Saturday, September 29, 2012

SPI belt & an urgent board meeting


I'm always looking for new bits of gear to make my adventures on water and land go a little smoother.  A friend recently turned me on to SPI Belt, which stands for 'small personal items' belt.  It's a pretty cool little pack for bringing essential items on a run, hike or paddle.


There are two versions of the SPI Belt... one for dry land activities and one with a waterproof pouch for folks who stand a chance at a dunk in the old H2O.  You can guess which one I went for.


The pouch is made of stretchy fabric so it expands to hold your cell phone, wallet, ipod or whatever other small items you need to bring along.  


In my case, I brought along my GPS to record mileage and speed on today's training run.  I usually don't run much, but in a moment of weakness let my sister convince me to join her in a 10-mile race in Minneapolis next week.  In typical fashion, I figured 6 days out was the appropriate time to start training (procrastination is a particular skill of mine).  I ran 3 miles today, half at a moderate pace and half doing sprint intervals.  I found the SPI Belt comfortable... I barely noticed I was wearing it.  During the sprints the GPS got to bouncing a bit, but I tightened up the belt and it held fast.  Overall the belt performed perfectly.  The one criticism I have is that the waterproof pouch is just a single ziploc type seal.  All the dry pouches I have, especially for electronics, have multiple seals... either a double ziploc or a zip along with a rolled seam held with velcro.  As it is, I wouldn't trust the SPI Belt with my cell phone on a paddle where I was likely to take a swim.  No worries though... when I want to use it for a paddle I'll just put my cell phone in my tried and proven dry-case then put that inside the SPI Belt. Good to go.


Here's the label... look for SPI Belt at your local running/outdoor shop or online.  But be sure to do it tonight, because tomorrow is looking pretty epic.  It's been blowing out of the North since mid-afternoon today and it's expected to persist through the day tomorrow.  There should be a nice wave by morning and enough wind to sail or kite, so load your gear and get some rest for tomorrow's 'board meeting'.  


See you on the water!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

long island

Windy City Waterman is on the road.  Last week we pointed the Element toward the rising sun then put the pedal to the floor and kept it there until our toes were in the ocean.  Here are some pics from the first stage of our epic trip...


Once we landed on Long Island, I rang up Hampton Watersports to inquire as to where we might do a bit of windsurfing.  "Mattituck Yacht Club" was the answer and the right one at that.  It was blowing 25 knots when we arrived and over 40 by the end of the session.


Unfortunately I had only brought sails down to 5.5, but on the beach I met Jimi, who was missing a few vital rig components.  Between the two of us we pulled together a 4.2/75 ltr kit and hit the water, taking turns enjoying the epic conditions.  I mounted the GoPro to the boom, so look forward to a nice video in the near future.


I was watching this lanky fellow throw forward loops on the water and when he came in he just seemed familiar... turned out to be Jace Panebianco, former PWA pro turned film maker (and not just late night skin-emax films either... Sorry Jace but some things can never be forgotten).  Jace is the man behind The Windsurfing Movie and The Windsurfing Movie II.  If you haven't seen them, stop reading this and go find a copy.  They are must have's for any windsurfer.




Later, we headed out to Montauk, stopping in at the local Starboard dealer for some info on the conditions at the best surf breaks.


They sent us to The Ditch, a point-break famous for great waves and tasty snacks from the Ditch Witch food cart.  Bummer for us she had closed down by the time we got there...


The day's conditions are posted under Old Glory.  Now that's what I call 'America the Beautiful'!


The beach scene...


The surf scene...


And then it was on to Oak Island.  Kim's cousin George keeps the family cottage there.  No electricity. No phone.  No TV.  Working toilet.  That's right... PARADISE.


The paddleboards had their own mooring...


Tizzy lost her first tooth...


Kim took about 12,427,385,354,966,435 photos...



There was only one way to get to the island... by boat...


Well, only two ways...


Tizzy caught her first fish...


We did some clammin'...


We did some chillin'...


We did some singin'...


And some goofin' around...








We're having a blast and hope you are too!  See you on the water... SOON, I hope!


Monday, September 10, 2012

a big adventure

   
     Today marks the beginning of a big adventure... we're hitting the road for the next six weeks or so to SUP, windsurf, and visit wind/watersports shops all over the Midwest and on both coasts.  There's a lot to get caught up on... my new relationship with Starboard SUP/WIND/KITE and exciting plans for the future... but for now I've got to get on the road, heading East until our feet are in the ocean.

     Keep an eye out for updates along the way... and get out on the water!  See you soon.