Skaket Beach - The west wind spot

At this time of the year, we get a lot of fast-moving front passing through, where the wind turns from SW or WSW to NW within a few hours. This has posed a problem for us - where to windsurf? We like Kalmus and West Dennis for SW and WSW, and Kalmus is also ok for W - but as soon as the wind turns WNW, it tends to get weaker and really gusty in Kalmus.

Unfortunately, computer models and iWindsurf metereologists are bad at predicting the exact timing of the direction shift, so we have gotten skunked by an earlier-than-expected turn several times. Today was one of these days, with computer models in disagreement about the exact wind direction. After seeing good SW readings in Chapin recently, we thought we'd give it a try. But the wind showed up later than forecast, and at 11 am, the Hatch Beach sensor had much better readings than Chapin. We also saw Ron C.'s post on the iWindsurf forum where he predicted a great day for Skaket Beach, so we decided to give it a try.

The first surprise was that the drive took about the same time as the drive to Chapin (and just 15 min more than driving to Kalmus), even though Skaket is further out on the Cape. But most of the drive to Skaket is on Rte. 6, while the drive to Chapin includes a long, slow stretch on Rte. 6a and then through residential areas.

When we arrived, the wind was down a bit, but a few whitecaps could be seen, and we rigged "big" (7.0 for me, 5.0 for Nina). After the first few runs, the wind picked up, and we were planing all of the time. By 2 pm, averages where in the mid-20s, the chop/swell had built up since we were getting close to high tide, and the sails were getting a bit big. Nina sailed for 1 and 1/2 hours without a break, but ended up getting catapulted while in both straps, and landing hard on the mast, but she made it out ok. I took her 5.0 sail out for a run, and was fully planing with it. Since I'm about 50% heavier than Nina, it's obvious that the sail was too big for her.

Air temps were only around 38 F (according to the Hatch Beach sensor). However, we were nice and warm, thanks to dry suits, 7 mm boots, gloves resp. mitts, and hoods. At the beginning, when the sun was out all the time and the sailing easy, I was actually sweating for a while. Nice!

Skaket has quite a few things going for it in addition to the great fetch, and the location further out on the Cape (where the winds are often stronger this time of the year). When we started, the water was shallow for a few hundred yards out, and nicely flat. As the tide came in and the winds picked up, so did the chop/swell, but it's definitely much more orderly than in Kalmus, and easier to sail. Towards the end, there was a bit of shore break and a few semi-breaking waves on the outside, but nothing bad - just enough to practice if you're not an expert wave sailor, and to have some fun. Another thing that I loved was the long runs you can take. I always turned after about a mile or earlier, but you could do 6-mile runs across the bay, and end up behind a sand bank that probably makes a great speed strip. Will have to try some other time.

Below are my GPS tracks for the day, and a couple of pictures we shot before leaving. Thanks, Ron, for helping us discover this great spot!

Windy welcome to Chapin

With a NW forecast in the upper 20s, we decided to finally go windsurfing in Chapin today. Well, the actual wind was a bit higher:

We windsurfed from 10:20 to 11:40, Nina on 76 l/3.7 m and I on 82 l/4.2. High tide was at 12:40, and we had a bit of shore break in the last 30 minutes. The last time I went out, it took me quite to few minutes to make it through. Nina, who had a decent first run, did not get through the shore break on her second try, and decided to cut the session short. We went for a lovely lunch at the Optimist Cafe, checked out a possible alternative launch spot that did not look good, and then went back to Chapin. By then, the temperature had dropped a few degrees and was barely above 40 now, and the condition report from a windsurfer who came in was pretty bad ("very gusty and way too choppy"), so we just took some pictures and called it a day. Here are a few random shots:








After getting back home and checking the wind readings, I noticed that today's wind averages (35 mph) and gusts (44 mph) were the highest that I have recorded for any of my 164 session since 2009 - just by a mile or so, but still. In that perspective, the choppiness really was not so bad at all; nor it is too surprising that the 4.2 sail sometimes felt a bit big. What a windy welcome!

Super!

Q: "What do you want for Christmas and your birthday?"
A: "I don't know."

So, both Nina and I were facing the problem of what to get for two upcoming occasions. I was starting to fear endless hours of clueless shopping in the near future... but then, we stumbled into a great solution.

