Windsurfing GPS tracks

9/10/2003 My first windsurfing session with my GPS. Location: Mill Creek at Fort Monroe.

4/25/2004 Location: The York River at Yorktown. Launched from Gloucester Point Beach Park. Time sailed: 11:30 am to 2:30 pm. Max speed: 23.7 mph. The wind was blowing from the East, and the tide was coming in. When I couldn't keep planing on my 6.5, I almost got swept under the bridge upstream! Weird. At that spot, you get a very interesting interaction between the water and windspeed. With the tide running fullspeed, the effective wind is the windspeed minus the waterspeed. As the tide slowed (high tide was 4 pm) the effective windspeed increased. My first run I kept dropping off plane, but by the end, I was ripping.

5/1/2004 Location: The York River at Yorktown. Launched from map location 42 on the VIMS campus map, Geddings House. Time sailed: 11:30 am to 3:15 pm. Total distance sailed: 23.8 mi. Max speed: 27.4 mph. I hit the water at about 11:30am and sailed until about 3:15pm. I started out just a little underpowered on my 9.5, and finished off just before it started sprinkling on the same sail with max downhaul. Until about 1:30, when the other guys showed up, the wind was very constant. As the weather moved in, it got a little gustier, with wider holes and stronger gusts. The gustier winds also made the water choppier. A very nice day for building confidence river sailing. We rigged and launched from the Geddings House at VIMS. This is a riverfront house the James says is used to house guest faculty. There is a tiny visitors parking area right in front of the house. You rig on the lawn and carry your stuff right down to the beach, maybe 25 yards. When the tide is in, it can be tricky getting out from between the docks. When the tide is out, you can walk your stuff almost all the way out to the ends, and launching is no problem. I liked this launch a little better than the one on the point. A couple times I landed at the beach at the point for a breather. On an outgoing tide there is a strong rip off the boat ramp right on the point. The water takes a hard left hand turn around the point and the current changes direction quickly. This has carved a pretty steep drop off right off the beach on the point. Launching from here can be tricky because of the changing currents, the drop off, some weird waves and the lack of visibility up the river.

5/15/2004 Location: The York River at Yorktown. Launched from VIMS Geddings House. Time sailed: 12:45 pm to 4:30 pm. Total distance sailed: 24.4 mi. Max speed: 24.5 mph. The VIMS Windsurfing and Kayaking club was having a picnic/cookout and James was teaching a bunch of people how to windsurf. I'd guess that 4 or 5 people gave it a go over the course of the afternoon. Met some very nice people. Bruce and I were the two non-VIMS locals that showed up. It was a big sail, flatwater ride the puffs kind of a day. I was planing 2/3 of the time with my 9.5. Bruce had his 8.5 and had a little bit harder of a time. It was perfect for the learners, though. At one point a big ship came up the river and they opened the Coleman Bridge so it could get through. I discovered that putting the GPS in the big lower pocket on my lifejacket was letting it flip around to face my torso, which makes it lose satellite lock. Also, I have adjustable harness lines on my big boom and the GPS was hitting the handle of the lines and swinging them away from my hook when I'd try to hook in. It was like having someone pull a chair out from under you as you were sitting down. I'll be putting the GPS in a smaller breast pocket from now on. This was the first neoprene free day of the season. I was quite happy about this, as I hate having to put on and take off a wetsuit. I also decided that you know summer is here when you unroll your sail and it's still wet from the last time you sailed. It's kind of weird, though, considering that it was two weeks since I sailed it.

6/12/2004 Location: The York River at Yorktown. Launched from VIMS Geddings House. Time sailed: 5:00 pm to 6:15 pm. Total distance sailed: 8.1 mi. Max speed: 24 mph. Rigged my 7.5 sail. The wind was from the east, and the tide was incoming. I found this to be a very bad combination if you don't remain planing. If you are schlogging upwind, the tidal current can carry you faster than you can travel upwind. You have to be very careful not to get swept away from your launch point. That almost happened to me my first run out. I planed out into the channel, turned around and the wind lulled. From the picture you can see I kept getting pushed with the current on the next two inward and outward legs. On the next inward leg, I could get planing and could head upwind enough to clear the pier. It still took two tacks after that to get back to the launch. I really don't like feeling that out of control. The next time I headed out, I headed immediately upwind to get position. After that, I was able to rip back and forth for awhile upwind of the launch. Putting the GPS in the upper breast pocket of the life vest works great. I don't think I ever lost a satellite lock.

