Kitty Hawk Water Sports- Nags Head, NC

Had a great day today (12/28) at MP 16 in Nags Head.  Air temp. was 70 and the water seemed to be heating up by the minute.  I was out there on an Ezzy Freeride 6.5.  When I hit the water around 1:00 the wind didn’t have much punch and I sank my RRD 133L z-ride so I switched to my Longrider.  After 3 tacks the wind picked up and I switched back to the z-ride.  Wind was a little squirrely but I got in a few good runs.  Wore nothing but a 3/2 wetsuit.  No booties, no gloves.  And when I got off the water I was walking around shirtless it was so nice.

There were a few others out there.  I counted 6 kiteboarders and another windsurfer.  There were two other kiteboarders up north behind Nags Head Village. 

A great day to be on the water.  I would have stayed until sundown but my bride wanted to get on the water too.  She wound up paddling a kayak in Southern Shores.

I used the opportunity to use my helmet cam to catch some video.  Not very exciting because the view doesn’t change much and to film other subjects you need to be right on top of them.  Back to the drawing board.

Hope to see you out there next time.

John

BTW- From my house in Southern Shores I could see birds dive-bombing the ocean for fish.  It was just before sundown so I grabbed my fishing rod and sprinted to the beach.  As usual, the fish were well beyond casting distance and they were travelling north.  As I stood there casting my lure with desperate futility I noticed the spray of a whale.  He was heading south and was only 200 yds. off shore.  Didn’t appear too big.  We commonly see Northern Right Whales in these parts.  Not that we see them that often, I’ve had about five or six sightings in the last 11 years and I don’t go to the beach on a weekly basis in the winter when they’re most common.  All in all, a great experience despite the lack of catching a striper.

This is a little dated but still fun to think about windsurfing in December.  In the attached video is Alexis, my former windsurfing instructor at Kitty Hawk Water Sports in Nags Head.  A man was out there with her but I forgot his name.  It was blowing mostly west 18-20.  I think Alexis was on a 4.5 and a little overpowered.  Air temp was in the 60’s.  Unfortunately, I had work to do and didn’t have time to get out there.  That’s the nature of the business. 

Enjoy.
John
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nz_tDlhbVE

This blog site is for those people who seek a little adventure on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  Maybe you live here and want access to the local outdoor events and conditions.  Or maybe you live elsewhere and just have an affection for the Outer Banks and need to get your fix.

You’ll find a little bit of everything here.  Due to the nature of my business we’re fairly active in several different pursuits.  We’ll have some windsurfing, sailing, surfing, kayaking, and fishing.  You also might see some local news and editorials.

Our business is located at milepost 16 in Nags Head (www.KittyHawkWaterSports.com) so most of the news will be around there but we’ll occassionally wander north to Duck and south to Hatteras.  Since we try to get out and about when something’s going on we’ll keep you updated with our adventures.

Most of our outdoor activities are between April 1 and October 1 so this is when you’ll see the most posts.  But during the winter we’ll still try to keep a bi-weekly schedule for you. 

Sometimes we’ll post our personal adventures, othertimes we’ll report on other people’s adventures.  Either way, we want you to see all the great things happening here.

My hope is that you’ll come here to get a little info, a little entertainment, and maybe a little inspiration to get outside and do something.

Hope to see you out there.
John