by Twelve of us made the trek from Raleigh to Rodanthe Saturday, the 13th of May. We
had a fantastic time.
Saturday - no wind, didn't rig. Made the rounds of the surf shops and lighthouse.
Sunday - had about 1 hour of planing on a 7.5. Went to Food Lion.
Monday - the same as Sunday, except didn't go to Food Lion.
Tuesday - repeat of above. Most of our group rented surf boards and had a great
time.
Wednesday - The wind was from the Southwest which is best for the Rodanthe/Waves/
Salvo area. Early morning - 6:00 A.M - sail sizes were about 5.0. By dark the
sails were 3.0 - 3.5. During the day 4.0 - 4.5.
Thursday - Wind still Southwest. Sail sizes from 3.5 - 5.5. Some big holes early
afternoon. By 4:30 was solid and increasing. Ocean sailors on 4.0 - 4.5.
Friday - Southwest. Early was good. By 9:30 was very holy. The storms were coming
in. Around noon, the storms hit, wind switched to Northwest for about 2 hours with
gusts over 50 mph, then back to Southwest. The southwest started very light, then
got very gusty before settling in at 3.0 - 3.5 around dark.
Saturday - I left about 8:00 A.M. and the wind was north and light.
We had no way of knowing the actual wind speed. The weather channel isn't very
accurate for a southwest wind. It can be 5 - 10 knots different from Avon.
We were guessing the average was 20 - 30 knots during the day and over 30 by dark.
Friday, we were guessing it was over 35 knots by dark.
The sail sizes are an average from what I saw people sailing in the sound.
Some highlights:
Dana Miller sailed in our area Wednesday and Thursday for about an hour each day
warming up prior to wave sailing.
Friday evening, when the wind was 'raging' he came down for a demonstration.
He was trying to loop in 2 1/2 feet of water! He made several, but didn't come out
planing. If any of the readers are familiar with Corbina Drive in Rodanthe, he
was jumping OVER THE WRECK! He said afterward that he'd forgot about the wreck
being there, the water was high and visibilty poor because of the rain and when
he saw one of the poles he hit the air.
For Hatteras sailors familiar with Dana's van, he said it was coming to the end of
its life and he was getting another. He is thinking of cutting it up and
autographing the pieces. Also, he said he was heading for the Oregon
Coast shortly and would stay out there until Fall. I'm glad we had the chance to
watch him sail and talk with him. He is a very interesing person.
We meet many nice people from all over - Georgia, Mass., Vermont, Ottawa, and
***ia. We hope to see you again in the fall.
Wetsuits - Almost everybody wore at least a shorty. I only saw 2 people - I was
one - that didn't wear one. Neither the water nor the air was cold. I did
see one jelly fish. It looked like a basketball or pumpkin and knowing they are
around is reason for some to wear a wetsuit.
Weed Fins - a must! Wednesday and Thursday there were some weeds, but not bad.
Those with weed fins had no problems and those without had minimal
problems. Friday even those with weed fins were having problems.
Dennis
