2nd night

4th night. Big file, grab yourself a new desktop!

Third- I think we're in the midst of a tropical storm! It feels like it, at least. We had huge thunderstorms last night, an insane amount of rain, the road is completely flooded in Avon, there was some solid wind damage in Buxton this morning, and the (cranking) wind started East, veered NE, to Due North, and is supposed to finish off at NW this evening. Looking at the radar, there was definitely something that looked like a center of rotation, slowly floating by just offshore... Hmmmmm.....

Anyway, Stuart, Jim, Jim and I chased Keith down to the Southside but were too late to catch it. Stuart and I tried, but the wind had gone extremely straight offshore, and was super fluky and gusty inside the impact zone. We'll just say that it was a whole heck of a lot of work... But we each caught a wave, so whatever, it's always worth it. Here's Keith while the wind was still about 10 degrees off of straight offshore:

Go Keith GO!!

Pretty lines...

So now I'm going to go grab Anne from school, and we're gonna hit the Hole for the sunset NW sesh!! Woohoo!!

Labor Day Sale!!

2009-09-05T09:31:00.004-04:00

Hey Folks! Just wanted to announce a sale for this weekend at Sailworld Hatteras! We're slashing prices on almost everything in the store, for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday ONLY! So come on down to the beach and check out the goods, or feel free to give me a call at (252) 995-5441 or shoot me an email. I'd be happy to help you out with anything you need, all you need to do is ask!

Shipping is available, or we can hold an item for pickup.

Some of the stuff ON SALE:

Sweeeeeeet......

If you do come down this weekend, you can expect a pretty hearty helping of NE winds... Should be a fun one! Hope to see y'all!

Lighthouse Video

2009-09-03T08:07:00.004-04:00

Well the Lighthouse was working pretty well the last few days! When the wind stays more North than NE the swell never really pushes in the right direction to wrap around to the southside, so side/side on at the Lighthouse is pretty much the only option... Not that I'm complaining! The Lighthouse is pretty darned fun when it all lines up... The waves are a lot heavier than they look, and a little tricky to be in the right spot, so you do have to plan ahead a bit (especially with the whole current + light wind inside thing), but when it all lines up it's pretty sweet, with long down the line rides and sometimes some absolutely huge jumps...

I caught a little bit of footage with the GoPro camera. Of course, the half hour when the wind bumped up to the "lit" level was after the batteries died... Never fails... haha! But there's still some cool stuff in there... Check it out!

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

I caught a few pictures of Keith, too, before I went out last night (my trigger finger wasn't timing it right, Keith was making some sweet turns right before and after these shots):

The scene at The Jetty

Next up?? Keeping an eye on Erika...

First NE of the Fall!

2009-09-02T11:09:00.008-04:00

I love this time of year... It seems like we always get the first good batch of Northeast wind sometime in late August or early September, and this year is not letting us down!

So, we all love that consistent summer SW wind... but the NE... is so comfortably cool and crisp feeling! I mean, it's still 80 degrees out, and the water's warm, but the humidity is all but gone. It's a welcome change...

It started to hit Monday evening, so Stuart, Dave, Dale and I caught a late sesh at the Hole, 5.5 and freestyle board, lovin' life (but sailing like poop). Same thing Tuesday morning, but I sailed much better. Here are a few pics from the GoPro boom cam:

Yup, sailing like poop! haha But hey, if you're not falling you're not trying hard enough, right??

Later in the afternoon, the waves started to bump up a notch, so Keith, Donny, Dave, Jim K, Stuart, and I went to the Lighthouse. We shared the water with a few kiters, surfers, boogie boarders, skimboarders, and swimmers... Etiquette was high on the priority list all the way around. Cheers!

Here are a few pics of Keith that I shot within 45 seconds of getting to the beach:

Needless to say, I rigged up pretty quickly thereafter... 5.0 and the Pocket 80. It was a bit light in the current on the inside, but overall it was a pretty sweet setup. Got some great jumps off, and a few really fun waves... Multiple turns, frontside and back... The Lighthouse is such a FUN place to sail!! So fun, that I couldn't be bothered to stop, for about 3 hours straight! I was starting to feel fatigued, when I heard a *pop* and looked down to see that my harness spreader bar had broken! Well, if I was tired before, that last reach back to the beach without a harness really took it out of me... Cramped forearms, biceps seizing up, the whole nine yards... But it was definitely all worth it, as the sailing was top notch fun!!

So, I stretched out and took pictures of Stuart in the fading sun. Check out the Stuart Show:

Loopin' off the first ramp... Good Man!

I love this picture!!

Big File if you want a new desktop

Another Big File

Yeah, loving the NE!! More today, hopefully tomorrow, and maybe even Friday too!! Yeah.... Fall in Hatteras!!!!!!!!! Woohooooo!!!!!!

Warning- Gruesome Pics Herein!!

2009-08-30T22:08:00.009-04:00

So Danny, packing nowhere near the punch of his predecessor Bill, seems to have managed to take a few prisoners... Perhaps we were all caught off guard, for after Bill's full brunt of brutish bullying, Danny's demeanor seemed so... diluted...

I know of at least two boards broken clear in half.

I know of more than a handful of minor dings.

I know of at least three counts of bloodshed.

I guess that after focusing so hard, and expending so much energy to deal with Bill, we just couldn't be bothered to pay attention to Danny, and just wanted to have some fun. Turns out, Bill was the gentle giant, while Danny was the scrappy little punk who took a swing when you weren't looking...

The scene at S-Turns. I was most decidedly NOT there.

Here are a few of Danny's waves (Most pics by Drew or Laura):

Moi, southside shorebreak

Stuart, goofing around

Stuart, serious

Moi, goofing around

Goofing around, again

Warning- If the sight of blood makes you queasy, stop scrolling down and visit some other page.

So here's what happens when you stop paying attention, even for just one second:

Moi, no longer goofing around

Dan, not goofing around

And here's how you fix the ding that your face left in your surfboard:

Broke

Rough it up with sandpaper

Buy this stuff

Set up a piece of plastic to cover the repair area

Squirt said stuff into repair area

Cover with plastic

Smooth it out

Put it in the sun for 5 minutes

Remove plastic and sand the repaired area flush

Squirt in some more stuff to fill any divits

Try a tongue depressor to smooth it out

Put it in the sun again

Sand it down again

Viola! Good as new, if not a bit stronger!

An interesting aside- The board being fixed here was my polyester resin board that Stuart put his knee through. Dan dinged up his polyester resin board pretty well with his nose. My forehead cut?? Well, the recycled foam core bamboo mat epoxy resin constructed Imagine surfboard looked brand new after it bashed a hole in my head. The question then becomes- Would my forehead cut have been milder or worse if I were on a polyester board? Busted boards end up with exposed edges that can really tear you up... my guess is that it would have been worse, like Dan's (who needed multiple stitches).

All's well that ends well- Everyone has been surfing everyday since said accidents, and the waves have been really really fun!!

Looks like our first batch of Fall NE winds might be hitting this week! Keep your eyes on it!!

Cove Sesh!

2009-08-29T09:12:00.007-04:00

Nice! First Cove session of the Fall! 'Twas far from epic, but it was also much more fun than it looked from the beach... The winds were light ESE with a few puffs of about 20 rolling through, and holes in the single digits. The waves were mostly waist high with the occasional shoulder or head high set rolling through. Keith, Stuart, and I sailed, and there were about 5 or 6 kites in the air. Etiquette was top notch in all directions. Cheers!

I schlogged the Pocket 80 with a 5.5. The wind was fickle enough that I was almost never able to use the harness, so the arms got a solid workout. The cardio system and legs caught up to the arms while trying to waterstart in the impact zone with 8 mph wind. But the one *good* wave made all the effort worthwhile! It was clean, walled up, and begging for me to hit the lip on 3 solid down the line turns... mmmmmmm...

We all know windsurfing is addictive. But there's something special about a mostly lame session with 10 seconds of glory that just makes everything seem so sweet. It's tough to explain, but the possibility of being in the right spot at the right time and scoring that one fleeting moment of perfection keeps the fire so definitely alive... First, the yearning hits when you spot the perfect set wave breaking just out of reach. Then, eventually, the realization that it might actually come together for you, as you schlog yourself into position and see the horizon bump up as a set approaches. Finally, the excitement of following through and taking full advantage of the opportunity provided... It's such a simple thing, but so completely satisfying... Maybe because it doesn't happen that often, so it just seems that much sweeter when it does. Maybe because it took so much effort, that the simple reward seems so satisfying... Whatever it is, I love it!!

No pics, due to the far offshore action and lack of sunshine. Sorry!

The more time I spend on that Tabou Pocket, the more I love it... That nose shape just pops up and over whitewater like nothing happened, and the tail is so loose on the wave face... It's just so easy to sail... With these new shapes, performance wavesailing is so freaking accessible! Gimme a shout the next time you're around, and demo the 80 or the 85- Sailing in the ocean is already hard enough... There's no need to make it harder... Come try out the Pocket!!

Danny's surf, Day 1

2009-08-27T13:14:00.008-04:00

So I had a little accident last night... I took a hit from the rail of my surfboard, right on the forehead... It was just enough force to pop open a little gash, about 1" long, very shallow, but kinda wide... And if any of you have ever gotten a cut on the forehead, you'll know just how dramatic it can look... Well, I felt fine, but the faces of Drew, Stuart, and Daniel proved that I looked pretty dang far from fine! hahaha! Drew took a picture or two, maybe I'll post 'em up, maybe I won't... They're kinda gruesome looking... Luckily, no signs of brain damage yet... Good thing I've got a big thick Irish skull!

