Texas High Wind

Texas High Wind
by Ernstoff
4/27/2012

Yesterday, all day, sailing on 3.5M sail in SPI TX. Be jealous.

Sorry .. no photos of the high wind conditions… we were too busy holding on so as to not get blown away. Looks like Isabella is delivering similar wind this week.

Later in the week when the winds were weak, we took advantage to the shallow waters to practice low speed maneuvers. This YouTube video shows David Huang working on his Heli-tacks. I’m not in his league, but I can say that I can now do a quick tack (when conditions are right), a skill I was unable to master until the last day of the So. Padre Island trip.

In many ways, So. Padre Island is Windsurfing for the geriatric set, but it is also a great place for the more proficient to polish their sailing skills. The shallow water enables one to make dozens of attempts in a short period of time .. a necessity if one is to improve quickly. Hence, SPI has something to offer the more experienced sailor as well as the beginner and the aging. Furthermore, it is a lot easier to get to than Bonaire.

Update…
Just got back from nine days on So. Padre Island, TX. Wednesday, Thursday & Friday of last week, April 25, 26, & 27th, we had very strong winds for the entire day. Charts say they peaked at 40 mph. As previously stated, a 3.5 M^2 sail was more than enough for me.

The So. Padre Island Windsurfing organization had their yearly dinner Friday night 4/27/2012
at “Louie’s BackYard” … Nearly 250 people paid their $$ for absolutely delicious
buffet meal and great camaraderie.

A very large portion of the crowd were Colorado based sun birds, but nearly all,
including lots of the women, were active sailors.