Spackling

No pictures tonight -

Been busy with move preps, specifically:

- drained the fish tank and removed most of the sand
- deep cleaned the bathroom and kitchen sink
- spackled the top deck of La's new 12'2"

I want to have the glassing done by Sunday on this board.

More to come with pictures...

New Flatwater SUP for La

Coming together...

I need to spackle this one - has some gaps from where I spliced some foam onto the blank (the nose had too much rocker so I reversed it - but needed to slap on some foam to correct the 'new' tail rocker).

I had it rough cut and planed in last weekend. Today was sanding day. I made the deck rail a little less boxy and faired in the nose and tail.

Next weekend should be laminating and hot coat. This one has a tight timeline - moving to Virginia in 23 days....

Stay tuned

Ship Island Sail

Roger called up yesterday and with a promising forecast (10-15 from 1200-1500, 15-20 from 1500-1700), I got to help break-in the new standing rigging he put up on his F-28.

The wind was howling for most of the trip - close reaching on the outbound run getting 17.1 mph.

Spent about an hour out at Ship Island right by the pier. Nice facilities, but everything was closed (off season???).

The run back was a broad reach (started out as a beam) and we would get swell pushing from the port stern quarter. Made for a quick run back hitting a max downwind speed of 17.9 mph.

The anemometer at Gulfport never recorded a gust past 20 mph while we were out on the water - real efficient sailing.

Boosting

Punched out a bit earlier than normal - had to - such a nice day and the wind was cranking!!!!

Have I mentioned I LOVE THIS KITE!!!!!!? The pic shows a jump with 12' of air - and this wasn't even the biggest air of the day. Smooth power and loft, and nearly endless depower make this an extremely useful kite down here on the Gulf Coast with the gusty winds.

I read 18 mph on my windmeter and I recorded a max speed of 26 mph on the GPS! Maybe more wind like this on Saturday.

Spring is here!

Because the Blue Crabs are back!

I see them in the shallows (along with baby mullet, threadfins and larger stingrays). The water is in the high 60's/low 70's.

I think this is going to a very warm year for the GOM.

Aloha Kanani!!!

We went to the American Girl doll store near Atlanta.

We brought home a Kanani doll.

Aloha!

Georgia Aquarium

We went to see the Georgia Aquarium last Saturday.

NEVER go to this place on a weekend - total madhouse.

Despite the sardine can effect, this aquarium had some jaw dropping exhibits - particularly the Ocean Explorer.

Not one, not two, but three Whale Sharks - a good sized Great Hammerhead and several Mantas - all in a huge tank.

Impressive to say the least.

The other displays were good, but I think the crowd threw us off from taking it all in.

SO, to date we have been to the following aquariums:
Virginia Beach Marine Science Museum
Baltimore Aquarium
Long Beach Aquarium
Seattle Aquarium
Georgia Aquarium
Aquarium of the Americas (New Orleans)
Enoshima Aquarium (Shonan, Japan)
Monterey Aquarium
Waikiki Aquarium
Sea World San Diego
Underwater World Guam
The Bass Pro Shops in Destin, San Antonio, Knoxville, Baton Rogue, Corona, and several others
Smaller ones that I can't remember

Looking forward to getting a membership at the Baltimore Aquarium soon

Delinquent Entries - Outer Banks

We're back in Gulfport and have been for about a week - I'm not caught up at work (and will probably never be - good thing I leave in 33 days), but now that things are back to normal, I'm going to try and post on all things aquatic that we did on our road trip up to DC and back.

First up, we did make it to the Outer Banks (oh how I LOVE that place). We brought the Starboard 9'8", but the wind was blowing the crap out of the swell and the longshore current looked evil so I didn't get in the water (I did SUP surf the next day - see last post).

We did get to visit our favorite wind shops during the day - Kitty Hawk Kites, REAL Watersports, 17th St Surf and a few others along the way.

But Marlon at the Marlin was one of the highlights for me!

65th St North End Virginia Beach

44 degree water - check

Light offshore winds - check

Sunny disposition - check

Kiddoroosters running around the beach - check

Patient wife/photographer setup on the beach - check

Stoke generation mission - complete

It has been too long!!!

Got to bring the family back to one of our previous haunts and it felt like home!!!

North End on Dwellable