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Chillaxin’
// December 12th, 2009 // No Comments » // Kiteboarding
Cape Hatteras lures Surfers and Kiters from around the world because of the extreme weather conditions this island undergoes throughout the year. From macking surf, to cranking wind, from beautiful sunsets to harsh hurricanes and costal flooding, Hatteras Island sees it all!
In the winter the tourists stop coming, most business’ close up shop for the winter and things tend slow down… a lot! For the few “locals” that inhabit the island year round, this is a time of ‘Solo Sessions’, a time to get out and enjoy the elements without the masses of weekend beachgoers that plague the island the other 4 months of the year. In order to survive the quiet winter evenings, you either find something self destructive to do (drink) or something productive to do (maintain a personal website!).
For the athletes that hang around in the winter you’re treated to at least one consistent swell of pumping surf a week and all the cold wind you can handle. There are many sessions to be had… the only question, “is my wetsuit dry?”
Checking the Southside
Last Sunday I scored a fun southside kitesurf session with my friends Trevor and Pat. The wind was cranking in the low 30′s and the boys and I grabbed a few of the new 2010 kites to put them through their paces in the intense conditions. The waves consisted of wind swell in the waist to chest high range, but it was still enough to have fun with and get in a few fun hacks.
30mph kiting
After our morning session in the ocean Pat, Trevor and I headed back up to the REAL Slick to score a flatwater session. The wind was cranking, the air was warm, and it was enough to remind me of why I decided to stay on this desolate little island throughout the winter… good times with friends and some of the best conditions in the world!
Aquafrolics
// November 27th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized
Just saw this wakeskate video from the Nike6.0 team. Its amazing what these guys are doing with the sport.
Slider Steeze
// November 7th, 2009 // No Comments » // Kiteboarding, Wakestyle
My good friend Nate Appel just released the fourth segment of his six part series “A work in progress”. This segment was filmed in Cape Hatteras at the world famous “REAL Slick”.
Side-off bombs!
// October 23rd, 2009 // No Comments » // Kitesurfing
This past Monday I had the day off from work. My roommates and I had planned on a chill day of kiting in the sound with some strong Northwest wind. Upon arriving at REAL I talked with Jason Slezak and he made me aware of the massive waves going off towards the south-side of the island. In my years of living on Hatteras Island I’ve learned a few life lessons… one of which is: “If Jason Slezak is excited about riding somewhere, you sure as hell better be with him!”. We loaded up REAL’s new “helicopter” van and caravanned to just south of Avon with Sam Bell, Brandon Scheid and Bryan Elkus in tow.
Upon arriving at the spot we realized we weren’t the only ones who knew about the waves. There was a crowd of about 15-20 other kiters congregating on the beach… a clue to how big the waves were, only one other rider was actually putting up a kite! Hatteras’ own Jay Crawford was pumping up his kite to join in on the mayhem!
Before Brandon and I could even fully comprehend how much water was moving, due to waves that were well over head-high and massive current, Sleezy was already done pumping up his new 2010 Havoc and ready to ride. Fifteen minutes later Sammy, Jason, Brandon and I were all jumping on our surfboards and hitting the water. The amount of time it took on our first marathon tack out allowed you to gauge the magnitude of the waves. As I rode out over the 13ft walls of water breaking on the outer sandbars I knew this was going to be an Epic session.
Tight video
// October 10th, 2009 // No Comments » // Kiteboarding, Wakestyle
Check out the new Cineaptic vid from my boy, Nate Appel:
Fall sessions
// August 31st, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized
The Fall in Cape Hatteras is considered by many to be a quintessential time to be on the island. The height of tourist season has passed, the hurricane swell has been long awaited by every surfer on the East Coast, and the Northeast wind is so consistant, you’ll think it’ll never end.
Today, my roommates and I gathered on our porch to watch the NE front move through… It was August 31st, an there couldn’t have been a more apparent embodiment of the changing seasons.
Hurricane Bill
// August 24th, 2009 // No Comments » // Surfing
The first hurricane swell of the season hit the Eastern Seaboard this weekend delivering some of the biggest and best waves of the year! Hurricane Bill, which started as a tropical storm off the coast of Africa, traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to the Carribean islands and then shot straight north keeping a 750 mile distance from the U.S. mainland. The intensity of the storm coupled with its near perfect trajectory (close enough to the coast to deliver amazing waves but far enough away to cause no damage) gave every surfer on the East Coast an event to get excited for… and the waves delivered.
The waves generated from the storm started to reach the beaches of Cape Hatteras on Friday, August 21st. The wavs started in the chest high range and built through Saturday to the Double and even Triple Over-head range.
