Saturday, November 28, 2009

Giving Thanks...

...for family, friends, water, wind, and waves...and for being able to windsurf so close to home right after Thanksgiving on a beautiful sunny day...





Pics are of Rob. He and I were on 8.0s and slalom boards in WSW then W 15mph wind on Lake Norman on Black Friday.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Sometimes It's Better To Be Lucky Than Good

I'm no Erik Aeder or Janis Markopoulos...but I did get lucky and catch Stuart Proctor at that right critical moment on a big side-off wave at the Hatteras Wave Jam.



Big thanks to Josh at Windsurfing Magazine for taking it to use in the mag's e-newsletter and as a wallpaper background download from the magazine's website.....and some comments about the event here.

I took the picture with my Sanyo Xacti waterproof 720p HD camcorder, that also happens to take 9 megapixel pictures. Maybe not quite a good enough camera to use for high quality print use but good enough for web/pc use. By comparison, you can tell the difference in (I think Keith McCulloch took this pic) this pic. It's the same day, same location (Old Lifeguard Beach), and same sailor...but taken with a much higher quality camera with better resolution. But once in a while a squirrel finds a nut and I really like the pic I took even though the resolution isn't as good...probably the best I've ever taken...sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

On the other side of that equation (someone who IS good), congratulations to Janis Markopoulos for her awesome pics in Windsurfer International Magazine, along with George's great article....nice Hatteras coverage and always good to see. They have many more pics for viewing...linked from George's blog. Big thanks again to Janis for taking all those pics of everyone and sharing them.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Standup Paddle Nuggets

5+ miler today on the lake with Rob...

LKN SUP from WaterTurtle Productions on Vimeo.










Found the next 2 items posted on Standup Paddle Flatwater blog...

Go catch a Marlin on a Standup Paddle board...




Funny interview with Laird Hamilton...

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

What Rain?

Took the day off work today....spent some time with the family this morning, took some work calls anyway, took my son to the dentist, ran errands, got a haircut...ho hum...

...and then I windsurfed in Ida's remains. First time sailing at Beattys Ford access on the west side of Lake Norman in the NE wind. Fully powered (mostly) on 5.5 and nice lovely ramps. I say that even though I'm not a good jumper...but I did have a couple of good airs as it was hard not to since sailing at Beatties Ford provides for a very long fetch to the NE. My first 1/2 hr out there it was almost perfect consistent wind. Then the gusts and lulls started to hit. But all in all a very good day on the lake. I barely even noticed the driving rain since I wore my Gath helmet. Water was relatively warm too. I started out solo but Raceboard Dude (Jeff) came out. Now I know why Raceboard Dude is called Raceboard Dude. He had his race board and race sail dialed in and was crankin' it out there with some serious speed. Sorry no pics...but stoked just the same.

THANK YOU VETERANS!!!

Sunday, November 8, 2009

The Next Generation

The Next Generation of waterturtles...

A couple of weeks ago, we visited friends at High Rock Lake and got their kids on the stand up paddle boards with my daughter...they loved it even though it was a brisk fall day and the water was cold.









Fast forward to this weekend...beautiful, sunny, and 70s. My wife was out of town and I had daddy duty (1 min video...go here to see it in full HD)...

Lazy Lake Fall Day from WaterTurtle Productions on Vimeo.