2010-04-08

Nuking Finish to the Hatteras April Bermuda High!

It simply nuked today on the Outer Banks!! All iWindsurf sensors across the islands reported SW wind strength above 30 mph for most of the day!! Sunny skies, warm 4.0m and down wind, trunks only sound side water temps...what a ripping windsurfing day!! The only element missing was ocean swell, and the Hatteras Atlantic was basically flat. There was definite southern wind swell out there, but not enough swell period to produce ridable waves. Oh well, super windy like today is definitely a wild ride soundside!

I remained local and hit Jockey's Ridge. One other guy was out with me visiting from MD, along with a solo kiteboarder. My session was short as "Daddy Duties" kicked in at 4:00pm, and I had the little guy for the evening.

I rigged 4.7m at around 1:30pm. The wind was ratcheting up, but I stuck with the 4.7m to have extra power for the bump and jump conditions offered outside the sand bar at JRidge. Lots of loops, jumps, and hero jibes in the slightly overpowering conditions! By the time I came in, the 3.7m would have been the call. I returned home, logged a few more work hours then took the reigns of the little guy, as Lauren had an evening class.

I returned to JRidge with the little guy to check out the peak 35+ mph conditions around 5:30pm. The sound was filled with large whitecaps, rollers, though no one was out at that time. One visiting kiteboarder was contemplating flying a 10m C-kite, but I strongly advised against it. With gusts near 40mph, and no one out, likely a 6m bow kite would have been a better call. Not sure if he launched, but hopefully he planned to wait until the weekend?!

As for some shots, here are a few after I returned to check conditions with the little guy.