Kitesurfed Ocean Beach on January 25th…how crazy is that?!

It was just another great day to be alive.  Got a call from fellow kiter Jono at around 10:30am telling me that the surf at Ocean Beach (CA) was not only up but the winds were holding steady at 20+ kts.  Music to our ears.  Of course, the temperature was supposedly at a crisp 58 degrees meaning that the water would certainly be colder, but no matter, we were jonesing.

Shortly after Jono’s call, the emails began pooring in from some other buddies with screen shots of the wind reports for the day, and before you knew it the ball was in our court to decide whether to take on the ocean or just wish we had.  The deliberations didn’t take long and within the hour, cars were heading from where we all live in Marin County over the Ocean Beach to catch it before the dying off of the unreliable winter winds.

By the time I got there, Jono had been in the water for nearly an hour.  His call had come from the beach, able to provide a more reliable onsite report than we could get from the meters we tend to count on, and he certainly couldn’t be counted on to wait for us to arrive.  Bill had just arrived and Charlie was on his way.  Didn’t take long before we were pumped up and able to make our way over closer to the water to lay out our lines and get this party started.  Just like that, it’s second nature after all, we were good to go.  As I got in the water with my kite overhead, I noticed Bob and son Alex, were among the early arrivals who were now well accustomed to the water temperature and were more focused on smacking waves then whether their tootsies were going to get cold.  As soon as they passed by, I jumped in and off into the waves we go :)

The sets were not terribly big by Ocean Beach standards, but enough to warrant staying awake and aware of what was coming your way.  Of course, not having ridden in several months meant taking the obligatory drops into the water at the sign of the smallest wave smacking my side.  Fortunately, this only helped to more rapidly acclimate me to the conditions.  From there, it was all good.

Managed to ride for about an hour before feeling the tiredness from muscles not recently used, starting to gain the upper hand.  It was hard to leave it all behind, but my body triumphed over my mind, which could have stayed out for several more hours of this blissful experience.  As we returned to dry off by the cars, the traditional fish tales began as well as perma-grins sported by anyone and everyone who had participated in the experience.  Nothing like seeing everyone around you smiling to know that it was all good.

Two other buddies, Geoff & Jimbo were still out there after I came in, here are some pics of them having a blast…

Gotta love living in a place where this part of our lives.