So anyway, I'm on dry dock for a few days while it starts to heal... Which is very challenging, because the surf is just gorgeous right now... I stopped by the beach while running a few errands this morning to shoot a few pictures of Drew and Laura. Pure torture to sit on the beach... But hey, being the designated photographer is fine by me, I like getting the pics just as much as riding the waves! Enjoy!

Drew, lining it up...

...and tucking in (yup, he made it)

Nice bottom turn, Drew!

Glassy, walled up, peeling... What more could you ask for??

That's one way to get out the back!

There were a few lefts coming through

Awwww, man!!

he he he he...

Better look where you wanna go, Dewski!

Laura, kicking out

You know it's good when no-one even bothers to paddle for a peak like this!

So, yeah, I'm a bit jealous, but it's all good. I needed a rest anyway, as it's been non-stop for a week or two now! And you should have seen how fast Kevin took off when I told him I'd watch the shop if he wanted to go surf! Haha, I think his shoes were on fire!

All eyes are on Danny now... Looks like he'll stay offshore and shoot the gap between Bermuda and here, just like Bill, but some of the models have him coming a little close...

Leftovers...

2009-08-26T12:04:00.004-04:00

Man the swell has just been super fun! We've been catching the dawn and dusk sessions for the last few days. The beauty of a glassy, windless ocean with nice clean waves is pretty tough to describe, especially when you add in epic sunsets, birds flying, and fish jumping... You've gotta experience it to know it I think...

I took a bunch of pictures this morning. Check 'em out, I left a lot of them as pretty big files if you're looking for a new desktop image... Enjoy!

Sea Oats in the morning light

Stu and Drew, looking like twins

The view from inside

Empty

Stuart

Drew

Drew

I finally got my hands on one of the Imagine Surfboards- the 6'1" Pocket Rocket thruster- the thing has such a nice feel on the wave, it's really responsive and super fast! It's a bit smaller than I'm used to surfing, so I'm training myself to sit a bit deeper to make the drops, but on the face the board is just unreal... Loving it! Give Drew or Kev a call if you want to get your hands on one of these things, you won't be disappointed!

Schlogging Bill's Leftovers

2009-08-24T08:06:00.006-04:00

So, the meters bumped up a bit yesterday afternoon! It was just barely windy enough for Keith and me to catch a schlog sesh out at Ego Beach. The shorebreak was ferocious, and the wind was super light, but the outer bar was working pretty well- it still had some size, and the big ones were crumbling top to bottom. Since the wind was so light, positioning was tough and it was a lot of work to make anything happen, but when it all lined up it was definitely worth the effort!

I only caught two really good waves, definitely overhead, and lined up for 2 or 3 really good down the line lip smacks. They were both "turn and burn" style- schlogging out, see it starting to stand up, jibe, and take off super steep and late... So none of the good waves were caught on film, because Anne had put the camera down and didn't expect the late drop in :) But she did catch a few pictures of some of the mediocre waves :) Thanks for shooting a few, Anne!!

Keith, lining it up

Deep!

Me

Again

So, I've gotta tell you how impressed I am with the Tabou Pocket waveboards... I snagged the 85 for the sesh, instead of the 80, because I knew there would be some serious holes in the wind. I got clipped on the way out through the break just one time- by a very sizable set wave that broke about 10 yards out past me. I was literally just standing on the board with virtually zero sail power, and figured "what the heck, lets see what happens." So I stood strong, and gave a tiny little pump and "bunny hop" as the whitewater hit, and I kid you not, I bounced right up and over this overhead high wall of water! As light as the wind was in front of the wave, there was zero wind behind it (plus a little swirl), so I fell on the backside of the wave, but with sheer amazement that I even made it that far! There's something magic about the volume flow and nose shape of those boards... They handle anything you can throw at them, with ease!! Love 'em! (Not to mention the turns you can pull off......)

A Few Pics

2009-08-23T13:17:00.005-04:00

Here's a sequence of Drew, Killin' It, Friday morning before it bumped up:

And here are a few pictures taken on Saturday at the Avon Pier. No picture can truly do justice to the size and power of this swell...

Outer Bar Bombs

Whitewater, as far as the eye can see

This was a quick swell, and it's already on the way out... Drew and I surfed this morning in some overhead peaks. It was fun, but really bumped up. I took a late drop and went over the falls on a decently sized one, and was literally giggling the whole way down... After Friday's experience, it just seemed, well... laughable!

Paddling out to meet Bill, face to face

2009-08-22T10:31:00.005-04:00

Hurricane Swell... Sheesh. I actually bowed, in thanks, to the ocean last night after Stu and I were back on dry land. Not that we were ever truly in danger, but we did come out completely unscathed, which is pretty cool.

Stuart and I paddled out after work at about 6:45 PM on Friday. It was an endless battle, constant paddling and duck diving, for over 35 minutes (I was wearing my watch) and 1/2 a mile of lateral drift, before we finally managed to poke through to the outside. And by outside, I mean OUTSIDE. We were easily 1/4 mile offshore, well past the outer bar, well well well past the end of the pier. And there were still macking cloudbreak sets breaking on the horizon and fizzling all the way in to the bar we were *trying* to sit on...

One's mentality can change many times over when you're constantly barraged by endless piles of whitewater. And by the time you think you've finally made it, well, you most certainly haven't. That's tough to swallow. I nearly gave up, two particular times, but Stuart was persevering and I wasn't going to let him go at it alone...

There's a very distinct line between the aerated water and constant struggle of the inside, and the solid water and powerful strokes one can achieve once you finally break through to the safety of the outside... The moment you cross that line, you realize that there is actually a chance that you might make it. The bummer about crossing that line is that you are now smack dab in the crosshairs of the true impact zone for the bigger sets. Right where the majority of wave energy is expended... There was no relaxing.

The majority of the time I spent in the water, I focused on inhalation, exhalation, and heart rate control. Staying calm in big surf is paramount.

How big was it? It's impossible to put a number on it. I've windsurfed in over mast high waves (~15 foot faces), and this seemed to be regularly at least that height, with occasionally much bigger sets. My 6'3" squash tail board seemed impossibly small for the speed and height of these waves.

The more time we spent out there, the more used to the rhythms we got. And we got comfortable just looking at that size of wave, watching it stand up, learning when and where to scratch towards to make it through. If it had already broken, we'd paddle to the spot that had broken first, as that had already expended the most energy. If it looked like the shoulder was in reach, we'd paddle like mad to get there before it broke. Confidence built, a balance was reached.

I paddled for a few, but couldn't move nearly fast enough to get into them. Stuart got worked, taking off just a yard too far inside, but he got spit out with minimal harm and made it back out without much issue. Then...

...We're already out in the middle of the ocean. The pier looks like it's made of matchsticks, the water tower is a speck on the horizon. And a wave starts to stand up, impossibly far on the outside. Cloudbreak, when you're already in the clouds... The white water is fizzling towards us, 15 feet high, just to the right, while the wall that didn't break on the outside starts to jack up, tall and steep, to the left. It looks like we can make it, we start scratching, fast, out and to the left. We're gonna make it. We're gonna make it. We're gonna make it.

Stuart, 10 yards to my left, made it.

I didn't.

With one last, *calm*, breath, I watched the lip start to crest, many many many feet above me and 5 yards outside. I pushed the nose under with all my strength, then followed suit with my foot on the tail. I didn't get nearly deep enough, and knew it right away. First, the impact. Then, as I got pulled back over the falls, I bear hugged my board with all the strength my hands, arms, and legs could muster. Yes, I had my ankles locked around each other on the board, hanging on like one would hug a violently swaying tree from 30 feet in the air. There was no way that I was going to lose that board.

Eventually, I was spit out of the mayhem.

I caught a glimpse of Stuart as we both crested a wave at the same time, and gave him a wave. All's good! I had been pushed impossibly far to the inside, Stuart later estimated 50 yards. My sesh was over, there was no way I was making it back to the "outside" again. So I sat in the relative calm of the trough and waited to see what Stu had in him.

I pondered: Had I ditched my board, I probably would have been able to get under that wave, but certainly would have snapped my leash or broken my board in two. By holding on, I also limited the chances of random impact with the board or fins while getting tumbled. Yes, I spent a long time underwater, getting pulled along inside the wave, but it wasn't so long that holding my breath was challenging, and it deposited me well inside of the impact zone, meaning consecutive hold downs were pretty much out of the question. I'm happy with my decision, and will probably do the same thing if a similar situation presents itself in the future.

Stuart eventually paddled for another macker, and I watched the lip envelop him, and then saw him get pulled back over the falls. He came up with big eyes and a big smile, got back on his board, and got immediately worked by the next pile of whitewater. Again, big eyes and a big smile as he regrouped and made his way to the trough.

The shore break was HUGE, so getting out was a bit of a waiting game, and then a sprint to the beach. But, we both made it, unscathed, and joined the masses of people watching the ocean from the stronghold of dry beach. With zero waves ridden, but massive experience gained, and renewed joy of the beauty that life can bring, I gave a humble bow of thanks to the ocean, for she had shown her power to me with the authority, yet gentle grace, reserved for the uncontrollable forces of nature.

