Bay Tree Beach - Windsurfing Again

Last weekend was a big blast of wind as a major storm rolled over the East Coast. I sailed hard on Sunday, for the first time after 8 days off, and gave myself a weird dehydration x overexertion x stormwater-in-my-sinuses headache that lasted most of Monday. I guess you could call it a windsurfing hangover.

This afternoon was the healing, post-storm session in a moderate breeze from the North. I almost skipped it, but Sam Lake was jonesing to kite because he'd missed the weekend, so we took off work a little early and headed to Bay Tree Beach. I know a nice couple who live there who let us launch from in front of their beach house.



The high tide was washing over the marsh. Bay Tree Beach is eroding rapidly, much to the concern of the folks who live there.



When Sam snapped these pictures I was barely planing with my 6.6 sail and 114 liter board, but at least there was enough wind to do the cool-looking, close-up, buzz-by-the-beach thing.



I returned the favor by snapping the pictures and video below of Sam riding his 13 meter kite. When I'm taking video with my camera I keep stupidly wanting to turn the camera sideways for vertical shots, forgetting that (duh) that doesn't work with video. I barely caught myself this time.

Mystery Meat

I'm ashamed that my marine biology skills fall short of being able to identify the sea creature in this photo from an asian market. Any ideas?

I got the picture from the Professional Windsurfing Association website. The PWA is having a slalom racing competion now in Ulsan, South Korea.

Pandering

Observing the insanity of the current US Presidential race makes me want to barf. But it's nevertheless INTERESTING for what it reveals about the nature of our country and political system.



In particular, I've been reflecting upon all the PANDERING that goes on. Candidates who ought to know better are eschewing wise, ethical, forward-looking policy in favor of idiotic bribes to their dumbest constituents. Case in point; both McCain and Clinton are pushing to repeal the gas tax this summer. Of course it won't help; oil companies will simply raise the price and pocket the difference, while potholes deepen, transit projects fester for lack of highway funds, and the skies are choked with smog and greenhouse gases. Geez...

Perhaps pandering is a necessary evil of a democratic system that allows everyone to vote. But I worry that it will eventually lead to an idiocracy in which responsible, intelligent candidates always lose to the sell-outs who will say and do anything to win. We may be there already. Even Obama, who has taken a relatively high road, has been forced to say dumb stuff to appease the bozos who think he's an unpatriotic muslim terrorist sympathizer. Stuff like, "I am a devout Christian. ... I pray to Jesus every night".



That's fine. I just think it's sad that he has to make such a specific profession of religious faith to be electable in this supposedly open, secular nation.

Uncle Time

My folks bought me plane tickets to Columbus, Ohio to visit my sister Anna and to spend some "uncle time" with my 7 week old niece, Ayla. Anna is in the last stages of completing her graduate thesis, so upon my arrival I was immediately pressed into "nanny duty" to give her some free time to write. I don't know anything about babies, but in the last 24 hours I've been learning fast how to feed 'em, burp 'em, change their nasty diapers, and walk them around so they'll shut up. I can't believe how much work it is. Fortunately Ayla is cute enough that I don't mind.





Aww...

A Good Saturday

Saturday, May 3, 2008 was as close to perfect as windsports in Tidewater, Virginia can get. It was warm and sunny with SW winds in the 10-20 knot range. Yes, it was gusty (you can see me caught in a lull in the slideshow), but relatively speaking it wasn't bad. What really made it special was the good group of windsurfers and kiters who all brought their stoke to the York River Seafood launch.

On the windsurf front there was local dude and photographer Chris Coyne (thanks for the pictures), W&M undergrad Greg Cooper, and VIMS Grad Students Heather Wiseman and me. On the kite front there were local dudes Paul and Eric, and VIMS Sail and Paddle Club President Sam Lake. Sam and Eric both brought their beautiful girlfriends out to spectate, which made all of us guys on the water step up the show-off factor. Eric really impressed everyone when he hit the bottom while braking near the shore and got yanked across the beach into the bulkhead. Ouch!

