Scene: A sunny, windy day in Cape Hatteras. You are there, with friends and all of your windsurfing equipment. What could be wrong?
The answer: Too Much Wind.
We were on our smallest sails…Jeff on a 3.5, Mike on a 3.7 Ted with a 3.7 and me on a 3.4. We were all overpowered. And this was in the morning when the wind was lighter. The routine was to sail for twenty minutes, get out for an hour and talk about how difficult the windsurfing was, then go out and sail some more.
By 3PM, a 3.0 would have been too big. The shops in Hatteras don’t carry anything smaller than a 3.4.* It was the strongest sustained wind I’ve ever sailed in.
Later, in the hot tub, Ted, Mike, Jeff and your editor discussed the day over hot water and beer. When whitecaps began to appear in the hot tub, we knew it was REALLY windy.
* CORRECTION: Olaf from the Avon Sail Shop has informed the Puffin that they stock Simmer sails down to 2.7. One more reason to check out Margaret and Olaf’s excellent repair and gear shop!
(Photo: Windsurfers tear it up on the Pamlico with tiny sails in 40 knot gusts.
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