6/14/2004 Location: The York River at Yorktown. Launched from VIMS Geddings House. Time sailed: 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Total distance sailed: 13.7 mi. Max speed: 24.5 mph. The wind was from the SW and the tide was maximum incoming. The opposing wind and tide was a great combination. There was no worry that you'd get pushed by the wind and water and not get back to the launch. Met up with James after work. He was on a 9.5 sail and a formula board. I was on my 9.5 sail and my 138 liter Veloce. We got some good comparisons of how these rigs compared to each other. If the wind was in a lull, I could schlog faster and pass him. If the wind picked up just a bit, he could turn downwind, pop up on a plane, and leave me behind. When the wind picked up a little bit more, I could get up on a plane, but he was still faster on the same heading and he could point further upwind while still on a plane. It was a real eye opener for me. It's not as obvious on the website track picture, but on the tracking software you can see a couple of waterstarts where I fell on a turn. The GPS keeps a lock now even when I'm down in the water. It looks like I was moving about 1.7 mph while down in the water. Also, this was the first time I've sailed and seen dolphins nearby. I saw them at least twice, once passing right through a group of them on a plane. I didn't feel and bumps, so I assume they dove to avoid me. I felt bad about getting that close while moving at high speed, but there wasn't much I could do to avoid them. It was pretty cool.

6/19/2004 Location: The York River at Yorktown. Launched from the little beach to the west of the Watermans Museum. I parked right on the streetcorner with a bunch of other cars, but as I was leaving the Sheriff stopped and let me know the area was no parking. Time sailed: 2:15 pm to 5:00 pm. Total distance sailed: 14.4 mi. Max speed: 25.4 mph. The wind was from the NW and the tide was maximum outgoing. When I first got to Yorktown I checked out the picnic area under the monument. The parking spaces nearest the eastern beach were full, and the wind was really not that good. I would have had to have rigged the 9.5 and then it would have been iffy. I decided to check out the other west side of the bridge to see if the wind shadow was killing the wind on the east side of the bridge. On the west side it was rocking! I never would have guessed it would have made that much difference. There were whitecaps rolling all across the river. I rigged up my 6.5 first, but it was just not quite powerful enough. I then went out on the 7.5 North Pyro and was ripping. The onshore chop was perfect for jumping. There were a couple boats anchored ~100 yards offshore, fishing the outlet of the creek that cuts the beach in half. I had to work my way upwind of these boats. The GPS track picture shows a hole where there are no tracks. That's where the boats were. Early on, I took a trip across the river and back. I didn't point as hard upwind as I should have, and although I was planing on both legs, I still ended up coming back downwind of the boats. After that I just made a lot of little runs between the shore and the beginning of the channel. You could tell by the change in the look of the water where the current got strong. I just turned around just before that point. I still had enough time to hook in, get planing, and get in a couple of nice jumps before turning around. A bit later I made a couple more trips back and forth across the river. These went better as the tide was slowing down and I was pointing more aggressively. Overall, quite an enjoyable afternoon of sailing.

7/04/2004 Location: Guilford Lake, in Ohio. Launched from the east side of the beach. Time sailed: various runs from 9 am to 5:00 pm. Total distance sailed: 21.2 mi. Max speed: 26.1 mph. The wind was generally from the south. I sailed the 9.5 World Sails Blast on the Veloce 298 and the True Ames 39cm pointer fin. Guilford Lake remains the most difficult place I've ever windsurfed. The lake is small and you are never far enough from the opposite shore for the shore effects to even out. The southerly wind blows from three different directions (out of the bays) as you sail the length of the lake. This shows up as many criss-crossing GPS tracks. The wind is gusty as it blows out of the bays. You often get hit with huge gusts that practically rip the rig from your hands. By the time you get control, hook in, and lean back, the wind drops to near zero and dumps you on your butt. Then it's either uphaul the big sail or wait for the next gust to waterstart. I had some ripping fast runs, but it was exhausting overall.

