Cold, Grey and Grumpy
Apr 17th, 2007 by billb
Back in Portland. Had a great time surfing the last week, even caught one good day of longboard sailing. The last two days I needed to get the place in order and put my toys away. Naturally the wind came up so I spent a lot of time looking at the whitecaps and my windsurfing gear while I should have been cleaning the garage. But I got it done.
Now I’m back in Portland, it’s cold and rainy, looks more like fall than spring and except for catching up on all the Formula 1 and MotoGP races (except Bahrain–my Tivo screwed up!!) there’s nothing in front of me but a lot of work getting everything ready for the big trip (www.allaluminumtour.com ). Ah, well, it’s going to be a lot of fun. But it sure is hard to leave Maui.
I’ve had several people contact me about renting PonoHouse. Yes, it’s available now that we’ve left for the spring and summer. This is really the best time for windsurfers to go to Maui–May is excellent for wind. The easiest way to check availablilty is to contact Katy Hargreaves, she’s at http://mauisports.com/ PHONE: 1 (808) 579 8833 TOLL FREE: 1 (866) 300 6284 FAX: 1 (808) 579 9383
I’m picking up one of the new Starboard Stand Up Paddle/Surf Sailing boards in Seattle to take on the All Aluminum Tour with me. I’ll let you know what I think of it. I’ll be showing it off in lots of places along the way–it’s going to be quite a shock in the midwest I bet to see a big lumpy geezer on a stand up surfboard paddling around lakes.
Hi Bill. I live in Portland and was wondering if you are going to do any paddling around here? Did you bring the Jimmy 11′ with you? The weather has been pretty gloomy but have had a few good kitesurf sessions lately.
I didn’t bring the Jimmy Lewis, I’m picking up the Starboard to do some paddling. Right now I’m huddled in my house feeling cold all the time. I’m usually not this wimpy, but after three months in Maui I’m freezing my ass off here. The thought of getting into any water other than a hot shower is daunting. I’ll get over it, but it’s going to take some time.
In the meantime I’m getting my race car and trailer ready for the All Aluminum Tour.
First of all Bill, I’d like to thank you for your Maui blog, which was a true favorite of mine. Thanks!
Secondly I want to encourage you to get into the cold water. I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to cold, but I’ve managed to sail in very cold water all winter (with interruptions to the Carribean) and I’m here to tell you: with a heavy wetsuit or drysuit on, the fun to be had is well worth it.
Will you be doing any sailing from the Aluminum tour? Should I update my blog listings?
Thanks again!
-Michael
http://www.peconicpuffin.com
I will indeed be doing some sailing and stand up paddle surfing on the All Aluminum Tour. I’m going to dig out my old wetsuit and see if it fits me. It’s probably a bit old anyway. I’ll be posting on both blogs, but mostly on AAT. As you can see there’s an active RSS preview on the bottom of the sidebar, so even if you only check on Ponohouse, you can see when I’ve added something elsewhere.
And of course I’ll be back in Maui next November.