Swell's starting to show...

2009-08-20T22:31:00.005-04:00

The surf is starting to build... Drew snagged a picture of me this morning (Thanks Drew!!):

A rare left, most everything else was peeling right

Stuart, Drew and I went out again this evening. It was fun but chunky. It definitely seems like there's some water pushing in and it doesn't all quite know where to go. Careful of rip currents over the next few days, folks! It's probably best not to even put your big toe in the water, if you aren't comfortable swimming in heavy seas...

Looks like tomorrow morning will still be in the fun range. By the afternoon it'll probably be starting to get out of hand. And Saturday looks to be off the charts... We'll see what happens... There might be some breeze, too, so we'll see if it's sailable...

The Mosquito Fleet

2009-08-18T19:48:00.007-04:00

My jaw just hit the floor. I try not to get too excited about forecasts... but we've got the potential for some seriously epic conditions... The latest update has Saturday blowing straight west at 5 to 10, with a southeast groundswell at 10 to 12 feet at 14 seconds. This is certainly subject to change- Heck, it could be blowing 130mph out of the Northeast if the system just tracks a tiny bit west of it's current path... But sheesh! That is going to end up being absolutely huge, clean, heavy surf. Methinks the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" will be collecting quite a few freshly broken surfboards this weekend...

Honestly, 12 feet at 14 seconds will probably be just plain old too big for the beach. The sandbars can only handle so much. Might be interesting to see what the tow kids get into, way out on that outer bar...

Sunday looks like the day for the rest of us, with light North winds and a fading swell. Well, fading to 6 feet at 12 seconds, which is still insanely huge for this beach.

As I mentioned yesterday, I think I'm going to bust out the Mosquito Fleet. At 7'3" and just a touch over 20" wide, the thing glides effortlessly. I usually surf my 6'2" up to a few feet overhead at 9 or 10 seconds, but when it's 12, 13, 14 seconds, the waves are just moving so much faster that they're very hard to catch on a shortboard. The Mosquito Fleet was my first board, and I'm super happy that I kept it around, especially when I see forecasts like this one!

Her hiding place, right where a TV would sit in a normal household...

Buzz buzz

Long, trim, parallel rails, and very little rocker=fast fast fast!

The responsible party and dims. I will never get rid of this board.

Redman is a local shaping legend, and I feel lucky to have one of his boards.

The "Mosquito Fleet" board is named after a Civil War conflict that took place on Hatteras Island in 1861. The Mosquito Fleet was a Confederate offensive fleet who left Roanoke on ships in the middle of the night to retake Chicamacomico from the Federals. Long story short, the Federals saw them coming and retreated to the more solid fort at Hatteras Inlet, and the Confederates had trouble with the shallows of the Pamlico Sound and most of the offensive couldn't get to land anyway, so no-one really got hurt and the Chicamacomico Fort was abandoned by both sides for the better strongholds of Hatteras Inlet (Federals) and Roanoke Island (Confederates).

I like the story of the Mosquito Fleet, because the Roanoke guys manned up and decided to take an offensive against rumors of an outpost of 2000 Federals. Translating this to surf culture, it relates to going against all odds and charging, whether you think you'll make the wave or not.

Whether I'll charge 12 feet at 14 seconds remains to be seen :) It's entirely possible that it'll be way bigger than that anyway, since Bill is now a category 4 Hurricane with 135 mph winds gusting to over 160... And some of the buoys have already recorded seas over 20 feet...

Definitely gonna keep the gas tank full for this one... "Retreat!!!"

Just in time...

2009-08-17T23:08:00.002-04:00

... to pick up my slack, the Beach Telegraph introduces:

Windsurfer International, an ezine, totally free, totally dedicated to spreading the stoke of windsurfing! Check it out, you won't be disappointed!

Also: Maybe you've surfed over to Dana Miller's little slice of the web already, but if you haven't, you should go check it out! It's just so dang Dana, it's ridiculous! Rumor has it, Dana may be sliding back over to the East Coast for a little while this Fall... I can't wait to see him back at the beach, and hopefully get a sesh or 30 with the man!

On a more local note- We're all anticipating the year's first real burst of Tropical action! Hurricane Bill looks poised to send us some solid swell... At the moment the forecast track has the storm running directly up the Eastern seaboard, shooting the gap between Bermuda and Hatteras Island sometime Saturday night or Sunday. All of the forecasts are keeping it out to sea a little ways, so hopefully it'll stay offshore and we'll just get some waves out of the deal...

I'm thinking of slapping the fins back in my 7'3" Mosquito Fleet... Its been a few years since she's seen salt water...

Your local launch?

2009-08-11T11:19:00.004-04:00

I love Hatteras in the summer! We've been getting hooked up with afternoon SW almost every day!! It's really perfect- we can all get a full day's work in, and right at quiting time the wind ramps up to perfect freestyling conditions- 5.5 on the 100 liter Tabou. Considering how often it happens, I should really be a much better windsurfer!! haha!

Every day has been just like this... Come join us!!

Sailing the Canadian Hole at sunset is really fun, and the sport of windsurfing gets a bit of a shot in the arm. The shoreline fills up with camera toting tourists just checking out the sunset, and the more windsurfers out there the better! Lately there have been zero waves, so lots of the local crew have been sailing the Hole. I love it, the level of sailing is high, the social scene is great, and invariably lots of people are seeing and asking about how to get into windsurfing.

How about your local spot? Is it tucked up in a small, barely accessible cove in the middle of the woods? Or is there a restaurant perched on stilts overlooking the action all day every day? As sweet as your private little secret spot might be, maybe hitting up the ol' downtown launch (overlooked by the masses) every now and again could help bring some more visibility to the sport!

(Please answer the poll in the top right corner of the page)

Killian Mansfield's "Somewhere Else"

2009-08-09T15:10:00.006-04:00

Hey Folks! I'm happy to be back in NC, refreshed and ready to rock and roll!

About a year ago, I met a 15 year old guy named Killian Mansfield at my buddy Chad's wedding. Killian brought down the house with a ukulele based rendition of Prince's song "Kiss." It was, simply put, awesome, and something I'll probably never forget. Killian (now 16) has put together an album entitled Somewhere Else, which is available on Amazon as a pre-order, due for release in just a few days! I can't wait to get my copy, as I'm sure it'll be chock full of some great music! The best part of the story- Killian has chosen a charity (Hope and Heroes) to receive proceeds from the sale of the album!

Unfortunately, there is some bad news associated with this story- Killian himself is having a rough time battling a rare form of cancer. I'd like to ask you all to help him realize the benefit he is providing his charity by purchasing a copy of the album, joining his facebook page, or even sending him an origami crane! (There's some more info about Killian on the origami page)

Thanks for any support you can give!!

Seven days with no posts...

2009-08-02T16:53:00.002-04:00

...makes for one weak blog...

I'm ditching my computer/cell phone/electricity/all things related to human convenience for the next week!! Woohoo!!

In the meantime, call Drew and Kevin at the shop and pester them with questions about mast compatibility issues.

:)

See y'all around the bend...

Mo' 5.0!!

2009-07-31T16:48:00.005-04:00

Anne and I had a great session this morning, super lit on 5.0. I put the boom cam on to shoot some video, but I didn't strap the camera on tight enough, so the video is kind of shaky and hard to watch. Here are a few image grabs, though, to tide you over:

Look where you want to go!

Pop...

...and slide

Dang-it, time to go to work :(

Sweeeeet, it's still cranking out there!! Gotta go get some more before the sun goes down. See y'all out there!

Oh wait- gotta claim it- last night I nailed a clew first spock 540 and had a few really good slides on my bad side (port)! Stoked!

Energizer Bunny Wind

2009-07-30T11:29:00.004-04:00

Mo' SW. It just won't stop blowing! Of course, now that I said that, I probably skunked everyone... Sorry!

So I've sailed the same sail (5.0), same fin (14.5 cm), and same board (Tabou Freestyle 100), for 4 days in a row now. It's amazing how a little consistency can aid progression and boost confidence! Not that I'm pulling off anything crazy new, but I'm comfortable and confident with the random grubby, clew first spock, bad tack vulcan, and flaka attempts... Ahhh, dreaming of summers past, when the Bermuda High stuck around for 5 or 6 weeks straight... How long will it last this summer??

I've been slacking on the pics, but I do have a couple of poor quality images of Stuart that I threw in the photoshop rinse cycle to make 'em a little more visually stimulating. Hope you like 'em!

Stuart is getting his new board dialed in, and sailing like a champ!

Looks like a great weekend forecast. Time to take a Friday off and GET HERE!!

Finally a Bermuda High!

2009-07-28T13:29:00.003-04:00

Loving the Bermuda High! We're just a few days in to a nice long stretch of SW winds here on Hatteras. 5.0 for the last 2 afternoons, and more to come. Looks like Wednesday, Thursday, Friday are all going to CRANK, and maybe through the weekend, too! It's a good time to be here, that's for sure!!

Anne and I have been hanging out up at Island Creek with a big batch of Jersey kids who are all amped up on windsurfing! There are a handful of experienced sailors and quite a few newBs, so I'm gonna see how far I can get them this week. This weather setup is perfect for progression, since it's basically like the windsurfing equivalent of that Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day. Moderate winds every morning, gradually building through the afternoon until you're lit up on a 4.5 or 5.0, from the same direction every day... I have no doubt that a few of the newBs will be in the harness and straps ripping by the end of the week! Sweeeeet!