7/27/2004 Location: The York River at Yorktown. Launched from VIMS Geddings House. Time sailed: 4:30 pm to 6:15 pm. Total distance sailed: 12.2 mi. Max speed: about 21 mph. The wind was from the SW and the tide was near high. My previous session was at Willoughby and I didn't bother to get GPS data. It was really more of an experiment with my new 6.7 sail to see where its low end lay in relationship to the top end of my 9.5. I think they overlap, so I am safe to sell my 7.5 Pyro. This session looked like a low end 6.7 session, but turned out to be a midrange 9.5 session. Of course I discovered this after rigging the 6.7. So I get some rigging experience... The runs on the 9.5 were great, with more than the usual number pushing the 20mph mark. Other than that, nothing real remarkable except that the session was cut short by a series of dashes to the bathroom in the Geddings House. (thank God it was unlocked) Must have been something I ate at lunch.

8/6/2004 Location: Chesapeake Bay on the north side of Willougby spit. Launched from the Formosa Hotel. Time sailed: 2:30 pm to 3:45 pm. Total distance sailed: 2.53 mi. Max speed: 20.6 mph. The wind was from the N/NW and the tide was near high tide. After a few emails on the LetsRig list, I was pursuaded to make the hour trip from Grafton to Formosa. This was the first time I've sailed in high wind and big swell. It was a very humbling experience. It was the first time sailing both the Veloce 278 and the 5.6 Blast. In the same wind and flat water, it would have been a blast. The gear needed tuned in. Especially important was that I had the boom too high and had a very hard time hooking in. When I did get hooked in, I was way off balance. The big swells require a lot of weight shifting and control adjustments. You can't just hook in, lean back, and rip. If you do (I tried) you either plow your forward shoulder into a wave and wipeout, or majorly spinout on the backside of a swell and wipeout. And wipeouts aren't easily recoverable. Wavestarting is much harder if you aren't used to the swells. The guys tell me that once you adjust to the rhythm of the waves, waterstarting becomes easier because you can use one wave to clear the sail and the next one to boost you onto the board. I'm more attuned to using wind gusts for those things. When you get the sail in position, you get one chance before the waves push everything out of whack and you have to do a 360 circle with the sail and board setup again. I felt (and looked) like a complete rank beginner. Like I said, very humbling. I'm describing the waterstarting more than the sailing because I honestly spent more time in the water than sailing. My first run was a total of 1.6 miles and took 27 minutes. About the only good thing about it was that I did make it back to the launch (well, close, anyway). Most of the guys said that that was better than their first time in those conditions. I was exhaused when I got back. After resting for half an hour I went back out for another run. My gear was adjusted better this time, and I could hook in and sail in a more controlled manner. This was a lot better, and I could see how that with practise this could be more fun than terrifying. Of course I fell on the turn and had to waterstart to come back, but I had the rhythm of the waves a little better this time, and it wasn't a problem. This leg was .97 mi and only took 8 minutes. Much better. I still wish I had gone to Factory Point for the first session on the new gear. It would have been funner. But, I now have my inaugural session in big swell under my belt, and I walked away without any of the major mishaps that have marked other people's first times. (Washed into the rocks, long walks up the beach to the launch site)

8/10/04 Location: The Back River on the south side of Poquoson. Launched from Amory's Wharf. Time sailed: 5:15 to 7:15 pm. Total distance sailed: 15.7 mi. Max speed: 25.3 mph. Wind from the SW. High tide. Sailed for a little more than half an hour a bit underpowered on my 6.7. Then switched to the 9.5 and ripped it up. I finally quit because I was tired. I did get my max speed on the 6.7 when the wind was still strong enough to plane with it. I really liked this sailing spot. It's surrounded on 3 sides by shoreline so it's mentally similar for me to sailing back in OH. You have to watch out because near the launch there are a bunch of pilings from an old pier, and there are a lot of white stakes sticking out of the water. I wasn't sure what they meant, but I avoided them.

