Second Wind

I almost cancelled my plans to visit the Outer Banks last weekend on account of the wet forecast. But the wind was supposed to be awesome, and some friends of mine were hoping to go, too... I just needed an extra push to make it happen. That came when my pal Bruce called and said the sound-side house he was at, the "Second Wind", had extra rooms for Saturday night. The promise of warm, dry digs was enough to lure me, John Gelinne, and John's gf Lindsey (below).


We showed up Saturday morning and sailed all day in warm, cloudy, sprinkly weather. Lindsey had her first windsurfing lesson and showed great promise. The rest of us got some good runs on 6.9 - 8.5 sails. It was fun looking down on the windsurfers from the third-story porch of the house, and soaking in the hot tub at the end of the day made me appreciate the life of luxury.


Sunday dawned clear and cool with a deceptively strong breeze. (It seemed light at the house, but out on the water- wow!). I went out on a small 4.25 sail and 77 liter board, but had plenty of juice. John G. didn't have a small sail of his own, but did a blasting run on a 5.2 borrowed from me and a 104 liter board borrowed from Bruce. After some insane runs and explosive wipeouts, he retired, concerned that he might damage the borrowed equipment. After lunch the wind came up a notch and my 4.25 actually started to feel big. I gambled and rigged my smallest sail, a 3.5 that I had NEVER used before except for beginners. Amazingly, it was enough, and I was blessed with the rare thrill of shooting across the water on a craft so small it almost seemed like it wasn't there.

Also, the yellow sail matched my yellow board, so I looked pretty.


Thanks John and Lindsey for taking the pictures.