Saturday SE clocking W

[8mdude]

Alton -- your passion for this shit is so contagious.

[Alton]

Damnit! I didn't think anyone was actually going. Have fun.

I didn't either until 4am this morning. Consequently, my wife is REALLY F*N PISSED that I snuck out.

[Alton]

Damnit! I didn't think anyone was actually going. Have fun.

Same.. I would have joined you guys but too late now.

Sorry Michael. I thought it was only going to be a light wind kiting expedition. I really did not expect Whidbey to deliver W 25-35 gusting 40 - especially with Whidbey NAS TAF down we're shooting in the dark.

[AdrienGrelon]

Nice one Alton! I think you might just've reclaimed your lead over me on windsurfing days, in the knick of time (I got one planing run on 6.5/105l here the other day, not enough to count as a proper day...)!

[Alton]

Nice one Alton! I think you might just've reclaimed your lead over me on windsurfing days, in the knick of time (I got one planing run on 6.5/105l here the other day, not enough to count as a proper day...)!

What about Cape Town? Cancelled?

[AdrienGrelon]

Nice one Alton! I think you might just've reclaimed your lead over me on windsurfing days, in the knick of time (I got one planing run on 6.5/105l here the other day, not enough to count as a proper day...)!

What about Cape Town? Cancelled?

Heading there (well, primarily Namibia) with the fam from Jan 2nd - 17th. Only gonna have two or three days to possibly chase wind, so hopefully I can line something up. Might also throw some shark tank diving in the mix...

[Mike]

Very nice score Alton & AJ. Alton - cool to hear about the kiting on the surf board in what sounds like challenging and interesting conditions.

In a few days I'll be back to chasing wind. It may take me awhile to acclimatize though. In Maui the beach can be relatively quiet on a decent day when it's "cold" (70's F.) And a little drizzle.

[Alton]

I was there it looked nice. This pic didn't show the bigger waves. Although my deductible has been met for the year I opted to return to Bayview for a gusty 12m session. It was a good day.

AJ - that's you on your 8m + surfboard

#photo Whidbey Island - AJ on 8m with surfboard

Whidbey_AJ.jpg (103 KiB) Viewed 13837 times

[Chris Klohn]

Wind chasing possibilities before End of Days:

Dawn patrol - Boundary Bay
Morning - US Border Wait
Noon - Locust Beach
Late Afternoon - Joseph Whidbey State Park
Evening - Canada Border Wait

At 4am I decided to start the wind chase. Boundary Bay wasn't happening so I left for Bellingham at 5am (no border wait). As I waited at Woods Coffee (Birch Bay) Locust wasn't happening either so the last stop was Joseph Whidbey State Park. Undecided to go on speculation with Whidbey TAF down, G-Spot, TJ's and RASP were all aligned so I decided to pull the trigger. AJ cancelled his Jordan River trip and joined the wind chase.

Like clockwork, we arrived at 12:30pm (dead calm) and just as G-Spot, TJ's and RASP forecasted the wind started to ramp up and was full on W 25 by 1pm. Started kiting on my 10m+surfboard with Martin (10m+surfboard), AJ (8m+surfboard) and another local (8m+surfboard). It was like Deja Vu - a repeat of my last Whidbey session with Michael on April 14. Smooth foamy D-cup (shoulder to head high) waves on the inside under deep blue sunny sky - even a rainbow. I can't believe how much fun it is dropping down these waves on a surfboard then riding toeside After 1.5 hrs kiting, I felt way overpowered (W 30) on my 10m so decided to switch to windsurfing.

By 3pm the wind hit W 35 gusting 40 so AJ (3.6/83L) and I (4.7/93L) were survival sailing on our windsurfers. Totally sheeted out I was simply feathering my sail and surfing the waves. My 3.6/74L would have been more appropriate. By 4pm the shore pound got so bad my sail (batten pockets) got damaged - luckily nothing else did.

What a great way to end 2014 with an epic double session at Whidbey Island

WhidbeyNAS_Sat_Dec_27.gif

Hey Alton,

Glad you scored another sweet session at JWSP! Sounds like the waves built up pretty quickly once the wind picked up. I'm hoping you catch a day there in 2015 after it's been blowing 30-40 all night. You'll have smooth, overhead breaking waves from the launch to Deception Pass

I still love the vid you posted last year of JWSP.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8so7XPSzAyw

[8mdude]

I was there it looked nice. This pic didn't show the bigger waves. Although my deductible has been met for the year I opted to return to Bayview for a gusty 12m session. It was a good day.

AJ - that's you on your 8m + surfboard

Whidbey_AJ.jpg

My favorite kite