Here are a few pics I took during last night's sunset sesh:

I had a friend on the hood of my truck

He wasn't too keen on the photoshoot, and a millisecond after this shot he leapt at the camera and ferociously attacked me. I'm not gonna lie, I shrieked like a baby! Now I know how the paparazzi feel...

Skip, litsky on a 5.5!

Skip, jibe entry

Anne, 4.7/75 combo

Happy happy!

oooh...

Ahhh... These last two files are big, if you want 'em as a desktop.

Should be a great end to the week down here... Might be a good time to take that long weekend you've been thinking about... There's even talk of holding another Summer Edition of the Hatteras Wave Jam...

Waves have arrived!

2009-07-23T12:22:00.003-04:00

Finally a bit of swell in the water! Drew, Stuart, Laura and I had a pretty fun time this morning! Looks like it's going to stick around for a bit, too... And I think we might have some wind on the way... Could be fun!

I took all of these pictures in about 3 minutes:

Drew dropping in

Stuart getting back in front of it

He made it

Happy Stuart!

Drew

Nice, Drew!

Keep an eye on that wind!! It could be a great weekend to make your way out to Hatteras!

Wave Jam!

2009-07-19T00:13:00.004-04:00

So, we had some great conditions for the ocean NewBs taking part in the Wave Jam on Friday! Strong, shifty, gusty wind and weird psycho chop. If you can sail that junk, you can sail anything :) hahaha Just Kidding, it was really fun and we all made the most of the conditions out there. I personally had a pretty good time. I was hooting and hollering at everyone, trying to get them to step it up a notch, when I realized that I really haven't learned anything new lately... So I tried my first one handed loops! I'm stoked, as they came around much more controlled than I thought they would...

Anyway, here are a few pictures that I took right when I pulled up to the spot. It was great to see everyone out there, and the energy level seemed pretty high. Fun sailing with everyone, that's for sure! Cheers, to more (and better) conditions the next time we all get out!

George, going up!

Keith ducking, Stuart spocking

The Beach Scene

For more pictures and reporting, check out George's blog Live2Sail!

So I'm sure y'all have seen the Philip Koester video by now... But I'm gonna paste it up here, too, to give everyone an excuse to watch it again. Here's some basic background info: Philip just won the PWA Pozo wave event, at the mighty age of 15 years old! Every little bit of action in this movie occurred during the 11 minute final against Victor Fernandez (reigning 3 time Pozo champ). Pretty much any single one of the jumps he throws would make my lifetime top ten most bad-@ss moments list if I were to throw it, yet he did it all within a whopping 11 minute time span... You get the point. Watch the vid and be inspired to go huge the next time you hit the water!

Looks like there's some swell on the way... Time to wax up the surfboards!!

Surfin' and Sailin'

2009-07-14T15:36:00.005-04:00

Lots of fun down here on Hatteras Island... We've had some great beach weather, some waves, and some wind to boot! No complaints! I don't have too many stories to tell, so hopefully you'll enjoy the pics. All shots from the beach taken by Anne! (Thanks!!)

Saturday's surf was glassy and fun, all day long, by all reports. Until, of course, closing time, at which point some SE wind gave the waves some insta-bump... Never fails! Oh well, bumpy waves are more fun than no waves at all!

Long one!

Still going...

Me and Drew

Speaking of Drew, he made an awesome announcement on his blog the other day! I am REALLY excited to check these puppies out! Just in time for hurricane season, too :)

By Sunday, when the wind really kicked up, the waves pretty much completely disappeared. Jim and I sailed at 34 in virtually non-existent surf, but juiced up wind, so it was fun. Here are some clew mount pictures:

Carvin'

Loopin'

Splattin'

Keep an eye on that forecast, folks! Looks like quite a bit of SW is ramping up at the end of this week!! Yeehaw!

Harness Line Length

2009-07-11T18:06:00.002-04:00

Here's another short vid to help you size up your harness lines! Hope it helps. Try not to fall asleep.

Harness Line Length from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

Wind is on the way!! Woohooo!!

Have y'all been following the Pozo Competition? Check out the Live Ticker if you get bored :)

Here, there, everywhere!

2009-07-09T23:36:00.011-04:00

It's been a fun summer down here on Hatteras Island! We've been surfing, sailing, SUPing... Down in Frisco, Buxton, here in Avon... Dawn sessions, sunset sessions, lunch break sessions... All the sports, all the places, all the time! :)

On Wednesday night, Stuart, Drew and I SUPed at sunset. The waves were alright, knee to chest high and pretty weak but clean. The tide was getting higher and higher, so we were moving closer and closer in toward the beach until we were basically dropping in on the shorebreak... on 10 foot boards... race down the section and kick out, or else! haha... no broken boards or necks so all's well that ends well. But as the sky lit up, pinkish-purple, with teal blue water underneath and reflections all around... Dropping into a wave was a task teeming with distractions. I'll never forget the visions of reflected purple sky morphing into teal blue water as your eye traveled up the contour of the wave... Indescribable really... I should have brought a camera out there... Sorry!

Wendy and Roland have been enjoying their Stand Up Paddleboard, too. They sent in a few pics from down in Frisco last week- Check 'em out! Sweet, thanks for the pictures!

We had a bit of NE wind Thursday. Stu and I sailed a morning sesh on our freestyle gear in side-onshore conditions at the lighthouse. Sheesh, it was fun! I guess we were inspired by all that Lanzarote footage. The freestyle boards plane up instantly, so even though conditions were far from ideal we were able to throw some perfect forward loops on the outbound tack and found the occasional ramp for a back loop attempt. The jumps, coupled with a few decent waves here and there, made for a much better sesh than I thought it was going to be when checking the conditions from the beach. Stoked on that one, for sure!

We went back for more this afternoon. I sailed a 5.0 on the Pocket 80. The waves had kicked up a notch, but the wind was a bit spotty. I was lucky enough to get a few down the line rides and throw a bit of spray, but I didn't have the juice to throw a single jump. I'm really impressed with how early the Pocket planes up, with virtually no sail power. It was kind of weird to see a ramp, and have board speed, but not be able to do anything with it because the sail was running completely on apparent wind and there was no juice to work with. Oh well, those backloops will have to wait until another day...

Tangent Dynamics Reapers!

Low and behold, the Tangent Dynamics weed fins have arrived! I know a lot of you have been waiting for a pretty long time for these puppies... I now have most fin boxes available in the bigger sizes, so give me a call at the shop or shoot me an email and we'll get you hooked up with a new fin!

Keep an eye out for wind on Sunday- It could be worth the trip! And, Pozo is about to start, so keep an eye on the PWA website for details and updates! They did a great job covering Lanzarote, I hope they keep up the good work!

4th Recap, PWA Lanzarote Event

2009-07-05T23:58:00.003-04:00

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend! We had our fair share of fun down here in Hatteras, that's for sure! HIB has a bit of a tradition running, hosting a party for the last 7 (or so) years in a row. It's pretty sweet, since the fireworks are right across the street at the Avon Pier. So we had a band playing, the grill was fired up, and everyone had a great time!

Drew's got a big smile on his face for some reason

Some of the crowd

Some of The Band (who were awesome, by the way)!

The Surfing and sailing has been ok for the last few days- nothing epic, but I've had reports of a few hours of wind here or there, and some fun little waves around low tide. Wendy and Roland, and Rob, have all come in with stories of SUP glory and huge smiles on their faces :) You're skunk proof with a SUP, that's for sure!

On to some worldwide sailing news- Gollito and Sarah-Quita just won the PWA Lanzarote Freestyle event! This is such a cool place to have an event... When conditions line up, they've got big ramps on the outbound tack to throw huge jumps, and semi-smooth water inside for the more "traditional" freestyle spinny moves. I think it's a much more interesting, vivid, and radical set up for a competition, where competitors can really go all out and show some of the best stuff windsurfing has to offer (except for actual wavesailing). But whatever, check out the video of the last day of competition and make up your own mind:

Sweet, huh?! Let us know what you think in the poll on the top right!

Threading Your Downhaul Line

2009-07-02T14:42:00.002-04:00

How-To:

Properly threading your downhaul line reduces line wear, and, more importantly, keeps people like me from constantly bugging you while you rig. Check out the proper method:

Threading The Downhaul Line from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

"Bueller?... Bueller??... Bueller???... Anyone?... Anyone?..."

Ocean Sailing Video

2009-06-27T17:50:00.005-04:00

Still buzzing from that swell... Which is Still Lingering... Sweet...

Anyway- I put together a short vid from 2 different ocean sailing sessions last week. The first one was powered 5.0 in nonexistent surf, the second one was barely schloggable 5.7 in head high surf. Both were really fun :) Enjoy!

2 Ocean Sessions from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

Stuart, Anne and I showed up at the beach last night just in time to rig up and then hear some thunder... Doh! So we did a "Lightning Fast" de-rig, got back in the truck, and got the heck off the beach! The sailing looked pretty fun, but it certainly wasn't worth getting electrocuted for ;) Ken and Bill said it was pretty sweet for about an hour or two.

Check out that sky! We ended up getting quite a light show, but from the safety of our house...

Looks like a few lightwind days approaching... But keep your eye on those weather charts- Dare I say it... (Bermuda High?!)