In Ninigret 3 days ago, the guys who where having the most fun in gusty conditions were on slalom/freerace equipment (Starboard iSonic & S-Type). Wouldn't it be nice so have something like that? Paying $2K for a new board is not an option right now, though. But during this year's visits to Sailworld Cape Cod, a used, $500 JP Super-X 82 was always smiling at me, begging me to take it home. A few years back in Cabarete, a Super-X board had been my absolute favorite, even more so than the SuperSport boards that replaced them (and which I also like a lot). A bit of research on gps-speedsurfing.com showed that Super-X boards can go faster than 70 kmh, which would be a rather dramatic improvement of my current PB.

When the wind forecast for today predicted upper SW 20s, we decided to go to the Cape, which tends to have much steadier SW winds this time of the year than other places close by. My Skate 110 tends to be a bit too bouncy for such strong winds and the resulting swell in Kalmus, and my only alternative was my old 96 l JP, dating back to about 2001. The board is ok, but not exactly fast, and too big if the wind picks up into the 30s. Nina is set up better, with a newer JP 76 l wave board that she sails a lot and loves. It so happens that she bought the board earlier this year used at ... Sailworld Cape Cod.

When I started looking at the Super-X at the beginning of the year, the volume of 82 liters seemed a bit low for me. Since then, the wind & waves in Maui and the Gorge pretty much forced me to sail boards in the 85 liter range during our vacations there. That helped to get comfortable on the smaller boards; but what helped even more was learning to sail the F2 Missile. Compare to the 62 liter Missile, an 80 liter board is huge, and really easy to waterstart and sail.

With all signs pointing the same direction, it was only a question of time, and so I finally bought the Super-X yesterday. It helped a bit that I had a fin to return which did not fit properly, so that I did not have to put down the entire $500. What helped even more was that Jim told me I could return the board if, against expectations, I would not be happy with it.

Today, we got up early, and made it to Kalmus at 9:30 am. The wind was a tad lower than forecast at about 22 mph, but I wanted to take the Super-X out, and rigged a 5.5. A few minutes later, I was planing in the typical Kalmus chop, and having fun. My second jibe attempt of the day was dry (which is pretty good for me in Kalmus on a choppy day), and my overall jibe success rate was higher than on any other board I had sailed there in similar conditions. At one point, when I mishandled the sail a bit at the end of the jibe, I looked back with the luffed sail and was amazed that the board just did not stop planing. Cool!

I had rigged smaller than usually, since I wanted to make sure I had a sail that worked well with the board. Nina was out on her 76 l wave board with a 5.0 (typically, I'm on a 7.0 when she's on a 5.0). When the wind died down a bit and neither of us was planing much anymore, she switched to the Super-X, and soon was planing most of the time again. I think the actual volume of the board is closer to 90 liters than to 82, but the fact that it was made for early planing certainly helped, too. When the wind picked up again later, the Super-X got a bit bouncy for Nina in the Kalmus chop, so we switched back, and I got to have some more fun. With my additional 50 lb, the board was well enough behaved, although it was a bit bouncier than a wave board. We can't wait to take the board out in flat water!

So we ended up with a new board in our quiver that we both like. Nina can use it as her "big" speed board, and to work on jibes and carving tricks when her Skate 100 gets too bouncy.
I'll use it when the wind picks up a bit more so that she wants to switch to her wave board (or maybe the Missile :). Since we'll both use it, we decided to give each other one half of the board as a present for our birthdays and Christmas, which solves a number of problems at the same time: the issue that I did not really have the money to spend on another board right now, and what presents to get each other. Another great windsurfing Christmas present! And just like the Tricktionary Trickpack and the GoPro HD from last year, we get to use if before Xmas, since we'll probably take a 2-month break from windsurfing around here just about then.

Gusted!

We went windsurfing at Ninigret Pond for the first time today, after hearing great things about it. Forecast was for mid-20s, with some gusts - ha! We sailed from 1 to 3 pm, here's the iWindsurf chart:

Lulls of 6, gusts of 25 according to the wind meter - actual gusts were probably closer to 40 (I ended up being overpowered in gusts on a 5.0, which I can hold without problems to 35 mph). So, sailing was mostly fighting today. I tried to use the F2 Missile, but starting it was almost impossible, with winds way to low for a while, and then gusting so strong that a controlled start was impossible.

I had many interesting falls today; here's a short video of one:


After making it back home, I discovered that the wind readings for West Dennis for the same time were close to perfect - averages of 25-30, lulls 22, gusts mid-30s or lower. Next time, we'll be at the Cape again!

On the bright side, all the crashes gave me plenty of opportunity to test my new O'Neill Boost drysuit. It passed with flying colors, definitely a good investment. The weird "shrink-wrapped" feeling when in the water will need some getting used to, but the suit is a lot more convenient than my semi-dry, and with the option to add or remove layers as needed, it will keep me nice and warm.