Back in the Water

All day yesterday I was very upset about the fatal shark attack in Stuart, and definitely in no mood to get in the water. Nevertheless, I eventually decided that I would continue to windsurf, and maybe kite, just a bit more carefully. Though there's no way to completely eliminate the risk of shark attack besides never going in the water, I think I can minimize it by:



1. Never riding alone or in poor conditions where I might be stuck in the water a long time.

2. Never riding a "sinker" windsurfing board or kiteboarding in light or uncertain winds.

3. Never going too far away from shore.

4. Never riding without a buddy capable of initiating a speedy rescue.

5. Never riding in obviously fishy or sharky situations.

6. Trusting my instincts to retreat to the beach when something doesn't feel right.

7. Coming back to shore before the crepuscular hour.



Today a big wind from the southeast afforded me the opportunity to test my bravery / stupidity at Fort Pierce Inlet State Park. A couple kiters were already on the water when I arrived, which was reassuring. I rigged a 5.5 sail on my floaty 106 liter board, even though I could have used a smaller board, because I wanted to be able to climb on the board to escape sharks if necessary. The bigger board also helped with getting out through the breakers. Towards the end of the session my windsurf buddy Jon, and another windsurfer whose name I couldn't remember, showed up. After I de-rigged I took some pictures of their stuff on the beach, and some action shots of the only kiter who was still out (see slideshow below).





I also got some video with my replacement GoPro Helmet Hero HD, although I stopped filming after the first 20 minutes because the lense fogged up horribly. I'm not sure what to do to prevent that from happening. Someone said to put silica gel beads in the camera case, but I don't know where the heck you get silica gel. Another person said a piece of toilet paper in the case would do the same thing. Anyway, here's the video:

First Windsurf Session After Fatal Shark Attack from James Douglass on Vimeo.