As luck would have it, the AC in the van died as we entered Virginia and her warmer temperatures on the drive down. Oh well, no biggie we thought, we will just drive with the windows open at 70mph. Of course, one of the larger windows was broken and wouldn't go down, and the blower/fan started smelling like burning rubber so we shut that off completely. Oh yeah, and the exhaust started sounding louder and louder during the drive, and for some reason the engine coolant was mysteriously low. Hmmmm...were these signs that we would again be skunked with no wind in OBX? Was it destined to be a bad trip? After all these years I've only gotten one short windsurfing session in OBX from our trips down there.
We stayed overnight about 3 hours from OBX, and when we awoke the forecast looked good for a windsurfing session that day up until early afternoon. We made a dash for Rodanthe where some great friends offered to have us windsurf with them on our drive to Frisco. We got there and the wind was good. Rigged 4.7m and 4.2m on 85's for a couple hours and had a GREAT session. Duck jibes, back-wind jibes, carve tacks, blasting step jibes. It was FANTASTIC! Lisa cried it was so good. Then it ramped up to 3.3m, but we had to leave and continue our drive to Frisco.
We stopped for sandwiches in Avon. There was a very kind and rugged looking man who came over and made very friendly conversation while we were waiting for our food. He then handed us a business card for his tow truck service. Hmmm....was this another sign? Was our van destined to die? We had already filled the engine coolant and it seemed to be maintaining its volume. But how could this man have known about it? The sandwiches were great and we continued on to Frisco.
We arrived at the house, and it was a mansion. Seven bedrooms, four levels, pool, hot tub, table tennis, billiards, AND the ocean right there. I think Lisa cried again. This happens a lot. The kids were in heaven. Me too. Everyone else arrived and all seven bedrooms were full. We sat on the upper balcony for the rest of the evening and watched the large disorganized waves still crashing on shore from the previous night's storm.
No wind for the next two days, but it was 70 degrees and sunny. Tuesday evening the wind came up to 18mph right behind the house on the ocean. Although I was a bit nervous never having kited or windsurfed on the ocean, I quickly pumped a 12m kite and got out there. It was AWESOME! The forecast looked better for the next morning, so we got to bed early and set the alarm for 5am. It was dark until after 6am, but we ate some food and drove to the campground to sail with some great friends. The sun was coming up as we rigged 4.2m and 3.7m on 85's. We got in the water and BAM....another AWESOME session. It ramped up to 3.7/3.3 but we were toast after a couple hours. Lisa cried again. It was so good that I almost cried too...sniff, sniff.
The next day, things were looking good for the ocean. Having never windsurfed in the ocean, Lisa and I were both a little unsure how it would go. We rigged 5.3/4.7 but it wasn't quite enough. We waited an hour and BAM...it kicked in good. Big backside smack, a couple nice jumps. It was so good that I cannot recall ever having a windsurf experience even come close to being this good. To be in the ocean windsurfing was a dream come true. Lisa cried again, and I think I did too. It was that good! One of the best experiences of my life.
The last day was stormy with lots of wind. We hit Canadian Hole and waited for the first storm to pass as the cold front approached. As soon as it passed I hit the water. On my third back-wind jibe I fell off the board in shallow water and sprained my ankle bad. Game Over! Bummer, as it ramped up to 3.3/2.9m. Oh well, shit happens. It was my own fault for coming in too shallow.
We spent the evening back at the house packing to go home, icing my foot, eating, and watching the next storm. Wow!!!! Very impressive. Huge waves with streams of water ripping off the top from the 50mph wind. Small tornadoes were forming and disappearing a couple hundred yards off shore. It was spectacular. The next day we heard that a tornado made landfall on the other side of the sound and ripped up a village. Glad we were safe, but really enjoyed the experience.
We drove home the following day, and the van made it all the way without any problems. On Monday, however, I promptly visited Northtown Dodge and started shopping for a new van. It was a great trip. The best OBX trip ever for us!
We stayed overnight about 3 hours from OBX, and when we awoke the forecast looked good for a windsurfing session that day up until early afternoon. We made a dash for Rodanthe where some great friends offered to have us windsurf with them on our drive to Frisco. We got there and the wind was good. Rigged 4.7m and 4.2m on 85's for a couple hours and had a GREAT session. Duck jibes, back-wind jibes, carve tacks, blasting step jibes. It was FANTASTIC! Lisa cried it was so good. Then it ramped up to 3.3m, but we had to leave and continue our drive to Frisco.
We stopped for sandwiches in Avon. There was a very kind and rugged looking man who came over and made very friendly conversation while we were waiting for our food. He then handed us a business card for his tow truck service. Hmmm....was this another sign? Was our van destined to die? We had already filled the engine coolant and it seemed to be maintaining its volume. But how could this man have known about it? The sandwiches were great and we continued on to Frisco.
We arrived at the house, and it was a mansion. Seven bedrooms, four levels, pool, hot tub, table tennis, billiards, AND the ocean right there. I think Lisa cried again. This happens a lot. The kids were in heaven. Me too. Everyone else arrived and all seven bedrooms were full. We sat on the upper balcony for the rest of the evening and watched the large disorganized waves still crashing on shore from the previous night's storm.
No wind for the next two days, but it was 70 degrees and sunny. Tuesday evening the wind came up to 18mph right behind the house on the ocean. Although I was a bit nervous never having kited or windsurfed on the ocean, I quickly pumped a 12m kite and got out there. It was AWESOME! The forecast looked better for the next morning, so we got to bed early and set the alarm for 5am. It was dark until after 6am, but we ate some food and drove to the campground to sail with some great friends. The sun was coming up as we rigged 4.2m and 3.7m on 85's. We got in the water and BAM....another AWESOME session. It ramped up to 3.7/3.3 but we were toast after a couple hours. Lisa cried again. It was so good that I almost cried too...sniff, sniff.
The next day, things were looking good for the ocean. Having never windsurfed in the ocean, Lisa and I were both a little unsure how it would go. We rigged 5.3/4.7 but it wasn't quite enough. We waited an hour and BAM...it kicked in good. Big backside smack, a couple nice jumps. It was so good that I cannot recall ever having a windsurf experience even come close to being this good. To be in the ocean windsurfing was a dream come true. Lisa cried again, and I think I did too. It was that good! One of the best experiences of my life.
The last day was stormy with lots of wind. We hit Canadian Hole and waited for the first storm to pass as the cold front approached. As soon as it passed I hit the water. On my third back-wind jibe I fell off the board in shallow water and sprained my ankle bad. Game Over! Bummer, as it ramped up to 3.3/2.9m. Oh well, shit happens. It was my own fault for coming in too shallow.
We spent the evening back at the house packing to go home, icing my foot, eating, and watching the next storm. Wow!!!! Very impressive. Huge waves with streams of water ripping off the top from the 50mph wind. Small tornadoes were forming and disappearing a couple hundred yards off shore. It was spectacular. The next day we heard that a tornado made landfall on the other side of the sound and ripped up a village. Glad we were safe, but really enjoyed the experience.
We drove home the following day, and the van made it all the way without any problems. On Monday, however, I promptly visited Northtown Dodge and started shopping for a new van. It was a great trip. The best OBX trip ever for us!
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