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I had to go to Vegas for a 2 day conference.

Yeah it was pretty cool, but to tell you the truth - without my family there, it wasn't the same (now that I've got impending orders for a year unaccompanied over my head, time away from La and the kids is even worse).

I did stop by the Bellagio to get our wedding rings cleaned - La and I eloped in Vegas nearly 10 years ago and we got our rings from Tiffany. It was neat that I could go and get them cleaned at the same place we bought them.

I could keep going on about how that they are cleaned and look just like new that we're good to go for another 10 years.... blah blah blah - but I won't - you get the picture.

So - what's the amphibious link here?

The fountain at the Bellagio!

The Discovery Channel did a special on the behind the scenes for the fountain works once and ever since then, every time I see the fountains, it is even neater.

And now that I'm back here in Gulfport, I did manage to get a late afternoon paddle in - 6.7 mph top speed on a runner; 3.9 mph average.

Grilled Mahi for Dinner

Late afternoon paddle at West Pier for exercise in some gnarly offshore winds - 15 with gusts past 22.

If I had a chase boat, Cat Island would have probably been less than an hour away...

Went home and grilled some mahi.

The way I do it is:

- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 chopped pieces of garlic
- 2 tsp of butter

Take a piece of foil, place the salted/peppered fish and place it skin down on the foil. Put the butter and garlic on top, wrap lightly and bring it out to a fired up grill. Cook for about 20 minutes (the butter will keep the fish moist).

The skin should just about slide off at this point.

Place on top of a bed of rice and ENJOY!!!

New 16m Crossbow

We finally got a day where it wasn't

a. Raining
b. Too cold to emerge from the cave/house
c. A requirement to celebrate a Holiday or Birthday
d. All of the above

So we broke off our root balls and headed to the beach.

La took off on a paddleboard run and even managed to catch some runners on the inbound legs.

I did all the unpacking protocol on the 16m Crossbow (testing line setup, removing all the tags, trimming any excess threads, etc) and pumped it up for the first time.

I was able to self launch the kite with the carabiner trick (keeping the chicken loop tensioned with a carabiner hooked into it with the other end tied off to a pole/stake/immovable object - then picking up the kite, setting it on the edge of the window and running back to the bar to hook in).

Really light winds, but enough to get a feel for the new set of wings. It got airborne in under 10 mph (closer to 8) - my 16m V4 wouldn't do that.

After doing some 'S' turns on the beach, La came in from her paddle and landed the kite.

So as you can see from this post and the other recent kiting ones, my new kite quiver is white and green Crossbows. Yes I am color coordinated and I am proud of it.

With the wind chill being what it was (30 F), the landed kite quickly became a kiddoroo shelter (as usual).

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

Yesterday involved a lot of time "not" at the beach. Errands, work and having fun with my favorite dude (Big M), as well as a decent mid-day nap - but I did get a 4 miler in in the late afternoon. The wind was supposed to be 11 mph from the South, but the frontal passage was progressing a bit faster than forecasted (my opinion) and I ended up with a paddling session (I learned my lesson from last week and brought a paddle). I also got the bug to install a rear position foot strap on the Starboard Blend - did some internet surfing to find a good model and ratio-proportioning and cut the decking material from the new stick'em screw plates. I still have to clean the stripped areas off, but once the foot strap is on, it'll make carrying the board to and from the water with a sail rig on it way easier. More to follow on this.

Last night the wind turned and really kicked up. Heavy rains pelted the house and just as quickly as they came they went.

This morning, the howls of 25+ mph winds, the swaying Yellow Pines and the blaring wind chimes announced that the interface between the passing low and the pushing high was here.

So - with gusts past 30 blowing straight offshore, I decided discretion was the call for today. Keeping two hulls in contact with the GOM might have been really challenging, especially with no crew (La, Big M and Noe have all recently been saying things like "I get seasick when the sky is cloudy" and "BAD DADDY!!!!" - if that isn't a hint I don't know what is...)

I did make it down to the beach to check out the conditions. These shots say it all - strong winds blowing the low tide even lower (I've never seen it this low before - I'm pretty sure this was more local wind driven vice gravitational tide), and whitecaps seen from directly upwind (normally they stick out like a sore thumb from the side - the wind was so stiff that they stuck out from a rear view).

In closing, there are two types of skunks - the one that spoils your session because you don't have enough wind (or surf, or fill in the blank), and the one that gives you too much of a good thing. I've been sprayed by both now down here on the "Third" Coast and I stink of "lack of stoke".

Oh well - at least I can see the water (i.e., I'm not in Baghdad) and there's always tomorrow (for kiting, sailing, SUPing and even dreaming of surfing)!