Monday, March 7, 2011

36 Degree Water Windsurfing Season Opener!

Following my first New England winter, a time with typical highs in the 20s and 30s, last weekend's temperatures in the 40s and 50s seemed like a breath of summer. Time to the inaugurate the 2011 windsurfing season! (The one session in Florida doesn't count.) I couldn't jump right in on Saturday, though, because there were a few chinks in my thermal armor that I didn't want to expose to the 36 degree water of Massachusetts Bay. I.e., though I had purchased a "bag" drysuit in the fall, I still needed some 7 mm booties and a proper hood to go with it. Those bits were easy enough to find at a dive shop in Somerville, but it meant I had to wait until Sunday to get started.

Fortunately, the wind was still pumping from the South in the 15 - 20 mph range when I arrived at the Nahant causeway. I was so excited I ran a stop sign going into the beach parking lot and got busted by a Nahant cop. He also nailed me for not having a state inspection sticker, so I cursed my $95.00 - wasting haste. Arrrgh. Finally at the launch spot I rigged my trusty 6.8 Aerotech Phantom and 106 liter Exocet Cross with a 32 cm Maui Ultra Fins "no spin" fin. There was a small swell coming in and the wind was almost perfectly sideshore. The suit kept me plenty warm enough, although I chose to sail relatively conservatively to stay out of the water to the extent possible. Here's a video from the session, with an intro showing the beauty of spring in Lynn:

First Massachusetts Windsurfing of 2011 from James Douglass on Vimeo.

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11 comments:

  1. Catapulting AaronMarch 7, 2011 at 8:03 AM

    That place looks like it's got a nice set-up. Reminds me of PSC on a small day...

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  2. BLCSMarch 7, 2011 at 8:53 AM

    Awesome use of the minivan bench seat as living room furniture! I still have one of the captain's chairs I ripped out of my Nissan minivan, let me know if you need it to complete your ensemble :)

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  3. Scott; KarinMarch 7, 2011 at 1:46 PM

    Way to go man!!!

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  4. BrianMarch 7, 2011 at 4:28 PM

    Awesome vid James!

    Two questions: How long did it take you to master your jibes and what do you wear under your drysuit?

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  5. James DouglassMarch 7, 2011 at 5:24 PM

    Aaron- Yeah, man. It's a neat spot that works in any wind direction and has really clean, long lines in sideshore or offshore wind.

    BLCS- Heh heh. There's nowhere else to put it so I'm taking care of furniture and storage needs at the same time. :)

    Scott & Karin- Thanks, y'all.

    Brian- I definitely still haven't mastered my jibes. (Selective video editing helps make them look better.) But I'd say there was at least a year between my first "dry" jibe on a shortboard and my first fully planing exit from a jibe.

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  6. PeconicPuffinMarch 10, 2011 at 6:52 AM

    Can we talk about your living room for a second...is that a car seat bolted to the floor? Is this your sports temple, tucked in the back of your home, or your living room? Also, how do the wahines respond to it when they check it out?

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  7. James DouglassMarch 10, 2011 at 8:04 AM

    Hey Puffy- Yes, it's a car seat, or to be precise, a minivan seat, but I didn't bolt it to the floor- that might have voided my security deposit. I live in a small, single-bedroom apartment so the living room and the sports temple are combined. So far my sample size of wahines is too small to statistically quantify their response to the man cave- most ladies don't get past the minivan itself -but when I have enough data I'll post some comprehensive graphs and charts.

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  8. Johnny DouglassMarch 10, 2011 at 3:14 PM

    Uhh, tip from an old guy. Don't publish any comprehensive charts and graphs or you may get some major distortions from the Hawthorne effect...in the adverse direction.

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  9. James DouglassMarch 10, 2011 at 7:59 PM

    Aww, dad. You know I wasn't REALLY going to publish any charts and graphs. But thanks for the tip about avoiding the reverse Hawthorne effect. :)

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  10. PeconicPuffinMarch 11, 2011 at 5:10 AM

    I couldn't resist (well probably I could...I just didnt.

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  11. JohnMarch 12, 2011 at 6:21 AM

    Looking great man, that looks like a fun wave spot!

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