Impromptu Hatteras!

A forecast of great weather and good wind was enough of a tease to entice a convergence of Raleigh NORSA members Alan Stewart, Adam D, and Taylor Hinson with Norfolk member Travis Dozier on Sunday.



Phone calls were made Friday evening and plans were quickly put in place for a Sunday day trip to Canadian Hole on Hatteras Island. Travis, an experienced kitesurfer, had acquired a new quiver of kites and Alan's Hobie 18 was in need of a good workout. Despite getting a later than anticipated start Sunday morning, the Raleigh crew still made it down in short time to view warm water, a beautiful sun, and winds a little greater than anticipated. Local anemometers measured steady 25 mph winds with gusts in the 30s. Windsurfers were cruising in their smallest 4.8 and 4.2 meter sails and kitesurfers were seen with their smallest gear likewise.

Travis' smallest kite is an 8 meter kite, and unfortunately his smallest working kite is a 12 meter. Being unprepared for such gnarly conditions, the entire crew focused on making the hobie 18 rip.



Unable to reef the sail, the crew decided to forgo use of the jib and use all four people to hold the overpowered boat down. The boat shot off the beach into the sound amongst a pack of windsurfers swirling about. Unfortunately, the benefits of Canadian Hole for windsurfing (waist-deep water for extremely long distances) proved to be too much for the sailboat. Upon hitting a shoal at high speed, one of the rudders failed to kick up and instead, placed a solid hole in the rear of one transom. The true nature of the damage was revealed after the limp back to shore with a sinking hull.



Despite only getting half a run in, a day in Hatteras is pleasure enough. The NORSA crew used the remaining time to tour lighthouses,



swim in the ocean near the point,


and even hold a photo-shoot for the newly inked EYE of the World apparel line (available at the newly re-designed www.eyeotw.org).