Edisto Island Windsurfing & New Surfski

I started the summer of 2018 with a trip to my folks' beach house in Edisto Island, South Carolina, and I'm pleased to be ending my summer with another Edisto trip. This time it's extra special because my sister and nieces are here, along with my science and nature loving aunt and uncle.

I arrived here Sunday with my minivan loaded with water toys: my windsurf stuff, plus a new surfski kayak. The surfski kayak is a Stellar SR, 584 cm long x 48 cm wide. It replaces a 640 x 43 cm Epic v12 surfski that I decided was too advanced for me and not shaped right for my bum. The Stellar SR is a bit slower in flat water, but faster (for me) in rough water by virtue of I'm not wobbling and capsizing it all the time.



I've found the Stellar SR really enjoyable to paddle in the choppy Atlantic ocean here. Today I convinced my dad to drop me off on the other side of the island so I could paddle out into the ocean with the ebb tide current pushing me, then turn and paddle downwind with the swells to the beach in front of our house. It worked really well and I was able to get the fastest average speed I've ever gotten for a paddling session of any kind. Woo hoo!



After paddling I played on the beach with my nieces for a while, then swapped out the surfski for my windsurf. A 6.8 sail and 106 liter Exocet Cross with a 32 cm MUFin NoSpin fin were perfect for blasting around in the steady 15+ kt conditions. The track below is from a similar session on the same gear on Monday night.



I'm not going to want to go back to work after this.

OP'd Kiting Session

My 12 msq kite is supposed to work from about 11-20 knots, but I try to switch to windsurfing around 15 knots because kiting in more than 15 scares me. Wednesday I underestimated the breeze and ended up kiting in the upper end of the 11-20 range.

To a point, excess wind is easier to handle with a kite than a windsurf sail. The crazy power is available if you swoop the kite into the power zone or sheet-in for a jump, but as long as you fly the kite conservatively you can ride slowly and in control without having to muscle it around like you would with a sail. I was ok like that until near the end of the session, when I started having to baby the kite at the edge of wind window with the bar sheeted almost all the way out (below).

Leading up to that, though, I got some good (by my standards) jumps. My dad was filming.

The song in this video is by Elastica.

Windy Kiteboarding at Edisto Island, SC from James Douglass on Vimeo.

I think I'll stick with my 15-knot switching-to-windsurfing threshold, but at least now I know that I can handle up to around 20 on the kite if I have to.

Uncle Tom's New Toy

I gave my uncle Tom a "trainer kite" for Christmas, and the family went to the beach today to play with it. Everyone got to fly it except uncle Tom. The kite is an HQ Rush III 250, which is a fun size for flying on land. It has two-line control, but with an extra third line attached to the trailing edge so you can relaunch it when it lands face-down. The third line also attaches to a safety leash, so if you let go of the bar, the kite depowers and crumples to the ground. The wind picked up enough while we were flying the trainer that I decided to rig up my 12 m kite and actually go kiteboarding. The incoming tide was opposing the NW wind, which made it easy to stay upwind even though I wasn't particularly powered.

Boxing Day Kite Flying & Boarding at Edisto from James Douglass on Vimeo.

If you want to visit Edisto, check out the information on my dad's blog about how you can rent our beach house, the "Dragonfly".

Christmas Eve 5.5 and 4.7 Windsurfing

One nice thing about being on vacation in a damp, chilly place is that I can nerd out in front of the computer without feeling guilty. It's funny because my dad and I have our laptops set up on the same table so we can blog simultaneously. For our most recent windsurfing documentary project, he did organized the still pictures on his blog and I edited the video and posted it here. I was inspired to use music from Tchaikovski's Nutcracker by something I saw posted on Andy's Blog.

Christmas Eve Windsurfing in South Carolina from James Douglass on Vimeo.

Post-Florida Cold Shock

Yesterday I drove up from Florida to spend the holidays at my folks' place in Edisto Beach, South Carolina. It's kind of chilly here in SC - not by real winter standards, but by wimpy Floridian standards, certainly. It's kind of breezy, too. I was worried I might have lost my cold weather watersports mojo during my time in Florida, but it came back this afternoon as soon as I suited up in the ol' 6 mm wetsuit.