Summer Swell

2009-06-26T09:05:00.005-04:00

The first swell of the summer has arrived....... Life is good! We've had days and days of fun swell, with some wind mixed in here and there for sailing, and even some light west to clean it up for some butter smooth surfing....... ahhhhhhhhh........ I'm sooooo tired....

We didn't think to stop and take any pictures until after we had had our fill and it started to back off a bit and get bumpy... So these are representative of some of the worst conditions from the last four or five days!! Yow! Anne is responsible for most of the pics taken from land (Thanks Anne!)

Keith, Ken and I sailed one of the first days in super light on-side-on wind. I tried a 5.7 on the Pocket 80. Man, that board schlogs like a champ! I think a 5.5 would be perfect... I'm gonna have to update my quiver a bit.

Keith!

Author

Author again

On to the Surf! I have no idea how many waves or even how many boards I've ridden... Shortboards, longboards, SUPs... They've all been in the mix!

Drew!

Anne!

Laura!

Drew!

Author!

Happy Anne!

Drew!

Laura on a looooooong one!

Stuart!

Looks like wind this afternoon and tomorrow! Some of this swell might stick around, so it should be FUN! See ya out there : )

Happy Father's Day, Windy Weekend!

2009-06-21T20:25:00.008-04:00

Happy Father's Day, Dad! I know it's raining and gross out up north, but hopefully you had some fun anyway. Here's a picture of us burning the midnight oil playing pool a few Christmases ago:

Dad, lining it up!

We're just finishing up a windy weekend down here on Hatteras Island! Gotta love it when the weekend warriors can score some fun conditions... Saturday saw some pretty strong SW breeze all afternoon, but unfortunately the tide was too high to take advantage of the little bit of swell out there. So, we freestyled it up at the Hole! Good stuff, pretty well powered 5.0 on the Tabou 100. The 540s were coming with ease... time to try something new and start falling again :) Actually, everyone was pretty amped up- Wendy claimed success with tacks and duck jibes, Roland nailed a few willy skippers, Contos was working on the duck jibes, Ken threw a few loop attempts, Drew was going fast and staying upwind, Anne got on 24" lines and Keith tried out my 28" harness lines! Sweeeeeet....

I remember seeing a GoPro video from one of the Maui sites, maybe Kanaha Kai (?), with a pretty cool under boom mount, looking forward. I decided to give it a try, and I like the outcome. I can see it being really handy for dissecting a move, because you get a great view of the sailor, the gear, and the water conditions. Anyway, here's a quick vid- what do y'all think? Worth exploring some more?

Canadian Hole, Boom Mount from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

Stuart, Marty, and I sailed again this afternoon, after the wind switched north. 5.0 again, but this time on the Pocket 80 and in the ocean. Not much wave to speak of but some fun jumps. I set up the GoPro again and got some cool footage. I'll probably pull some clips out at some point but in the meantime, check out a few image grabs:

duck jibe

side-on bottom turn (clew first, switch stance)

loop

touchdown!

Facebook is blowin' up with windsurfing pages! Check 'em out and join in the fun-

Windsurfing Magazine

Windsport Magazine

East Coast Freestyle

East Coast Wavesailing

Hatteras Island Boardsports

Looks like some more wind for the next few days... Hope to see ya out there!

Int'l Surfing Day/Surfrider Foundation

2009-06-18T11:35:00.005-04:00

On June 20TH, the Surfrider Foundation and Surfing Magazine will present...

THE INTERNATIONAL SURFING DAY
SURFRIDER FOUNDATION
MEMBERSHIP PACKAGE

Here's the deal: Join or renew your Surfrider Foundation membership on International Surfing Day, June 20th, 2009, and Surfing magazine will print your name in its upcoming Green Issue! That way, not only can you brag to your friends that you finally got in Surfing magazine, you can also show them that you're down with keeping our oceans, waves and beaches clean and healthy.

In addition to getting your name in the mag and receiving a year's membership to the Surfrider Foundation, we'll also throw in a special limited edition International Surfing Day t-shirt.

All this for only $20.00!!

And for those of you who really want to go big, we're also offering this killer deal:

Join or renew your membership for $620 (as in 6/20) and you'll get your name AND YOUR PHOTO in the magazine!!

In addition to your Surfrider Foundation membership, you'll get the International Surfing Day t-shirt, a subscription to Surfing magazine, a Dakine deck pad and leash and an ISD water bottle.

To top it off, we'll throw in a limited-edition, 25th Anniversary Surfrider Foundation Casio G-shock solar paneled watch!

These offers are only available on International Surfing Day! Go to this webpage on 6/20.

I received the above in an email from Surfrider, and it seemed to be an appropriate message to pass on to as many people as I can. If you'd like to sign up to be a member of the Surfrider Foundation, go to this webpage on 6/20/09 and click on "Become a Member."

The time has never been better, really. Locally, the Outer Banks Chapter of Surfrider is spearheading a campaign to head off an attack on our local beaches by the petroleum industry. Here are some excerpts from a recent email I received from them:

The purpose of this letter is to introduce you to our “Clean Beaches=Healthy Businesses” campaign to stop drilling for oil or natural gas off of North Carolina and to invite you to attend our June 20 informational rally and International Surfing Day event at Bonnett Street in Nags Head.

With last year’s lifting of the federal ban on offshore drilling — and Bush’s last-minute allowance of rigs within three miles of America’s coast — North Carolina is once again in the position of battling back petroleum interests. If it seems like we’ve been here before, we have — roughly every 20 years. But the current fight is our most dire ever since the economic crisis has weakened public support for environmental issues.

If that’s not frightening enough, this March, commissioner Richard Johnson suggested Dare County ‘revisit’ their position to keep oil off our coast. And, from our understanding, as least half of the board is leaning in the direction to let the petroleum companies in, even though NC’s coast generates $15 billion every single year [2002, The Marlow Co.] — $12.5 billion directly from the beach — compared to just $24 billion that the Mineral Management Service estimates the state stands to earn from revenue-sharing from offshore leases after 30 to 40 years.

In other words, our elected officials are seriously considering risking $450 billion in reliable revenue for a chance at $24 billion down the road.

Also: if you haven’t already, please submit a public comment to the Department of Interior (http://www.mms.gov/5-year/2010-2015DPPComments.htm) by Sept. 21. They’re gathering as much input as possible before suggesting which states should get derricks. And even if the current administration is less petroleum-happy than the last, they will gladly sacrifice whatever state seems willing in order to seem ‘reasonable’ to the public at large.

The good news is our chapter fully believes we can fight this one. We had our first meeting down south at Lisa’s Pizza in Rodanthe last week — as well as tabled the Real Triple S kiteboarding event in Waves — where we received lots of positive feedback and got a good chunk of stickers and petitions out. No matter their political leanings, most local businesses seem to recognize that claims like ‘drilling is clean’ and ‘save money at the pump’ are just false promises to get leases while the climate is ripe to snatch up offshore rights. Now our job is to convince our elected officials to listen.

If you can’t make the June 20 ISD event, please go to www.surfrider.org/outerbanks and sign the individual petition there. If you’re a coastal NC business, sign the ‘business sign-on’ as well. And for more info on why this is a terrible risk for our livelihoods and way of life, check out www.nottheanswer.org.

Or, consider this fact: at the kiteboarding contest last week, the only Gulf Coast resident we couldn’t get to sign the petition worked for an oil company – and that was his only reason. Otherwise, any person who’d ever lived in the shadow of oil derricks couldn’t grab a pen fast enough – including a woman who also worked for an oil company in Houston, but still signed because – in her words – “Galveston’s a s--t-hole.”

That’s why she flew from Texas to Hatteras. That’s why people come all the way from Quebec. Why Pennsylvania tourists come here – instead of Jersey. It’s why Jersey residents drive eight hours south instead of their very own beaches: to enjoy a purely natural ocean experience, free of not just oil rigs but the very image of big industry and pollution.

So, if you have a second, and care about Hatteras staying Hatteras-ey, please check out some of the links, sign the petitions, support Surfrider, and help make a difference. I don't want to risk getting oil gunk lodged in my sinuses the next time I get worked at the Lighthouse. Do you? And as most of my readers are visitors from out of town, your names mean more on the petitions, since you're basically saying that you would not come back to Hatteras if there were oil rigs offshore and petroleum funk on the beaches! Thanks for your help!

Wee Waves (video)

2009-06-14T07:20:00.004-04:00

I know I said that summer was here last time, but now it's really here... The only place that it really shows is at the Food Lion, in the form of huge lines and bare shelves. So we usually shop at the Village Grocery, at the northern traffic light in Avon. Better food, no lines. Just a head's up, in case you want to support a local business and don't want to spend all day getting your groceries : )

Fun little waves, and a bit of wind lately, although I've been getting scammed by some 6PM thunderstorms rolling in across the sound right at closing time... So this morning, I'm finishing my coffee and getting out there, no matter what!

I did put a camera on my noggin for a sunset SUP the other night. Check it out:

Piddly knee high SUP from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

I've been teaching lots of beginner lessons, too. I'm a one man show at the shop these days... Putting in the hours, for sure. It's fun to get out there and spread the stoke around though, so I don't mind the long days! Check out Michelle, grinning ear to ear after learning heli-tacks on day one!

Now that's a happy camper!

