Friday March 16th:
The breeze in the morning assured me of wind this afternoon, and I rose to greet the day with Connie for some breakfast. The coffee, banana and juice was perfect, and we were soon on our way to the beach for another day of windsurf fun!
The usual visits at the Vela center started the day off well, and even though our friends Lynn and Ginny would be departing today, we made the best of it, and seized the day! Winds were back on, and folks were already out with the small stuff! I waded out and snapped some of the sport on the water. The tide was in, and the water depth made for many a wasted shot, (Sorry to those I missed!) but the wind and clients cooperated nicely, and I was soon off the water with a full memory card. See the windsurf photos here.
I saw that Lenny was out with the GPS and had come back with an impressive 27 knots in the rough chop, very good for the washing machine conditions! I felt obligated to at least try a speed run, and try to beat his! I took the unit, and made a few slow runs, tweaked the kit, and tried for some speed. Now I wasn’t really trying hard, and the wind was light, and the board was too small, and the water was too choppy, and the sun was in my eyes, and the flying fish distracted me, and the moon was not in proper phase, and… so I only managed to get 28.1 knots as I returned the unit to the center. L All hail Mary queen of speed with her 28.2!!! And I WILL try this again!! This is not over yet, Mary!!
I had started underpowered with the 5.9M and the 93lt JP board, (see lame excuses above..) but was soon fully powered with this kit! It was so darn fun ripping the waves, and scoring the jumps!! I just love a little extra power in the ride, and prefer to be a half meter or so over powered, and this was so for the entire afternoon!! I had such a great session, it was a full 3 hours before I quit! Thanks to all for the chase and shared rides! Super fun day!
The body exhausted, I made it back with me kit, and hit the showers. Such a great feeling to cool off from the hot ride, remove the salt and remember the air and jibes as you do. Love the memories and the rush they bring as you relive them! Another day of amazing sport! It was time for happy hour, and the pre-dinner discussion of the day’s events. We shared a table with Swede and Marcy, and as we signed up for the Thai dinner earlier, our dinner plans were already made for some delicious spicy food! We thanked Swede for the cold beers, and made ready for the evenings events.
Tired and sore, the shower and a very short nap helped wake me up, as we got to the terrace for Thai night. Plenty of fun again, talking with all the Vela friends, and eating the most amazing family style meal. Wonderfull job again Gerry and Yoris!!
The table of social activity led to the possibility of attending the Reggae party tonight at Gaby’s, as we sipped our final drinks and said goodnight to those wishing to get some recharge time. Shawn and I made the decision to get out and see the party, so it was off to walk down to Gaby’s.
We got there about 10:30 or so, and it was just starting to fill up. The band was not yet playing, so this gave us plenty of time to talk and meet the many amazing people that come out for the fun! I just love the small town social stuff! So nice to party with everyone you play and work with day to day! I met so many friends, and made so many more in the short time before the music started! Too cool Mon!
The band was amazing, and I just had to join Mary Luz, Belkis, and many others for some dancing! So fun to have so many friends to play with! I had a blast, and soon soaked my shirt from all the sweat! Thanks girls! That was fun!
The rest of the night was a repeat of this, and we stayed ‘till 2 or so, extracting all the fun the night had to offer, before we just had to get off to bed. David, Shawn, and I made the breezy stroll home, and off to sleep, wind at night, means likely wind tomorrow! See ya then.
Timoteo y Connie