Yesterday I went to an informal windsurfing event thrown by BABA known as "the Burnt Weenie Boogie" or some such. It was such an awesome day... actually in the 60s and sunny in the afternoon. Definitely a nice change of pace. I put together a 10.9m^2 formula sail and took the formula board out for a tuning session. It was an asskicking... so much so that I skipped today (windier than yesterday) out of sheer wimpiness and exhaustion. James and Farrah gave me some really great tuning tips, and the going definitely got easier as the day went on and I figured out where the harness lines belong...
Here are the lessons I learned:
1. BABA throws a good party. Nice folks with great senses of humor. It's a like a family reunion without the awkwardness of anyone being related to you.
2. James is a super-nice dude. He's just as funny in person and the windsurfing community is lucky to have him. If he decided to start kiting, it would likely break the sailboard industry's back and cause widespread bankruptcy. If he decided to start riding jetskis, an asteroid would hit the earth and we'd all be toast.
3. Farrah Hall is fast. Really fast.
4. My harness lines need to be shortened and I really need to set up an adjustable outhaul.
5. A smoker's lung looks like a coffee filter.
6. I'm out of shape.
7. Windsurfing is a fun. Windsurfing with friends is beyond fun.
5 comments:
Aaron, Nice post. Glad you got to do some Formula sailing. I don't think they'd let me tinker with those rigs until I prove that I can sail without smashing any more noses.
James, please don't ever touch a jetski! Besides, they're pretty boring after the first 5 minutes, unless you're doing tow ins in Fiji, or some place.
Also, Farrah is super-fast.
Hey, thanks for the vote of confidence, Aaron. :)
You'll master formula soon enough.
Aaron, What do you think about you, Peconic Puffin, James, Windy Waters Rob, OBX Bill, and I meeting at the Frisco Woods shelter by the beer truck on Thursday evening after sunset on 1st day of Windfest? Of course, we could meet earlier on the water depending on conditions and where everyone is sailing. I can also get you guys my cell # and vice/versa. Thoughts?
mac, sounds good to me... no sense in the phone list... we'll all recognize James' mug :)
So did you guys get together (sans me)? Mac and I just missed each other on the email front (I had to leave on Friday, though I caught wind Monday-Thursday)
Hope you're having a good time, maybe SUP'ing, playing in the surf, getting unforecasted wind, and so on.
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