Today I took my first kite session in what seems like 2 weeks. Ever since it got cold I have well, wanted to stay warm and not go in the cold waters. I was warned that this was going to happen but I didn’t want to believe it or think that it would happen to me, but sadly it has. I think I am officially spoiled. After the last two warm seasons in Cape Hatteras its now getting tougher to get in what seems like frigid conditions.
On that chillier note, I did take a session today, and a great one at that. Jason and I checked the waves at lunch and they looked extremely fun, playful and were lining up all the way down the coast. We planned a downwinder from The Ranger Station back to the North of town. Jason Slezak, Brandon Scheid, Trevor Murchie, Eric Nelson and Julien Fillion and myself had a very fun session in the waves. The temp was about 52, waves were clean and waist high, which made for a great session.
Things to remember when it gets cold:
1. Use a smaller kite in cold winds
2. Wearing booties with a strapless surfboard is like wearing velco on your feet.
3. Probably should have had a surfboard leash; Body dragging to the beach 8 times in 1 downwinder gets chilly.
4. Riding with friends instead of just shooting the session is a nice change of pace.
5. Fins hurt when they hit you in the head.
6. Gloves are the last piece of rubber to wear.
7. Wax doesn’t last long enough.
8. If your just warm enough when your on the water you better pack up your gear asap and get in a hot tub, cause your gonna get COLD QUICK!
9. a 4/3 is warmer than a 3/2, and a 5/4 is warmer than a 4/3, but the 6/5/4 is warmer than them all. Stay warm.
10. If the waves are waist high and not good for unhook down the line riding, charge the wave as fast as you can right before you get to the wave turn the kite hard the other direction and see how big of a chunk of the wave you can take out before either you or your board breaks.
I got back to work later and stepped out for a couple seconds to get a couple shots of a cloudless sunset that glowed for probably an hour.