I decided to kite, since the flukey NW wind didn't look like enough to windsurf with my 6.6 sail. Also, since my dad hadn't seen me kite yet I really wanted to show off for him. The launch was in the South Fork of the Edisto River on the western side of Edisto Island. There's a lot of tidal current there, and it wasn't helping today. I could stay upwind when the puffs rolled through, but during the lulls I would end up downwind and have to walk back along the beach.

My dad took some pictures, which you can see on his blog. He also took some video, which I edited and set to "Valley of the Dolls" by Mylo.

Kiteboarding South Carolina in December from James Douglass on Vimeo.

In other news, it's nice being home with the family. I had the good fortune to be present today when my cute, 21-month old niece did her first poopie in the toilet.

Trainer Kite Horseplay + Windsurfing

For Easter I drove up to visit my parents and relatives in Edisto Island, South Carolina. It was a lot of fun.

Friday we visited Grandmama in the Summerville Presbyterian Home.

Saturday it was warm with 10-15 knot W winds and we had a windsurfing beach party with my folks' friends from the island. My dad took the maiden voyage on the modern gear I hooked him up with; a 7.8 msq Aerotech AirX sail and a Fanatic Viper 85 beginner board. He was planing and using the harness. I traded back and forth with him on that setup until the tide shifted and the wind picked up enough that I could ride my shortboard / 6.6 sail.

Easter Sunday it was 15-20 knots from the NE so I got to try the new 5.5 Aerotech Charge I had purchased at Sandy Point Progressive Sports in Daytona Beach on the way up. It's red. I liked the feel of it a lot. Stable, powerful, fast, light, manouverable, and "crisp" feeling. I actually got a duck jibe on port tack with it! Mostly I rode it on an Exocet Cross 106, but also for a while on my 87 liter F2 Maui Project. Weirdly enough, the ride seemed bumpier on the smaller board in the choppy onshore conditions.

Later in the afternoon my dad and I flew the 4 msq trainer kite that I've had for a while. It was windy enough that when you did a kiteloop, you would get dragged across the hard-packed sand.



Pretty soon I'm going to take some kiteboarding lessons, but I don't envision that sport ever taking over from my windsurfing. Steve Gottlieb, the Aerotech Sails designer who runs Sandy Point Progressive Sports, says he does both sports, but mainly kites in 10-15 knots, and windsurfs above or below that. Also, he said the dynamics of windsurfing in waves are more thrilling than kiting in waves, for him at least.

Bugs and Birds

I meant to work these pictures into other blog posts but I never got around to it. Anyway, here's a very brief show-and-tell...

Picture 1- A funny float from the Christmas Parade at Edisto Beach, South Carolina. The man in the cockroach suit was throwing out candy to the kids, but most were too scared to approach.

Picture 2- A brown pelican (Pelicanus occidentalis) at the Fort Pierce South Jetty.

Picture 3- Some white ibises (Eudocimus albus) on the powerlines over my car. Yeah, they crapped on it, but they were too majestic for me to want to shoo away.

Picture 4- Close-up of the majestic ibises.

Windsurfing, Baby

Windsurfing:


Baby:

Notes:
The windsurfing is being done in nice, 15-20 mph NE winds in front of my folks' beach house at Edisto Island, South Carolina. The air and water are in the mid 50s (Fahrenheit) - not too bad with a wetsuit and booties. The baby is my niece, Ayla Ojanen. It's interesting comparing the Ojanen family photo from this year with that from last year.

Out of the Horse Latitudes?

Yesterday I drove up to South Carolina for a family Christmas at Edisto Island. I awoke this morning to 20 knots of SW wind, and ended up getting a good session on my smallest board (87 liters).

That really scratched an itch for me, since I hadn't sailed the little board, at least not for a full-on session, since early fall. There just weren't many, if any, 20+ knot wind days in East Central Florida. At least not many that occurred while I was there, healthy, and able to "adjust" my work schedule, which was most of the time.

