8/23/08 East Beach

Another 7.2/102 day. Longer and more consistent ENE wind. Me, Contos, Jack, the Aussie scientist and some odd bird from outside DC. Fun afternoon into evening sesh with some cold ones afterword.

8/22/08 East Beach

After coming down from NJ, I met Contos and had a fun 7.2/102 session. Wind was ENE and had to use one of his booms because I FORGOT mine.

8/10/08 Corolla

Crowded beach and thunderstorms accompanied the first session on the new (yellow) Jed Noll. Knee high but nicely formed waves, with a few thigh highers which were actually pretty fun to ride. Surfed for a couple of hours out in front of our house, then the rain came forcing LJM, Hooper, and I off the beach. Lobsterfest 2008 this coming weekend, I wonder if it will be windy so I can shoehorn a session before dinner. Pat is bringing a date but will not commit to who it will be.

Cape Cod 7/18-7/27/08

First session was 7.2/102 Eastham in front of house. Got into the straps after a low tide long walk. Nothing too spectacular. 2 More days of 6.2/102 at West Dennis SW. Swell riding fun very few ramps. Thursday it blew 25 SSE. 5.4/Acid then 6.2/Acid (first time, not a real great combo.) Overall session was fantastic, one of my best ever, and THE best ever on the Cape. Tons of 2-4' ramps which were lining up perfectly, lots and lots of BIG air and some fabulous wave riding. The change of direction makes West Dennis a completely different experience. It would be worth a trip up there for a weekend if we knew the direction it was going to blow. 4 sessions total, The Cape comes through again. Pictures above are 5.4/Acid in front of our house at Eastham, at the end of the big day. I had driven back from West Dennis exhausted but went back out for a short session anyway. 2 women driving a Subaru Outback (hint) watched me.

7/6/08 Rodanthe

Sailed on the ocean at the end of Bob Rowlands' street with Bob and Contos. 7.2/102 nicely powered. Some really good swells on the outside and some sporatic small rideable waves on the inside. Sound was 6.0, but with the occasional holes and houses the ocean was 7.0. Saw a huge turtle swimming towards the beach on one run and lots of skates and jellyfish as well. Sailed for 3-4 hours. Fun, Fun, Fun.

7/4/08 60thish Street, Va Beach

45 minute 7.2/102 ocean session. Very marginal, but worth it. Went to Scott's for fireworks.

6/28-29/08 Avon

Left Norfolk around 9:30 AM Sat. with plans to stay until Sunday afternoon. Things worked out. Lauren and Hooper, Acid, Radical, 5.4/4.5/3.7. Sailed the hole for about an hour on 5.4/Acid (boring/zero ramps) then went over to Ego for a few hours of normal 5.0 ocean sailing. It was a nice reminder about how much better the ocean is than ANY other place to sail. Came in around 4 PM and Bill Bell asked if I wanted to be a judge in the Loopoff. 5 local sailors, 30 min heat, some nice loops, all fwds. Went back out for another 1/2 hour or so then went back and checked into the Avon Motel. Fun fact: There were 2 well used flyswatters on the bullitin board in our room. Lauren rallied MD Smith style and got on board.
As we were pulling into the parking lot of the hotel, we ran into Uvee and Dave the tree trimmer. We said a quick hello and made plans to catch a few beers at the Mad Crabber later. Later came and we did meet them and were thoroughly entertained for the rest of the evening.
Next AM after coffee and blueberry muffins we headed back to the Hole where I rigged a 4.5/RW and sailed the sound for an hour or so, again boring (ocean looked a little light and offshore when we arrived.) Went and checked the ocean again and swapped the RW for the Acid and had the best 2 hours of sailing of the year, real nice easy wave riding, wound 4.5, and some decent port ramps on the way in. Left for home around 2:30 PM. A great weekend with Lauren, Hooper, wind, a skeevy motel and a very interesting dinner conversation.