36 Degree Water Windsurfing Season Opener!

Following my first New England winter, a time with typical highs in the 20s and 30s, last weekend's temperatures in the 40s and 50s seemed like a breath of summer. Time to the inaugurate the 2011 windsurfing season! (The one session in Florida doesn't count.) I couldn't jump right in on Saturday, though, because there were a few chinks in my thermal armor that I didn't want to expose to the 36 degree water of Massachusetts Bay. I.e., though I had purchased a "bag" drysuit in the fall, I still needed some 7 mm booties and a proper hood to go with it. Those bits were easy enough to find at a dive shop in Somerville, but it meant I had to wait until Sunday to get started.

Fortunately, the wind was still pumping from the South in the 15 - 20 mph range when I arrived at the Nahant causeway. I was so excited I ran a stop sign going into the beach parking lot and got busted by a Nahant cop. He also nailed me for not having a state inspection sticker, so I cursed my $95.00 - wasting haste. Arrrgh. Finally at the launch spot I rigged my trusty 6.8 Aerotech Phantom and 106 liter Exocet Cross with a 32 cm Maui Ultra Fins "no spin" fin. There was a small swell coming in and the wind was almost perfectly sideshore. The suit kept me plenty warm enough, although I chose to sail relatively conservatively to stay out of the water to the extent possible. Here's a video from the session, with an intro showing the beauty of spring in Lynn:

First Massachusetts Windsurfing of 2011 from James Douglass on Vimeo.