I think it's because where I live in Florida is in the so-called "Horse Latitudes"; a region of crappy wind between the Westerlies of the temperate zone and the Easterly trade winds of the tropics. The region is also called the subtropical high, as shown on the global wind patterns map below. Wikipedia explains it better than I could.

I haven't seen this written, but I think that where the Horse Latitudes are located varies with season and with shorter term weather patterns. I.e. in the summer, Central Florida might usually be below the HL, and thus get more Easterly trade winds. And in the dead of winter, it will (hopefully) be enough above the HL to get more Westerlies and frontal systems. We'll see.

BTW- Does anyone know where I could find wind statistics for Central Florida? I know the (excellent) New England Windsurfing Journal publishes average wind stats for various locations from Cape Hatteras - Cape Cod, but I don't know of anything similar for Florida.

Please Be Real

**UPDATE - It wasn't real. The actual wind was only around 15 mph and I was seriously underpowered on a 5.8. (Shoulda rigged the 6.6). Oh, well. At least I got wet and got some excercise before the long drive from SC back to FL.**

-Original post-

This is tomorrow's wind forecast for the Edisto Island, South Carolina area. Yellow is good, orange is great, red is radical, and maroon is EPIC:

I hope it comes true. I've had a wonderful time visiting relatives, walking on the beach, and eating good food here during this Thanksgiving vacation, but a sweet windsurf session would really cap things off. Stay tuned...

Where to Windsurf at Edisto Island

If you're ever vacationing in Edisto Beach, South Carolina and you want to windsurf or kiteboard there, go for it! But first, check out this guide I made, in response to an inquiry in an old post.

Edisto may not be a great spot for "real" waveriding, but it is a good spot for intermediate windsurfers to get comfortable sailing in the ocean for two reasons: 1) The waves are usually small enough that once you wade out into chest deep water you are past the breakers and can uphaul safely, and 2) The west side of the beach is on a sheltered inlet where you can launch with no waves at all. The currents at Edisto can be pretty strong, though, so in addition to selecting a spot on the beach with the amount of waves you are comfortable with, you need make sure you pick a spot where the wind and the current are not going in the same direction. Fortunately, there are enough beach access parking areas that you can find a good spot for almost any wind and tide conditions. In the summertime, the wind usually comes from the SE, S, or SW and gradually picks up from morning to afternoon.

If you want a spot with no waves, launch from a beach access near either #1 or #2 on the map. If the wind has some W in it, it will be blowing onshore at these launches, so you won't have to worry as much about current. However, if the wind is more S or SE, then these spots are only sailable on an outgoing tide. (You can get tide and wind forecasts from the weather channel in your beachouse.) The only advantage of spot #1 over spot #2 is that if the wind is from the N or NE you can still find sideshore conditions if you go to the very last beach access at spot #1. It's a good "chicken out" spot to sail if the ocean is nasty with a NE storm.

Spot #3 on the map, White Cap Street, is my favorite place to launch at Edisto because it works in just about any wind and gives you access to interesting water conditions. There's a sandbar that extends southward from the point, which is a fun (but challenging) spot to play in breaking waves and voodoo chop. It's also a good spot to be if you know the tide is going to switch during you session, because you can easily switch from the E to the W side of the point to keep the current in your favor.

Spot #4 is not an exact location, but could be any beach access along the SE facing main beach of Edisto. The only difference between spot #4 and other access points further to the NE end of the beach (up by the Piggly Wiggly and the State Park) is that the waves tend to get smaller the further S you go towards the point (spot #3). This is due to the wave-breaking action of the sandbar at the point. So basically, if you want big waves you should launch closer to the State Park, and if you want smaller waves you should launch closer to the point.

Have fun.

Poisonous Plants and Family Fun

Christmas is an interesting time. Young adults returning home are re-integrated into their families, and reminded, more often than not, just how crazy their families are. Fortunately, my family is crazy in a loving and entertaining way. I snapped this photo around the lunch table the other day.

