DC Chucktown (aka Charleston Bridge) 9.5m sail

[JimSouthwick]

Enjoying a warm, sunny afternoon when the wind suddenly started to blow, gusting as high as 28 mph out of the SSW. That got the juices flowing! Crawled into the drysuit, raced to the beach, and "oh *%$#, forgot the vent plug, thank goodness I'm close to home." Race home, race back, screw in vent plug, unload sail and booms - oops, no mast (took it out of the van yesterday because I was hauling t-posts.) Back home, back to the beach. Alas, by now the wind has backed WAY off - no whitecaps, no slightcaps, barely even any mightcaps. But then, that's what 9.5s are for, right? The good news is that the wind turned out to be "hair dryer" steady, unfortunately a hair dryer on low during a brownout. Perfect conditions for Kenny's Silver Arrow probably. Enough to keep me moving, but, except for one brief gust, not enough to get me planing. Still, better than yard work. The area of open water at the North end of DC now extends from Charleston Bridge about half way to Barbed Wire Beach, and the water has warmed up remarkably in the past 2 weeks (39F on March 2, 46F today.)

[Shawn Henderson]

Hey jim, is this your session on youtube? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh7nQ7C8dwI

[JimSouthwick]

Man, that guy is crazy!!! I was toasty warm in my "body-bag-style" drysuit, never went into the water deeper than my knees, and didn't have to wade through ice/snow to get to the water. BTW, yesterday was a bit better than Tuesday; got on a plane 10 times (vs. once on Tuesday) and got by with a 7.5m sail. Water temp, however, actually measured a bit colder, 43F vs. 46F; less warming of water surface due to cloudier conditions, more mixing due to stronger wind?

[Sarah Ranes]

Jim...U Rock! I love your sailing energy.

[duanekarren]

That guy on the ice is totally nuts! He could get crushed or caught under the ice and drowned. Jim, just don't be out there if the ice starts to break loose and pile up. You are definitely and Emperor Penguin!

[JimSouthwick]

Duane:
I completely agree with your comments concerning the guy in the video! Fortunately, so far this year the ice sheet on Deer Creek has just slowly retreated southward rather than breaking up. As to who is the (windsurfing) emperor penguin, I must respectfully decline; Ken Onstott is MUCH more deserving of that title. I've been out so far in a drysuit and only on warm days with relatively feeble wind; Ken went out on a cold 4.7 day in a wetsuit!