SUP'n Sandy

I manged to get to the Avon on the Outer Banks just before Hurricane Sandy washed out the road on Pea Island.  I got in a good day of windsurfing before the conditions just went out of control.  We were stranded in the house due to soundside flooding for a couple of days, but if I had had a board (we moved the truck and board trailer to higher ground), I could have paddled down the streets in Avon. 

The street in front of our rental house.

 After a couple of days, the water receded  enough to get our  gear and we had a couple of pretty good windsurfing days, but the surf was still way to big for me to think about going out in the ocean, and still too windy to SUP on the Sound.

Avon Pier Monday afternoon.

By Thursday the wind  the waves had dropped, and I got in a nice SUP surf session just north of the motels in Buxton.  I was a little apprehensive that my new Naish Mana 9'5"  might be a little tippy for my 195 pounds so I opted for the 11' 6" Naish Nalu and had some nice long rides in knee high surf.

9'5" Naish Mana

 Friday  the waves were about the same size as Thursday, and I christened the new 9'5".  My fears were completely unfounded. While it felt a little smaller than the published 190 liters, I had no problem paddling out through the shore break and the waves. It was super easy to catch waves with, make the drop, then turn and go down the line .I'm totally stoked on the new board.

Making the drop

However, I went the wrong way and got closed out!

   The trip was a little bitter sweet. We were fortunate to have made it to Hatteras and come through  Sandy  OK. It was a bummer that our friends couldn't make it down to join us.  We feel somewhat guilty that after the storm,  we were out playing while so many people both on the Outer Banks, and even more so, up the coast in Jersey and  New York were dealing with so much  loss and destruction. 

Pool and hot tub at the Lighthouse View in Buxton took a beating.

The next time you  go Stand Up take a second to be thankful for everything you have, and send some positive vibes and aloha to all the folks up and down the East coast for a speedy recovery in the aftermath of Sandy

Such a change from just a few days earlier