Making the Most of It

My life isn't perfect, but one thing I've definitely got going for me is that I enjoy the HECK out of my windsports hobbies.

Yep, I really do love all aspects of windsurfing and kiteboarding. There's the thrill of motion, the athletic challenge, the bonding with nature, the wetness, the geeky technology, the technology geeks, the catching air, the blogging and filming, the buddies, the teaching and sharing, the exploring new places, the shopping, the infinite variety of weather and the gamble of predicting and harnessing it, and the showing off the for the hot babes you imagine are watching and who you imagine care.

Wednesday we got some atypical wind for summer in Florida; a fair Northeast breeze flirting with 15 knots. Yes! Of course it required dropping everything around 3pm and windsurfing and kiting like crazy until sunset. :)

My first priority was to get a long overdue windsurf session on my favorite board, an Exocet Cross 106, and there was juuuust enough wind do make it work with a 6.8 sail and lots of pumping. The ride itself was nothing to write home about, but my buddy Brandon was out on similar windsurfing gear so the same-sport camaraderie multiplied the fun. I also had fun making the video, experimenting with a super-speeded-up take on the rigging process (WARNING- buns).

Windsurfing - Always on my Mind 7-7-10 from James Douglass on Vimeo.

The wind had kind of a wheezy, panting dog quality to it, and it continued to lighten up to the point that I wasn't able to plane much on the windsurf. So I busted out my 12 meter Flysurfer Speed 2 foil kite and rode that with various boards- First my small twintip, then my big twintip, then my buddy's "Airush Sector 60" directional as the wind got lighter. When I first went out on the little twintip I dropped the kite and had to relaunch it from the water. First time I've relaunched the foil kite successfully from deep water. Kind of sketchy because it launches in the hot zone and really yanks you downwind.

Big and Small Twintip Kiteboard Sesh from James Douglass on Vimeo.

And here's the video of the Airush Sector, which is a pretty cool board. Similar concept to my Mike Gebhardt freeride raceboard.

Airush Sector 60 Demo from James Douglass on Vimeo.