8/20/04 Location: The Back River on the south side of Poquoson. Launched from Amory's Wharf. Time sailed: 5:15 to 6:45 pm. Total distance sailed: 13.4 mi. Max speed: 24 mph. Wind from the SW. Low tide. This time I rigged my 9.5 from the start. The first run was overpowered so I pulled in to the shore and downhauled quite a bit. This was good for the rest of the session. At low tide, you have to do a lot of walking near the shore. The water stays shin deep 50 yards out from shore. I saw a couple of jellyfish, so I was not enthusiastic about spending any time in the water after that. I managed to avoid getting stung, though. It's cool sailing with fighter jets circling overhead for landing at Langley.

8/21/04 Location: The James River at Newport News. Launched from Hilton School. Time sailed: 10:20am to 1:05 pm. Total distance sailed: 20.4 mi. Max speed: 22 mph. Wind from the SW. Incoming tide. Started with my 9.5 with light downhaul and 39cm pointer fin. Started barely powered and kept building. Took a break and downhauled to med/heavy. Again started barely powered and kept building until I was too tired/hungry to keep sailing. I was definitely on the right rig. John Perry was there with the identical Veloce board as mine, but with a 7.5 sail. He got some good rides, but did more schlogging. Glenn borrowed a 6.5 from John and gave it a shot, but it wasn't enough wind. He got planing once in a gust. Got home just in time for an afternoon thunderstorm to blow through. Notice that a couple of my runs go right through the pier on the aerial photo. The pier is gone, taken out last fall by hurricane Isabel.

8/22/04 Location: The Back River on the north side of Hampton. Launched from Bell Isle Marina. Time sailed: 10:30 am to 1:15 pm. Total distance sailed: 25.0 mi. Max speed 24 mph. Wind from the NE. Tide ? The first time I've sailed this spot. I rigged up the 6.7. I had a day that I would put in my top five windsurfing days ever. First I got to rip back and forth across the river from bank to bank for about two hours. At one point I started at the far side and came 1 1/4 mi back across, hitting 24mph and going up into the creek near the island. The wind was great, and the spit and island keep the water smooth for speeding. Going up the narrow creek felt like those guys in the speed channels trying to break speed records (except they go nearly twice as fast). Near the south bank is smooth water. Out in the channel, there are bigger rollers that come in from the bay. As the wind started to come down, I decided to see if there was more wind on the upwind side of the island. I sailed across the spit and got to play in the waves on the outside for a while. I had a great time, making much bigger jumps than I ever have made before. There is a huge difference between chop hopping and launching off a waist high fully formed wave. Whew! What a rush! As the wind dropped further I made a circuit of the island, came back through the main channel and headed back to the launch.

9/6/04 Location: The Back River on the north side of Hampton. Launched from Bell Isle Marina. Time sailed: 4 pm to 6 pm. Total distance sailed: 25.6 mi. Max speed 25.6 mph. Wind from the NE, building from a steady 10mph to a steady 15mph as the weather moved in. Tide outgoing and lower than last time. Whoo-ee, I officially declare Factory Point to be my favorate place to sail. It's got all four types of water I've sailed on: 1) smooth, windswept water for blasting; 2) medium chop in the channel for chop-hopping; 3) big swells in the Bay; and 4) waves on the spit and the Bay side of the island for playing and big jumping! I rigged my 6.7, and was planing solidly for the entire two hours. Last time I had so much fun playing in the waves that I immediately headed upwind and out to the Bay side of the island. I had a great time once more, playing in the waves. Since the tide was lower than last time, I ran aground a few more times. Still, the wind was better, and the jumping was great. I only stopped because I got tired and it looked like thunderstorms were coming from the west.