I paddled out Sunday afternoon with local ripper, Matt Lane, and caught a few waves in the head high to 1ft over-head range. These waves were big in size but somewhat crumbly and not well orgainzed. Matt and I decided to have a peanut butter/jelly party at my house in the mid-afternoon before we paddled back out around 6pm that evening.
Photo: Bryan Elkus - www.bryanelkus.com
When Matt and I arrived at our first spot on Sunday evening we saw lots of barrels, but none of the surfers in the water were able to really do much with them. We checked a few other spots before calling REAL Team Photographer, Bryan Elkus, and settling on the spot with the most barrels. To our amazment, when we returned to the spot the waves had cleaned up, organized themselves and became perfect Hatteras A-frame barrels!!!
Photo: Bryan Elkus - www.bryanelkus.com
Matt and I paddled out while Bryan swam through the breaking waves and dove under the thick lips of waves as they pubbled the water. Once we were all in the lineup it was “Game On” as Matt and I dropped into A-frame adrenaline barrels!! The shots Bryan took are amazing, but no photo can capture the intensity of thick pitching barrels and fast drops.
Photo: Bryan Elkus - www.bryanelkus.com
The Hurricane swell is forecasted to linger all week and I look forward to surfing as much as I can while it lasts!
Delivering the Goods
// July 26th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Kiteboarding, Kitesurfing, Surfing, Wakestyle
Cape Hatteras is known by surfers, kiteboarders and nature lovers worldwide for the amazing conditions this island can produce. Amazing thunderstorms, pumping surf and cranking wind are just a few of the attributes that bring people here. This week Hatteras delivered yet again… and in one lump sum!
The surf started pumping last Thursday. I got off of work and went straight to the beach. As I walked over the dune I saw a head high barrel firing down the line, it was the beginning of an epic session. I ducked under three amazing waves and once I got outside the breakers I turned to my friend Brandon Scheid and exclaimed “Its firing like P-pass out here!! Wait a second… Its firing like Hatteras is going off!”. Hatteras can deliver world class waves like anywhere else! We surfed until well past dark, taking a few closeout barrels on the head in exchange for a few perfect rides.
The swell continued into the next morning when Charlie, myself and REAL Co-Founder Trip Foreman caught a dawn surf in the glassiest water I’ve seen in the ocean!
Each evening the wind has been cranking, causing the REAL crew to session their brains out! Team photographer Bryan Elkus has been hard at work, taking shots of the Team every evening and documenting them on his website. Here are a few shots from Saturday’s session…
Lastly, today delivered cranking wind in the low 30′s… Megaloop session! Brandon Scheid, (lit on a 9m LF High-Fi), Ryan Waltz (on a 7m Hadlow Pro) and myself (on an 8m BEST Nemesis HP) pushed eachother to throw bigger and bigger kiteloops while tossing in new grabs and trying new rotations while 30ft in the air! Needless to say, we we’re all pretty exhausted after the session.
On my ride home from riding I stopped by a photo shoot where LF Pro rider and REAL Team manager Jason Slezak, along with Cabrinha Pro rider Andre Phillip, were sessioning a 25ft section of corrugated tubing. Here’s a quick clip of the action:
Slider Thursday!
// July 17th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Kiteboarding, Wakestyle
Charlie, Nick and I took out the sliders yesterday, both the 80ft John Wayne Cancer Foundation slider and the REAL flat bar. It was my day off, so I spent the majority of it on the water. Bryan Elkus came out of his office and shot some video… while Charlie and I traded off shooting on his new HD camera.
Everyone on the water was charging hard! Once one person steps their riding up the collective riding level increases… thats when we all progress. Big props to the crew; Sammy, Elkus, Nick Baines, Charlie, Lulu, Claire, Brandon, Clint, BCS and Trevor.
Edit: Bryan Elkus – BryanElkus.com -
Getting some shots
// July 10th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized
There are those that enjoy sleeping in on their days off… if you live on Hatteras Island, you are not of that mindset. A day off in Cape Hatteras is usually filled with sessions; whether it be surfing, kiteboarding or pulling out a slider to session behind the ski, you’re up at first light and making the most of the daytime hours.
I’m in the process of recovering from an ankle injury that occured a few weeks back. I’ve been focused on healing for the most part, but with the occasional “take it easy” session on the water. Yesterday I took an ocean downwinder on my Resin8 surfboard and was practicing my back-side strapless airs. It was a great session, I had a ton of fun and my ankle held up fairly well.
That evening I went down to Kite Point with a few of the other riders on the REAL team. With so many riders on the team constantly pushing their riding to the next level it encourages others to do the same. That mentality allows us to all progress together but it can also ultimately correlate with an injury, as is my current situation. When you get dealt that hand you have to make the most of it… the solution I choose is photography.
I shot some video with BCS, Charlie and Brandon last night. Today I took a few riding shots of Claire and was lucky enough to snap a few action shots of Brandon before the wind died out.
