Monday 5-25-09 Memorial Day "Sailing In Honor of Those Who Serve"
Well this was the type of day we wanted...at 3pm it cranked and blew us away on our JF FSW 101 boards and Firefly 6m sails. As I was sailing out a guy in front of me just got drilled by a gust over 30 and went over the handlebars - still in the straps - the board went with him! It was a spectacular crash on a full plane at full speed. We all came in to change gear, now to a wave board for me (tried a Tabou 3S and loved it) and smaller gear for everyone. John was on his way back from from Dare to fly around the point where the kiters ride. He had been on a 10m all day and packed up to join the windsurfers at Vela when he got overpower on the kite. Tim had finally gotten comfortable on a Excite Ride and Firefly sail and had his best session yet as the wind started to crank. He called it a day, while JAB arrived, scampering to get set-up and Chris and I split a RedBull to gear up for the small stuff and the huge ramps building on the outside. We all went out on 85L and 5.0/5.4 sails. John was ripping it up, not struggling with a recent knee repair like prior years. Chris was duck-jibing all over and getting solid stalled jumps. I was energised by the RedBull and felt like I had wings. The outside had six foot waves and mad chop but the ramps were huge, and we were sailing on the edge with 5.4's. It was super windy! I had 8-10 big back loop attemps, nearly landing two of them. John got a board bottom view riding the waves in while I was rocketing out to a ramp. I was afraid to look down in the air, I knew it was scarely high but John judged the hight at "at least mast high" in his own words. It was the first time I stuck the landing, but could not hang on the the sail with the impact. Such went the rest of my day trying to top the effort. We were so amped in the conditions nobody wanted to come in and get cameras for some on the water shots (sorry guys, maybe tomorrow). We had two and a half hours of full-on conditions and my hands finally gave way in the salt water. A few big blisters I'll have to deal with for the week. I'll pull out the super-glue from the First-Aid kit.
After an epic session(we had planned on none for the week based on the forcasts before our departure) we celebrated at Happy Hour to recognize our good fortune. Just as soon as Happy Hour started, the clouds come out over the water and a gentle rain began. It cooled down and felt nice. We walked back to the hotel without shirts off, in the rain. Three ultra-white guys walking in the pouring rain, shirtless. These things are normal in the town of Cabarete.
For dinner, we hit Jalapenos for Mexican and finished off with a jello shot. But that was not the end, we wandered on to LAX bar, and ordered frozen daqueries. We had Sara in tow, a single mom from San Fran who is down for the week. She enjoyed the company as she has been here on her own for the second week now. The first daqueries were not so great so they brought another, this time tasting correct, along with shots for the whole table. They were called Dominican Viagra....uh oh.
We left after finishing those and stopped at Voy Voy, the Vela Center that turns into a bar in the evening. It was Karioke night and the place was packed with 50 or so people. We watched for awhile and finally walked back to the El Magnifico.
It was quite a day of sailing, a great dinner, and a little too much spirits for some. Classic!