9/7/04 Location: The Back River on the north side of Hampton. Launched from Bell Isle Marina. Time sailed: 1:30 pm to 5 pm. Total distance sailed: 19.1 mi. Max speed 26 mph. Wind from the NE. Stormy. High tide at 1pm. I thought it was going to be windier, but the storms moving through messed with the wind. Mostly it blew 5-8mph, with some 15mph gusts as the rain moved through. If I had brought my 9.5 sail, it would have been pretty good, but I dropped it off in favor of bringing my smaller board, instead. A bad trade, as it turned out. Oh, well. But, I did get to see the first funnel clouds I've seen in my life. I grew up in Ohio, and seeing funnel clouds there meant someone was losing their house, or getting killed. I had seen the destruction caused by tornados, but never actually seen one. My lifetime total jumped from zero to four. The first two dropped down about 1:15 to the south of us. They never touched down, and faded as the stormcloud moved inland. I got pictures with my digital camera. The second two I saw while out on the water at 2pm. I sailed into shore and watched them for a few minutes. They were out in the bay to the east, and one touched down on the water. They also faded before reaching shore.

9/8/04 Location: The Back River on the north side of Hampton. Launched from Bell Isle Marina. Time sailed: 12:30 pm to 4:15 pm. Total distance sailed: 32.1 mi. Max speed 28 mph. Wind from the E. High tide at 2pm. Today was everything that yesterday was not. I sailed the 101L board and my 5.6 sail. Started with med downhaul and finished with extreme downhaul. This was my first real day with the smaller stuff in conditions where I could really enjoy it. It is definitely a livelier ride than the 138L board with a big sail. I was reaching from shore to shore and attempting gybes. Mostly got waterstart practice and a lot of ride time to get comfortable with the smaller gear. Other people went out and sailed the big waves outside the island, but I wasn't ready for that yet. Had a great time and set a personal speed record.

9/9/04 Location: The Back River on the north side of Hampton. Launched from Bell Isle Marina. Time sailed: 3:10 pm to 6:10 pm. Total distance sailed: 24.0 mi. Max speed 26.6 mph. Wind from the E. High tide at 3pm. After the past three days, I was a little tired, so I got there a little late. Most everyone had been there since 10 or 11 am. I rigged up the small stuff again and warmed up on the inside, staying in the shelter of the island. Then I headed outside and made a few runs in the big waves and wind on the Bay side. Wow. Very gnarly. I had fun, but my inability to gibe was keeping me from really letting loose, as I was continually worried about making the outside turn. I knew I was going to have to waterstart in the big rollers in the channel, so I was always holding back on that tack. I did just fine, but headed back in and just practised gybing in the shelter of the island for a while. That went well and I made a couple gybes in each direction, which is progress. Everyone but three of us left at about 5pm. When John broke his mast I ended up fetching the lone powerboat from the island to carry his gear to shore. After that, I made a few more runs, was tired and packed it in. What a great holiday windsurfing weekend. I sailed four days straight, covering 100.8 miles. I think I'm ready for a break.

9/17/04 Location: The York River at Yorktown. Launched from VIMS Geddings House. Time sailed: 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Total distance sailed: 11.8 mi. Max speed: 28.5 mph. Wind from the SSE. 15mph. Low tide at 6pm. There was some heavy weather brewing, so the wind was really more like 10 to 20 mph. I didn't have my smallest stuff, which would have been more appropriate for the conditions. I rigged my 6.7 and gave it as much downhaul as I could give it. I sailed my 138L board. It was a struggle to keep everything under control. It was my first time with the new harness I bought last Sunday. I'm not sure I like it, as it rides a little high and hits the bottom of my life jacket.

9/19/04 Location: The Back River on the north side of Hampton. Launched from Bell Isle Marina. Time sailed: 1:10 pm to 4:30 pm. Total distance sailed: 33.3 mi. Max speed 28.4 mph. Wind from the NNE. High tide at 12:46pm. Winds blowing about 25mph. This was probably in the top two or three windiest days I have ever sailed. I rigged my 4.6 sail with max downhaul and max outhaul and still started off overpowered on my 101L board. Switching to my smallest fin helped. After a while, the wind dropped a bit and I had a ripping good session after that. The wind continued to drop and I eventually went up a couple of fin sizes and extended my session on my 4.6 after other people had rigged up to 5.5s. Lots of chop hopping fast runs and jibe attempts, a few of which I made.