Swing on by the shop and get yourself and/or a friend signed up! Time to learn the most fun sport in the world! See ya out there :)

Full-On-Summer

2009-06-08T11:38:00.005-04:00

I have zero action pictures for you... but trust me, it has been super fun down here lately! We've been surfing and sailing our butts off, every free moment! I can't claim any epic conditions, but it sure has been fun... Lots of SW wind last week, some great freestyling weather, and a big blow on Friday finally kicked up a little swell. Stuart and I sailed most of the afternoon at "The Bush" aka "alter-ego" aka "across the street from D's spot." There was a short guest appearance by Keith, too, but he bolted pretty quickly. It's a fun little spot, although a bit inconsistent on the sets and gusty on the wind. Those are the conditions that really make you adapt a lot and therefore learn a lot, though, so I'm not going to complain! It was fun to share the water with some kites, too, including Jay, Lane, Pam, Brad, George, Dan, and some others that I didn't recognize. Good to see y'all out in the side-off!

Oh wait- here's a helmet cam image grab from some Canadian Hole freestyle action the other night:

3/4 of the way through a one handed spock

I'm happy to report CRYSTAL clear water. I'm talking the kind of crystal clear where you can see little pebbles on the sandbar, 8 feet deep crystal clear. It's downright gorgeous. While sitting out a lull in the sets last night, two little 2" long brown and yellow striped fish decided to seek sanctuary around the nose of my board. It was really interesting to watch them dart around with all of the currents and little bits of wave energy pushing them around, yet they never drifted more than 6 inches away from the nose of my board. I was thoroughly entertained, until a big set wave woke me up from my trance by crashing on my head...

Speaking of gorgeous, a few little rain showers here and there and some nice warm intermittent sunshine has made the flower gardens spring to life. I felt bad for y'all, not having any action pictures to share, so I snapped off a few pics of the flora around my house. Enjoy!

Maybe some more moderate SW this week, and the end of the week is looking great for wind! Swing on by the shop and grab the Serenity or a stand up paddleboard if you're jonesin' to hit the water!

Shorebreak Lessons

2009-06-02T08:27:00.006-04:00

Happy June, everyone! And, Happy Birthday to Drew!! Yeehaw!

Stuart and I took Anne windsurfing out in the ocean the other night. It was pretty flat, except for a sizable shorebreak... so it was good practice at least, to get used to launching and landing. Anne asked me to demonstrate how to best get on and off the beach. Let's just say that it quickly turned into a "How NOT to get on and off the beach" demonstration! Haha, I had sand lodged in places that I didn't know I had places! I think that I learned more than she did... Anne did great, despite the quality of instruction, and made it off (and back on) the beach unscathed, even having to punch through a big barreling section! She's ready for the big league, now!

Anne "staring down the barrel"

The Latest NEWJ came out the other day! It's a Hatteras rich edition, with a recap of Windfest, a gear tweaking lesson learned (and passed on) by Stuart, and an ocean sailing lesson by me. There are some great Lane Dupont and Rick Eustis pics in there, too! Not to mention, Robby Naish on the East Coast!! Wanna know more? SUBSCRIBE (or call the shop and I'll sell ya one)!

Lots of South winds on the way! Should be a fun few days here... it's looking like a great time to call in sick, load up those trucks, and make a Hatteras blitz!

Sanity Savers, AKA...

2009-05-31T15:18:00.004-04:00

...SUPs. They turn mediocre conditions into really fun days on the water!!

That Starboard Drive 10'5" has been treating me REALLY well the last few days! We've had beautiful days with light winds and about waist high surf, and that board has kept a huge smile on my face! Stuart and I went sailing on the SUPs the other night in a sideshore wind, about 5 gusting to 12 or 14. We each caught about a thousand waves, and got crushed a few times, too! Those things keep you honest, for sure! Still, there's no other style of board that would have worked better for the conditions, so I'm stoked that I've got it at my disposal... Swing on by the shop and try it out some time, I guarantee you'll have fun!

Friday saw some good Southwest wind. There were a whole bunch of people out at the Hole on anything from 4.2 up to 6.0, as it was pretty gusty. I split the difference and had a good time on 5.0 and the 100. No complaints!

Last night was really fun. The swell dropped out to pretty much nothing, and the wind was super light, so we loaded up the truck with SUPs, some charcoal, a grill (thanks Tim!!), and a cooler full of beer meat and veggies and headed out to the beach. It ended up being a beautiful night for a paddle, with crystal clear bluish green water and a nice clear sky. Drew, Ralph and I had some fun paddling around and watching the schools of spanish mackeral swim under the boards. Wish I had brought a fishing pole to go trolling! Oh well, maybe next time...

Drew, Laura, Banana, Anne, Moi, Leah, Ralph (L-R)

It's SW at about 20 right now... and the forecast actually looks halfway decent for the next week or so... So come on out and join us for some fun!!

Anne's B-Day Toast!

2009-05-29T10:10:00.005-04:00

It was Anne's birthday on Wednesday! Woohoo!! Happy Birthday Anne! Not too much wind to celebrate with, but lots of fun surf! Drew put together a little post on The Pursuit of Paradise that I got a chuckle out of... We had a party, and I decided to give a toast- Check it out!

Anne's Birthday Toast from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

: ) Oh yeah, it's true!! Wooohoooo!! : )

Summer's Here!

2009-05-26T10:07:00.005-04:00

What a beautiful weekend we just had here on Hatteras Island! I traded in the windsurfing gear for surfboards and SUPs as the wind lightened up quite a bit, although there were some brief moments of plane-able breeze if you knew where to look. It's been so freaking windy lately, though, that I was happy to just go surf it up in the knee to chest high waves. We've got a magic little bar here in Avon that seems to be picking up just about any little bit of swell... But I'm not giving up any secrets so don't bother asking! hahaha, just kidding... The more the merrier, as far as I'm concerned :)

I decided to put the Starboard Drive 10'5" SUP into demo for a some of the W.E.T. group who wanted to try it out... And boy am I glad I did (because that means that I get to ride it now, too)! Man that board is sweet! It's nice and surfy, fast, and very well balanced, which makes it super easy to ride. I definitely surfed out of a few completely ridiculous situations/positions that I never would've pulled off on any other board I've ever ridden... Period. 'Nuff said. Come try it out for yourself!

Starboard Drive 10'5" SUP

The Dims and Responsible Parties

Perks

I can't wait for a tiny bit of breeze so that I can toss a sail on the thing and see how she does... I can only imagine that it'll rip, based on it's paddle performance!! Anyway, it was fun sharing a few waves with everyone (Anne, Tim, Stuart, Kevin, Dan, Wendy, Mac, Wendy and Roland, Drew, the guy from Montreal with the Imagine Eco-Surfboards, among others)... Hopefully that little swell will keep doing it's thing...

Looks like potential for a little SW build Thursday and Friday... Keep your eyes on it!

Tetralogy

2009-05-22T13:05:00.006-04:00

First: Happy Birthday to my Mom!!!

Second: Anne took the ABK Clinic a few weekends ago. She's always been fun to watch sail, but now she's officially REALLY fun to watch because she blows up on almost every reach trying something new! Suddenly, though, I've reallized that she's more bad-ass than I am, and that she's showing me up out on the water. Thanks a lot, ABK. Sheeesh. I was filming with the GoPro helmet cam the other day when it was blowing 30 plus out of the North. Anne's out there killin' it on her 3.7 and 75, and all of a sudden, she busts this out of her bag of tricks:

Anne Shuvs-It!!

"????????? Where the heck did that come from ????????"

Dangit! Time to play catch-up.... Just goes to show how valuable an ABK Clinic is though, doesn't it?

Here are a few more image grabs:

Any guesses?

Any guesses?

Third: Drew is awesome! Check this out!!

Fourth: Looks like light wind over the weekend, and plenty of fun sized surf to play in. Surfing, light wind freestyle, SUPs, and cruising on the Serenity will be the name of the game. Colin knows how much fun the Serenity is. Do you?

Have a GREAT weekend, everyone! Get out there and get wet, even if the wind doesn't blow!!

Cold Snap!

2009-05-19T15:40:00.007-04:00

Sheeesh, you know you're getting spoiled when 55 degrees feels absolutely frigid! All of the Canadians have been walking around in shorts and T-Shirts, meanwhile I busted out my big puffy down jacket last night! Anyway, this cold air is rushing down in the form of heaps of North wind... So we've been hitting the Lighthouse...

I took a solo mission on Monday morning. It was freezing cold, spitting rain, gusting up to over 40 mph, with waves about logo high on the inner bar, if not bigger... It was a "full concentration" session, one of those days where you couldn't let your guard down for one second, as there were rogue waves breaking just about anywhere and everywhere, without much rhyme or reason. Pretty much classic Lighthouse! Anyway, I put the helmet cam on my noggin so that you guys could come along for the ride. Bear in the mind, the waves look tiny, but I assure you, they were not! Enjoy:

Solo Survival Sesh from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

One of the interesting things that comes out of wearing the cam- I know for a fact that I only windsurfed for 5 minutes and 20 seconds yesterday morning! And I'll tell ya, that was plenty to satiate me for the rest of the day! Here are a few freeze frames from that movie:

"don't fall don't fall don't fall don't fall....."

"don't fall don't fall don't fall don't fall......"

Anyway, Stuart and I grabbed a sunset sesh at the Hole last night, freestylin' it up on the 4.2 and 100 combo. It was just about the complete opposite of my morning sesh- all fun, little fear! I tried a few clew first vulcans, but to little effect... gotta work on those, for sure! Here's the sunset:

How does that saying go? "Red sky at night, ..."