I sailed a 6.6 Aerotech Charge and 114 liter Fanatic Skate, which was just about right for the conditions. In the flat water near shore and in the lee of Allen's Island I was actually able to plane out of some jibes, more or less. Woo hoo!

I'm embedding Chris' pictures as a slide show, which I've never tried before. Hopefully it works out alright. I think you can click the slideshow to see the bigger pictures in my "windows live" album.


Windows Live Spaces

Longboard Love Story

Check out this excellent post on Paul Richardson's Blog.

And here's a couple more pictures from windfest. These are the W&M undergrad beginner windsurfer babes who did so well there.

Am I the only one who thinks driving on the beach is silly?

**UPDATE- Wow, this post has attracted more attention than I expected, especially now that it's getting linked to from several recreational fishing forums. Originally it was just an expression of my personal opinion about beach driving; I'd rather we drove on the road and walked on the beach. I didn't mean to imply that I categorically support all aspects of the National Park Service's current obx beach closure plan. However, because of the strong response, I've done my best to weigh in, fairly, with regards to the NPS plan in the comments section. Please read the other comments and my replies before adding your own. I will do my best to respond to everyone, but will give priority to non-anonymous posters.**

**Also, FYI, I love fishing. Anyone who knew me growing up can attest to how obsessed with it I can be. So just because I characterize beach driving fishermen as "whiners" in the next paragraph doesn't mean that I'm down on fishing itself. I think it's a great way for all ages to get out and learn about nature and stuff.**

It seems like everybody is freaking out now about the proposed closing of some Outer Banks beaches to off-road vehicles to protect nesting birds and turtles. The loudest whiners are the recreational fishermen, who will apparently shrivel up and die if they are forced to walk more than 20 feet from their 4x4s to reach the water. Some people in the windsurf / surf / kiteboarding community are pretty upset too, because the closures will make it harder for them to launch from certain "secret spots" on the oceanfront. And there is concern among local businesses that the beach-driving prohibition will reduce tourism revenues.

Most of the perspectives on this that I have read so far in the blogosphere have been pro 4x4, so I thought I would share my own, alternative perspective. Don't hate me.

1. Beach driving is tacky.

In a vast and sparsely populated wilderness you can blow stuff up, chop things down, roar around in all manner of vehicles, and shoot or hook just about any critter that wanders by without causing irreparable harm to the environment or bothering your neighbors. Needless to say, the Outer Banks are no longer such a place; the islands are shrinking while human development on them is growing. Unfortunately some mindsets and traditions persist from the free-for-all wilderness days; namely, beach driving mania. I'm sure it was fun back in the day when it wasn't so crowded, but now it's just cheesy and obnoxious. With paved roads that go almost everywhere, and numerous parking and public access areas, even piers and boardwalks for the disabled, nobody really NEEDS to drive on the beach to get a decent fishing, sunbathing, or boardsports experience.

2. Beach driving really does put cute endangered species at risk of extinction.



The environmental impact of beach driving is not just propaganda from "eco nazis". Animals are significantly less likely to nest, and less likely to successfully produce young when they do nest, in areas where driving is allowed. It's not the sweet, dumb birds and turtles' fault that they need to nest on the beach. (Which is why people who blame the animals are assholes and I will never stop at a surf shop that has THIS stupid sticker on the door.) It's just that the critters evolved over millions of years to specialize in a certain type of beach and dune habitat, and now they can't live without it. While both people and animals want the same areas, only the critters actually NEED them to survive. And I'm not just talking about the survival of individuals; were talking about extinction, at least in the case of the much-maligned Atlantic Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus). So, I think we have an ethical obligation to set aside adequate areas for the beach-dependent wildlife, even if it's moderately inconvenient for us.

We can adapt. People have been frolicking and fishing on beaches for thousands of years, but the dumb idea that we need giant motor vehicles for our beach play has only been around for a handful of decades. It's time to go retro and put our toes, not our tires, in the sand again.