Drydocked....

OHHHH I AM DRYING UP!!!!!!

Work has been chaining me to the desk -

Yesterday the wind was perfect for kiting (but I was way inland for work)...

A front has moved in and the winds swung to a Northerly (with cooler temperatures) so no playing today either.

Well - in order to keep my sanity, I am going to work on some SMALL projects.

Stay tuned to see what these turn into (I can't wait!!!! This is going to be AWESOME)!!!

Lazy Weekend

On the regular activity front, took the Naish Glide out for a 3 mile paddle yesterday. No wind, no swell so it was all me. I prefer the energy tapping methods, but I did enjoy the workout benefits.

Also the red shrimp we have finally hatch a new clutch. The tiny shrimp were around, but you had to look closely. I was getting worried if the population would die off (several have died over the past few weeks - I suspect old age more than anything), but there are still a couple more shrimp holding eggs.

On the new stuff front, we drove over to Bay St. Louis today and found a terrific launch for the trimaran. The southern part of the point, a quarter mile down from the railroad tracks is a great parking lot that is ridiculously close to the shore. It offers great access to the Gulf and is seems like to wind was less effected by the land. The morning seemed to have decent wind (8-12), but the afternoon fizzled out.

So, nothing new - another weekend of the same old stuff. Checking out downtown Bay St Louis reminded us of how cool it would be to have some bicycles to throw on the back of the van and cruise around for an afternoon.

a-lo-ha

Good Wind

The forecasts were calling for good wind today coming in straight from the East. These were the predictions since Sunday.

Well, the forecasters earned their paychecks - 12-16 by the time I made it out (1615) (iwindsurf.com was showing 15 - 25 on the high side, 12 - 20 on the lower end - I'm not sure where their sensor is, probably the airport or the base).

It looked like it was much stronger early on (the main flagpole on base is outside my window - it was almost stiff armed around 1400).

I'm glad we got the chance to go today - the weather is supposed to turn for the worst again, with a front pushing through and North winds setting in again this weekend (maybe tri sailing???)

Setup the V4 16 (I know it's old, but hey - I gotta take care of the family), and used the Stretch Trow. Also used the new harness (Dakine Sonic).

Awesome session!!! Got some great jumps and played in the pitifully small wind swell breaking over the sand bars. OH HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN!

Oh well - you gotta appreciate what you got (and believe me I do - I will never take a wave for granted ever again, and I know what it feels like to be drydocked for a year)!!!

I also cannot believe there weren't any other people taking advantage of the wind. I know there is a pack of kiters on the other side of the harbor (Gulfport Beach), but we didn't make the drive out there in the interest of maximizing watertime.

I finally got the 5th line dialed in (again - I know that's so yesterday, but remember what my job is - I'm lucky to be home), and the harness was great!

I asked the kids if they wanted to learn to kite - it didn't surprise me they both said an emphatic "NO"

Someday...

Aloha!

Sunday morning - What to do with no wind or surf

We are headed to the grand opening of the D'Iberville Target today.

BUT, I did manage to do some projects to tune up our stoke generating equipment.

I bought two RAM 1" Ball Mounts from BSP yesterday and epoxy puttied them on this morning to the hull access hatch on HOO-YAH. I'll mount the GPS and the GoPro on the hatch.

I also installed an apparent wind indicator vane on the top of the mast and cleaned up the bitter ends of the trampoline lines (the cores were hanging out of the sheaths).

I also modified a kite bar (improved leash) and tuned up the nose lines on my larger kites. Should be able to self-land the kites with this modification (in preparation for the winter months when La and the kids will look at me like I've got a carrot growing out of my head as I head off to the beach).

Not as fun as ripping through the water on an 15kt wind, but it feels good to get hands on the gear and improving the functionality of the gear.

Bass Pro Shops

Add another one to the list of BSPs that we've visited.

This one in Spanish Fort, AL was smaller than some of the other ones we've been too (Corona and Las Vegas were megahuge), but it had a ton of stuff the others didn't.

La has to question the poor staff at each BSP - 'are these animals real, or are they fake?' The funny thing is we get a different answer every time.

This one had a huge alligator gar fossil imprint on the floor in front of the signature freshwater aquarium. Note the fish food squirming around in it's belly.

These guys have awesome displays... I have a nice sized garage, but this does make you think 'what I could do with more space....'

Good times

Whitey Jumping

http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/sequence-of-the-week-white-shark-breaches-in-la_31125/1/

I am not going to say anything about this. It speaks for itself.

FINALLY!!!!

Everything lined up - the wind, time off, willing kids, decent weather - all to allow me to release my pent up stress from not surfing for nearly two months!!!!

Used an old, but reliable Naish V4 16m kite. C kites are where the power is -

Was out from 1400 to 1600 (note the gusts near 20 - nice)

Hopefully the weather starts to change and the winds start to set in more regularly... I could use the kiting sessions more often (at least more often than once every two months).

AWESOME!!!

Wind inbound

Of course there was wind today.

When I can't break free from work (we got to tour the Secretary of the Navy around today - got to show him the tactical trainers we have here) the wind BLOWS -

Nothing epic, just enough to torture me mentally. Would definitely have been fun on a 20m kite or the Trimaran.

Tomorrow is another day....

Wind graph credited to iwindsurf.com (you guys are awesome)

New Harness

Picked up a new Kiting Harness.

The Dakine Sonic

The convenience of a waist harness with the leverage and support of a full on seat harness - the best of both worlds.

Although I must admit my old Fusion Seat Harness is the best harness I have ever used.

I am looking forward to the Fall - I was speaking to someone who was here last year and he said the winds pickup in the Fall...

Aloha

More Seacart 30

It is still raining here (even harder than before).

With the lightning, I can't even go to the pool at the gym to workout. La and the kids are joking about my waist, but even I can tell I'm gaining a bit.

That's ok - more ballast for the windward rail!!!!

In keeping with the foul weather posts, here's another Seacart 30 picture. Flying two hulls on a boat this big????!!!! Well - the maxi-tris are much bigger, but they aren't meant to be sailed/owned by the masses (conglomerates/uber-rich/etc). With this, even the not so rich can have Ridiculous fun!!! I read a story last night on line about how one of these finally capsized - a full on pitchpole maneuver. A rhib with a big engine just pulled it back on its feet - no worse for the event.

The company is now producing an E-glass/epoxy version (I think they are still cooking it in the autoclave - just not using as much carbon fiber), equipped with folding akas/amas. We're still several years out from getting our next boat, but man this one gets my blood boiling....

Seacart 30

It's raining today and the wind was marginal at best yesterday. We did take the SUPs out yesterday, but nothing out of the ordinary.

So I have to blab about other things -

This is a Seacart 30 - looks like it'll give the other trimarans out there a good run for the money.

Nice lines. I need a better paying job.