Olaf, Stuart, Brad and I sailed again this morning, at the Lighthouse. 4.2 again, lit up pretty well in the gusts, and comfortably planing most of the time. It was another "concentration" session... dodging heaps of whitewater... Kinda fun after the fact, kinda scary during!

Word is the Southside got really good late this morning as the tide started to push back in, with side off wind and nice clean faces... I happened to check the Frisco Cam on Surfline.com and noticed someone out sailing! That's gotta be the first time that's ever happened?! I don't even know where the cam is...

I think I'll go try to find it after work!! : )

Clinics, Wind, and Waves!

2009-05-17T12:09:00.008-04:00

Busy busy busy... Where to start?? Chronologically, I guess.

Andy Brandt of ABK Boardsports came to Sailworld and gave a free windsurfing clinic on Tuesday night! Yeehaw! These things are fun, and everyone always walks away with a ton of new knowledge. Imagine how much you could learn from him on the water?!

Lots of questions, lots of answers!

Bits of wind here and there, with some fun SW most every day it seems. Here's Stuart packing up at the Canadian Hole the other night after a 5.0 freestyle sesh:

I gave another forward loop clinic on Friday night! It was sponsored by Sailworld Cape Hatteras, and part of the Hatteras Wave Jam 2009. Attendance wasn't epic, but neither was the forecast... A lot of times those two things go hand in hand. We did, however, have two of the crucial elements for a Forward Loop clinic:

Willing participants, and cheap beer!

As I said, the forecast wasn't great, but Saturday afternoon ended up being awesome! George, Bill, Andres, Olaf, Keith and I caught it up at Ramp 27. Half and half schlogging/powered on 5.5 and my Pocket 80, with waves in the thigh to overhead range! The big ones were pretty heavy, with some solidly barreling lips breaking in knee to thigh deep water... I was amazed that I didn't break anything, as I definitely took some nasty spills... until I started derigging and noticed that my extension was cocked over 30 degrees! Oh well, better a $60 extension than a $300 mast half!!

Bill on a nice one!

Olaf in the pocket!

Fun sequence of me kooking out:

We followed the sesh with a fun sunset Barbeque on the Beach. Good Stuff!!

Anne and me (check out the rad Wave Jam T-Shirt!)

Oooooh

Janice on grilling duty!

This morning we've had some fun SW in the 20 mph range, but we're expecting a big front to push through pretty soon here... I've been watching it on iWindsurf.com as it pushes south- it's blowing North at 35-45 up in Norfolk right now, and just switched North at Elizabeth City... And now Pea Island... Still warm and SW here, but not for long : )
Outer Banks wind meter map from iWindsurf.com

Time to tie down the porch furniture and secure the loose windsurf rigs lying around all those soundfront homes! Something tells me Olaf is gonna be busy repairing 7.5s tonight...

ABK at the Hole, Survival Sesh at the Lighthouse!

2009-05-13T08:11:00.004-04:00

More great days here on Hatteras....

Monday was insane-o windy! And you know you're getting spoiled when 60 degrees feels cold... It was certainly a stormy day, with periods of heavy downpours, but the winds were cranking, so I don't think anyone really cared. You're getting wet anyway, right? I took an extended lunch break and caught a pretty sweet freestyle sesh at the Canadian Hole with a bunch of people out, including ABK Boardsports staff members Brendan, Tom, and Andy Brandt! It's fun sailing with people who actually know what they're doing! I'm gonna have to schedule a clinic one of these days, so that Andy can straighten up my Grubbys... Check out the vid to catch some of the action:

ABK at the Canadian Hole from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

After work, I decided to run down to the Lighthouse to grab an ocean session. Stuart, Bill, Keith, Olaf, and Graham Ezzy had sailed there earlier and said it was pretty fun (read Bill's report here). So I pulled into the Lot and there was no-one there anymore. Solo sesh... I knew it was pretty windy so rigged up my 4.2 and put on my nasty, wet, cold wetsuit (hardest part of the whole sport). First tack out I made it through the impact zone, no problem. The waves on the inner bar didn't seem all that meaty, probably about head high. As I got away from shore, I could feel some insane power in my sail, so I was kind of on damage control, just trying to keep everything in one piece. Approaching the outer bar, I could see that things were a little different out there... Monster rolling swell was starting to jack up and break out in the middle of the ocean... I decided to jibe on the first one, just to keep it close to shore in case anything were to happen. This did not seem like the type of day to go whale watching, if you catch my drift...

So I'm halfway through my jibe, surfing down the face of this outer bar wave, completely in the lee. I go to jibe the sail, drop my back hand, and the sail just goes nuts on me as a gust comes ripping over and down the wave that I'm coasting along on. It's completely flagged out and the thing is violently shaking the way my old rusted out Toyota used to do when I would push it up to 70 mph!! Everything solidified as soon as I sheeted in on the opposite tack... I picked up one of the nuggets that sucks up right off the jetty and got one good bottom and top turn, and headed right back to the beach.

After a few seconds of a breather, I tried my luck again and had a pretty similar experience, so I decided to call it a day, happily, as everything (gear and body) was still in one piece! I know for a fact that I was in survival mode out there, as evidenced by my hair, which stayed completely dry. It was a "No-Fall-Zone" kind of day out there... Check out the Avon Pier iWindsurf graph- I was out from about 5:30-6 PM...

iWindsurf.com Avon Pier, Monday May 11th

Yikes! I love this place. : )

Hatteras has a few visitors!

2009-05-10T15:07:00.004-04:00

Happy Mother's Day!! I was in charge of mailing out the cards for Anne's mom and mine... and totally messed up... Sorrrrryyyyy!! You'll get your cards really soon, I promise! (What a jerk! it must've been windy the day I was supposed to send them out...haha) Here's some of the fam around Christmastime a few years ago:

Clockwise: Mom, me, Jim, Pauline

I got bombarded with so many phone calls and text messages yesterday that I just couldn't take it anymore and closed the shop to take a lunch break session. Well, my allotted hour quickly turned into 3!! Whoops! It was simply too beautiful outside to go back to the shop and sit around inside all afternoon... Sunshine, warm air and water (I sailed in trunks!!), 4.2 wind, and fun little waves made for a great afternoon on the water.

Lots of people out on the water, including (among others) Keith, Olaf, Rick, Chad, Charlie, Stuart (eventually), and...... PWA sailor Graham Ezzy!! The stress of studying for his upcoming final exams got to him, so he bolted to Hatteras for the weekend to get some sailing in and decompress a little bit. Nothing like a little windsurfing to set your mind straight; I'm sure he'll do much better on his tests now!

Anyway, everyone was sailing great out there, but Graham was KILLIN' it! He was fun to watch. Where someone would get a 3 or 4 foot jump, Graham would chuck a 10 foot stalled forward loop or perfect push loop. And where someone would straighten out and head for the beach, Graham would take one more turn and throw a taka off the lip. It was pretty inspiring, and he definitely made me want to up my game a bit!

I would've loved to get some pictures...

but Anne had my camera........

...... at the ABK Clinic she's taking this weekend!! I'm so jealous, it's ridiculous. She and about 15 other attendees scored a day of serious wind (3.7) and sunshine! Anne claims to have dialed in her planing jibes, duck jibes, chop hops, and learned to jump jibe!! And apparently, Andy taught her something else really cool, too, but she won't tell me what. I think she wants to wait for the perfect moment to chuck it in my face and surprise me! She must've been trying something cool out there because she came home with skinned knees and a smile on her face! Can't wait to see it!

I feel bad for you guys, with no pics or anything, so here's a little video from some footage I shot a few weeks ago. It's Stuart and I, sailing up at Ramp 34, in some pretty strong SW winds. It's pretty indicative of the type of conditions we've had for the last few weeks- Lots of SW wind, and small, weird waves. Anyway, Enjoy!

Ramp 34 "wave" sailing from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

In-Store ABK Clinic with Andy Brandt!

2009-05-08T17:27:00.003-04:00

If you're missing this weekend's ABK Clinic, don't worry, because you can still get a taste of the ABK experience by coming to a Free In-Shop Clinic with Andy Brandt! Clear up some time (in your busy Hatteras nightlife social schedule) Tuesday night (May 12th, 2009), starting at about 7PM, and come to Sailworld Hatteras with the windsurfing related question of your choice!

See ya then!

In the meantime... Looks like it's gonna crank all day tomorrow! Warm, sunny, SW... Weekend warriors, Load Up!!

Record Profits from Windsurfing Sales!!

2009-05-06T21:17:00.005-04:00

This morning, Sailworld was worth 9 million dollars! Unfortunately, the nice woman at the bank decided to correct the mistake she had made with my deposit, so we were only a multi-million dollar company for about 2 minutes. (dang-it!)

Once again, I got scammed by mid day winds that faded at 5, and a long day stuck at work... But, all my customers have been stoked (and limping, with blistered hands, broken ribs, stitches, etc), so it's fine because I know they're having a killer time out there!! In any case, all this wind has kicked up a nice sized swell, so Stuart, Drew and I caught a few lumpy bombs this evening. It felt great to get in the water on a surfboard... Man it's been a long time... its been soooo windy!! The bod feels great, just from an hour's worth of paddling around. It evens you right up after windsurfing so much!

