This photo was taken by Hayne Palmour IV at Wrightsville Beach, NC and was posted on Surfline.
Is that a wave or what?
Click here to go check out the other 300+ photos from other east coasters who experienced the Hurricane Bill swell. This is where I found that awesome photo posted by Mr. Palmour. There are pics from the Outer Banks and other spots all up and down the east coast from the weekend.
My wife and I got together with our neighbors/friends for a 5 day jaunt to San Francisco last week. So naturally, I contacted Catapulting Aaron to line up a sesh while I was out there. It worked out great. I flew in, had some lunch in the city, Aaron picked me up, and we were off. Our plan was to sail wherever the conditions were forecasted to be the best and Coyote Point was the call that afternoon. I sailed on Aaron's 5.3 sail/104lt board and had an absolute blast. I've sailed Coyote before but it was lighter wind around 15-20 at that time. This time around we got 20-25 and sizable swell/chop up to waist high. It wasn't the best day by Coyote regulars' standards because of holes in the wind and the crazy chop, but I'm used to that kind of sailing anyway. A day like that on the lake would have rated very high.
I met some of the other local sailors, including Kevin from Sunset Sailboards. Everyone was great. They must have been trying to make a real good impression on me because someone handed me a beer (thanks Jacob!) after we came off the water. Well....it worked! Seriously though, I was already all smiles when I came off the water...but the beer was definitely a bonus. Afterwards, we drove over to Candlestick Park to check out the flat water freestyle action there.
Big thanks to Aaron for going out of his way to pick me up, taking me back to my friends (and saving me a ton on taxi cab costs), for loaning me his gear, and taking me to sail together at one of his local spots. Oh...and by the way, I find it interesting that on Aaron's site, he says "I'm a bad windsurfer who just moved to San Francisco". He is no longer a "bad" windsurfer and is now ripping. He's working on some new advanced moves but I won't spoil the surprise and let him tell you once he's nailed it.
Thanks to that sesh, I was relaxed for the rest of our stay and it was a great rest of our stay with my friends. We played in the city, went for a tour of some of Sonoma and Napa's finest wineries, ate some incredible food, and got in some awesome hiking in the Marin headlands. Here are a few pics and a real quick 1 min video of some of the best views in the area.
The only decent shot of windsurfing I was able to get (other than a couple of long distance shots below). This is Kevin at Candlestick.
Highway 1 at Muir Beach Overlook looking north...we lucked out on the sunny days and little fog while we were there.
Chinatown
the mandatory tourist stop at Pier 39 to check out the always fun sea lions
Tennessee Cove in Marin County...one of the highlights of our hike
We stayed on a houseboat in Sausalito...this was our view of Mt. Tamalpais from the hot tub
I never get tired of this view
That was a big container ship....after he got into the bay, I watched as a windsurfer and a kiter both "wavesailed" forever "down the line" on the ship's wake
Click on these shots to check out the action out in the bay...this was the view from the Marin County side looking back towards the city and Crissy Field
New windsurfing video coming in September from Andre Paskowski, Jose Gollito Estredo and co....here's the official trailer. I love the effects...these guys have been putting out some sweet footage last couple of years.
...and Trudy Lary put out another great compilation of hardcore Gorge action with the Poor brothers, Wyatt Miller, and co. You've seen the pictures of Dale Cook getting massive air in the magazines...now see it on video...he's literally hanging in the air.
There is no substitute for physically being there and every picture can tell a story, but video fits right in between and definitely does the pictures more justice.
I put together 2 videos of our recent epic Colorado trip, about 7 minutes apiece, and tried to convey the feel of the moments we had through the music, the footage, and some special effects play. In the "No Guts No Glory" video of our Longs Peak attempt, you'll see it's a fairly dramatic interpretation of that day.
I hope you enjoy these as much as I enjoyed putting them together. Turn up the volume!
WaterTurtle = a nickname some of my friends gave me when we were learning to waterski over 20 years ago because I loved being in the water so much...and still do.
I love to windsurf first and foremost, but I also love mountain biking, stand up paddle boarding/surfing, and snow skiing. I enjoy other outdoor activities such as hiking, kayaking, sailing/boating, the occasional Panthers or Cubs ballgame and NASCAR race, etc. I am a husband and father to three kids, plus I have a demanding job in the tech field. This keeps me very busy as it is, but once in a while, I do get outdoors to enjoy a great adventure either in the water or on land. I hope you enjoy my online journal of outdoor adventure. Check out the videos, posts, pictures, and other web sites linked from this page.