My mom's parents (foreground) are in their 90s, but still absolutely sharp. That can be a problem, though, because we can't hide any dirt or interior decorating imperfections from Grandma, who has a college degree in home economics (really!). My mom (clutching coffee mug) is a hyperactive dynamo, who insures that our days are full of activity and confusion. I.e. right now everyone is running around getting things ready for a dinner party, to which Mom has invited everyone she knows on the island (it should be fun). Uncle Tom and Aunt Mary Garland (back of table) do their best to adapt their quiet, organized natures to our hectic ways. My dad, in the green shirt at the end of the table, bears the brunt of the family stress and converts it into humorous grumpiness and industry. His sleeves are constantly rolled up because he is suffering from Toxicodentron striatum poisoning acquired by touching the potent poison ivy relative three weeks ago in Venezuela. He says even the softest shirt now feels like burlap on a raw wound. My sister (not pictured) is perfectly at home in the chaos, able to talk at 1000 words per minute to three people at once. Her husband Joonas (dark hair) deals with our family by living nocturnally and sleeping all afternoon. I haven't seen him yet today.

My own strategy is to be very passive, and to escape frequently for windsurfing, beach walks, or computer work. Yesterday I got a great session in with a 6.9 sail and 114 liter board. It was a lot more relaxing than Friday's intimidating, washing-machine conditions, and I was able to practice riding both upwind and downwind on a wave while on the same tack.

Despite our often-divergent agendas, our family managed to unify last night for dinner in Charleston, and to watch "The Golden Compass". The movie was really good. A lot better than I thought it would be.

Christmas Dispatch from Edisto Island

Ahh, the holidays are here and the Douglass family is back together again at the Edisto beach house in South Carolina. The big news this year is that my sister Anna and her husband Joonas are going to have a baby. Little "Ayla Ojanen" is due in March. Judging by the kicking that she is doing, Ayla will be feisty like her mom.

I've got my own selfish agenda going here this year, too, with ambitions to windsurf a lot and finish up some scientific papers. Today a big Northeaster blew in, churning steep brown waves and pushing a river-like sideshore current. I was pretty scared but knew I had to at least TRY it.

So I donned my geeky orange helmet and ran out through the shorebreak to catch a ride on my 5.2 and 77 liter board.

It was sailable, but they were the kind of conditions where I couldn't relax enough to really enjoy myself.

The big waves were psyching me out.

So I called it quits after just two runs.

Tomorrow the wind is supposed to be a little lighter, the weather a little warmer, and angle a little more favorable for the sheltered launch down towards the inlet. So maybe it will be a dance with the ocean instead of a beating by it.

Edisto Island Vacation

**UPDATE- Check out this Edisto Island Windsurfing Guide that I made**

Ah, I just got back from a vacation with my parents and Southern relatives in beautiful Edisto Island, South Carolina. The only thing that wasn't quite perfect about the trip was that my sister and brother in law couldn't make it down from Ohio. Oh, well. We stayed in a beach house that my folks own, but don't stay in often, because they need to rent it to pay the bills. The house is called the Dragonfly, and you can stay there if you want (see link).

https://www.carolinaonevacationrentals.com/rentals/edisto-beach/dragonfly

I used to love fishing and playing in the warm waves at Edisto. I still do. But since I've gotten obsessed with windsurfing, it has become the major focus of my Edisto marine recreation. The ocean winds in South Carolina aren't usually as strong and consistent as those of the North Carolina's Outer Banks, but they can still be pretty good. This time around, Edisto really delivered the breeze; a consistent 15+ knots from the South every afternoon. After much experimentation during previous forays to Edisto, I think I've found the good spots for launching a windsurf. A lot depends on the tidal current, the wave protection afforded by a shallow sand spit off the point of the island, and of course, the wind. We were lucky enough this visit to be able to store the windsurfing gear at the home of some friends of my parents, who live just west of the point of the island, on the St. Helena sound side. (Thanks Virginia and Henry!)

Obviously, the windsurfing was fantastic, and I sailed until my feet were raw from the footstraps. I had the most fun traversing the weirdly breaking waves over the sand-spit at high tide. Woo hoo! Of course, my heroism on the sand spit was not captured on film, but my dad took this short video with his digital camera.