More wind tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday! Good time to GET HERE!! Don't forget to sign up for the ABK Clinic!!

Wave schlogging when it's blowing 30

2009-05-05T09:31:00.010-04:00

Business first, then pleasure!

Tons of new stuff for you guys to check out at the shop! New Gaastra, New Starboard, New RRD, and more.... Come check it out!

Gaastra Plasma 8.3, Technora, rigs on a 460!! $928

Gaastra Manic HD, bombproof with a light feel in the hands $640

Gaastra Poison, powerful wave sail $661

Truckload of new Starboards!!

Moving on, to the Pleasure:

It has been unbelievably windy down here in Hatteras! I've been grabbing dawn and dusk sessions, which timing wise has been a bit of a bummer because the wind has been light, while mid day, all day, it's been blowing 30+..... but, whatever, it's still fun to get out there and catch some waves or work on the freestyle! Here are a bunch of pics from the weekend (taken by either Anne or me)

Dawn Sesh! Small Waves, Medium wind

Sunset Sesh, Super light wind wave schlog. I'm getting a great feel for that Tabou Pocket 80! (It Rips)

Keith schlogged around, too

And was killin' it with all of his normal style

Ken K, rigged and ready, dawn sesh

I'm loving this new board! Even at 80 liters it's uphaul-able and schlogs like a champ!

Ken

Birthday Boy Stuart!!

Sunset wave schlog. Check out Rick on the right hand side of the pic!

Olaf on the face!

Even though the wind was light and the waves were small, I'm still adept at making big splashes!

??????

That's better!

Rick has been all over the place, emailing me about all his exploits in the wind!

Small, mushy, and surprisingly fun!

Coming up-

More SW!!

ABK Boardsports is holding a clinic this weekend, Friday through Sunday. Sign up and reap the benefits of instruction from the best coaches in the Americas! We may have a free in store evening clinic as well, but we're not sure on the timing of that yet... Will keep you informed!

Lots of other's Hatteras experiences are showing up on the net... Check out this thread for some cool pics and stories. And don't forget to read through this thread for a pretty candid look at Mike's Hatteras vacation (and a review of the Jibe lesson he and Gary took from me). And don't forget to check out the great pics and Loop success story written by Ken on Live2Sail!! Good stuff, I'm glad you guys are all having such a great time down here!

Hope to see the rest of you soon!

C-Hole Vid

2009-05-04T08:48:00.003-04:00

Man it's been soooooooo goooooood here for the last few days..... I know you guys are fiend-ing for updates, and I've got a lot of good stuff, but I'm sooooo frickin' busy at the moment... So you'll have to settle for a little video of Anne, Mikey Z, Ken K and I, filmed with a GoPro Wide angle (watch out! You've gotta get close to catch the action!!). This was from a sunset sesh a few days ago. I don't even remember when, because it's been SW and Crankin' for the last 2 weeks straight... It's just been unbelievably windy here on Hatteras this spring.... ahhhhhhh.......

Sunset Sesh at the Hole from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

By the way- Anne's been killing it... She's on a 3.7 and 75 liter RRD in the vid... Duck jibing like a champ!! Actually, everyone has been killing it out there... I've got sooo many success stories for you guys... just have to find time to write 'em...

Better budget a few minutes for this one, folks...

2009-04-28T21:32:00.007-04:00

First things first- A wholehearted "Nice Job!!" to the Avon Volunteer Fire Department and all the neighboring crews who swooped in to help keep a huge house fire from spreading throughout the whole neighborhood last night!!

Not even a speck of ash on those neighboring homes!

Nice work, thanks for helping to keep our community safe!!

While I'm thanking people- I'd like to let all my customers know that I truly appreciate them! I especially appreciate the ones who bring me treats :) For example, this morning I ate the last of 2 dozen bagels delivered straight from Brooklyn, by Chip! And last night I imbibed in the last "Alexander Keiths" beer that Don so thoughtfully brought down from Nova Scotia. And Mark! Mark dropped off a bottle of Jamaican Rum the other day! Yup, I truly am lucky, and I really do appreciate the gifts, guys!! Thanks!

How am I supposed to get any work done?!

Moving on-

We've had a lot of warm SW wind over the weekend and the beginning of this week. There's a pretty solid Bermuda High sitting out there, but it's a little too close to us to really pump the afternoon winds that we like so much. As it is, we've been seeing a mild afternoon build into the mid to upper teens most every afternoon. It certainly hasn't been epic, but it sure has been fun!

Here's a little play by play:

Saturday Cranked SW. Windy windy, all afternoon. I gave Gary and Mike a jibe lesson late in the evening, and they both did great, despite having sailed for hours prior to our commitment. Stu and I closed down the hole on 5.0s and caught an amazing sunset from out in the water. Gotta love it!

Some action at the Canadian Hole

Anne and I took out the Starboard Gemini tandem on Sunday afternoon. It was pretty fun even though the winds were kind of light. I taught Anne how to sail backwinded and we worked on helitacks and duck jibes and all that fun stuff. Wendy and Roland showed up at the beach, and seemed like they were looking for some fun, so I sent them out on the Tandem, and strapped a GoPro helmet cam to Roland's noggin'. This was the outcome:

Wendy and Roland sail the Gemini! from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

Since it didn't seem like the wind was really filling in, we made some plans to do a standup paddleboard down-winder. Wendy decided to pull the trigger and bought the Naish 11'6" that she's been eyeing up for the last week or two. So we went and grabbed it from the shop, and set off on a Hole to the house downwinder, which is about 5 or 6 miles!

Wendy and her new Naish!

Anne and Wendy setting out on the voyage

Of course, since we were determined to go paddling, the wind DID fill in to some pretty good levels, and the whole way through Avon we were dodging windsurfers and kiteboarders who were out enjoying the evening winds (or were they dodging us??). There was one group of guys on some kites that had us all laughing, as they were obviously trying to show off, and were catching about 18 inches of air and then faceplanting in knee deep water. It was, uhhh, entertaining...

Nothing like finishing up a voyage by paddling to your backyard!

Here's Stu, at the Hole, lit up on a 7.5:

Nice form!

And here's Mike, on Stu's 7.5. I gave Mike a jibe lesson a day earlier. Hmmmm, maybe I didn't do so good of a job!! Haha!

Nice dismount!

Last night, the wind faded out to the low teens, and I was able to take advantage of it and test out the Tabou Rocket 135! It's been awhile since I bombed around on an 8.5 and big freeride board, and man, was it fun! That is one smooth, fast board, that's for sure! I let Dave C. take it for a spin, and he came back in and simply stated "That's the best 130 liter board I've ever ridden!" Here's some more GoPro action for you guys:

Testing the Tabou Rocket 135 from Andy McKinney on Vimeo.

By the way, every morning has provided a fun little longboard wave in the waist high range. Stuart and Chris went SUPing this morning and I happened to pass them while walking Banana (the dog). Fun surf in the mornings, afternoon siestas, and evening breezes... If only I weren't stuck in the shop all day...

Stuart and Chris, SUPing the shorebreak

Looks like a pretty big wind event is in store for this weekend! All you weekend warriors need to get the truck filled with gas and the boards on the roof rack 'cause its gonna get good!! Awwww yeah!

Hope to see y'all soon! Swing by the shop and say hello when you get here!

They're here...................

2009-04-23T22:58:00.006-04:00

Bling

I'm a lucky guy. Usually, when you get a new high wind stick, it kills the wind and you just have to stare at it for weeks on end until the wind gods smile upon you. Well, I must have done something right, because yesterday my new 80 liter Tabou Pocket showed up, and it just happened to be gusting into the 40s all afternoon!

Awwww yeah!!

I'll tell ya, 5 o'clock could not come fast enough!! At closing time, I raced on down to the Hole and rigged up Anne's 3.7. The straight west wind was kicking up some fun swell and pushed the water all the way up the beach to the parking lot bulkhead. It was a little hectic for the first sesh on a new stick, but what the heck, might as well jump right in, right?

Light and balanced (photo: Dan Kramer [Thanks Dan!!!])

Some impressions: Smooth and Fast!! Even though the Pocket is officially a wave board, the sucker really does have some speed built in to it, making it a great option for bump and jumpers. Freestyle, you ask?? My first mild attempt at a vulcan instantly slid all the way through a full spock... effortlessly! And with a wave fin, nonetheless! Hmmmm, does it jibe? The harder you push it, the slashier it becomes!! And does it jump? Well... yeah!!

Slishy Slashy (original photo: Dan Kramer; but I'm responsible for messing it up with photoshop)

I can't wait to get this thing on a wave face, where it's true beauty will really shine!!

Speaking of wave faces, Rick sent me a note saying the South side got pretty big in the afternoon... He spent most of his time out on the monstrous third bar, well powered on his 4.2! This pic is of his friend Peter inside on the second bar:

Billy Mitchell looking gnarly! (Photo: Rick Eustis)

So, my board wasn't the only one to show up.... We received a whole range of Tabous for y'all to check out the next time you're here in Hatteras! Available to demo (left to right in the picture): Pocket 80 and 85, Freestyle 100, 3S 97 and 107, Rocket 115, 125, and 135!! These boards are sick, all you have to do is hop on one and you'll feel the Tabou love instantly! I must warn you, however, that you'll dread getting back on your beloved Astrorock after riding one of these beauts... hahaha : )

Come and get 'em!