Outer Banks - Great Windsurf Destination

On a "thin strand of barrier islands curving into the Atlantic," the Outer Banks of North Carolina is a fabulous windsurfing destination for both novices and extreme sport enthusiasts. The Outer Banks offers variety like few other windsurf destinations - anywhere. It is a wild and beautiful place of discovery with long stretches of pristine beach, dunes, marsh, and maritime forest punctuated by bustling townships and elegant accommodation.

Whether it's a family trip, a reunion of windgypsies, or a group of windsurfing wannabees, come and share waterside Duck, Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco or Ocracoke accommodation for a memorable, exciting week - the first of many revisits! Contact rental agents for expert selection for weekly rental options, or a motel/hotel, bed and breakfast, or campground for overnight stays best meeting your needs.

You will find a hundred miles of sound-side beaches with public access through the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, campgrounds, sound or oceanside accommodation, provide ample water access. Come and enjoy many opportunities for recreation: Offshore Charter Fishing, Surf-Fishing, surfing the best surf on the East Coast, kiteboarding, beachcombing, canoeing, birding, snorkeling, scuba dive the Graveyard of the Atlantic, and historic lighthouse climbing. Explore the historic Chicamacomico Lifesaving Station, the Maritime Museum, and the thriving artist community on Ocracoke.

During our endless Summer, the warm, friendly, shallow flatwater of the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds offer world-class learning conditions for building windsurfing skills. Friendly, early planing equipment makes it easy to pick up afternoon thermals keeping you riding into the sunset. You may be able to keep equipment rigged for your entire stay, ready for most any wind condition or direction from your private launch.

World-class instruction from expert local instructors and technical advisors is available beginner to advanced for adults and kids. Many women are attracted to windsurfing as equipment has become lighter and more user-friendly. Norbank Sailing Center located in Duck, Kitty Hawk Water Sports, Hatteras Island Sail Shop located in Waves, Avon Sail House, Windsurfing Hatteras, Sail Works, Ride Hatteras, and Fox Watersports in Buxton have first class equipment matching local conditions, and great deals for sale or rental.

Since Hatteras winds and weather are frontally driven weather conditions are variable. Time your visit, picking times when conditions are most likely for your level. Wind and weather forecasting has greatly improved due to computer simulation. Use online services for detailed weather information to select visiting times. Windguru and the subscription service iWindsurf have excellent archives of wind speeds, direction and water temperatures. Local shops watch developing wind and weather conditions carefully, and can help guide equipment and launch site options. Regional wind forecasts are available free on NOAA Weather Radio and The Weather Channel. Wunderground.com gives excellent local radar images online depicting approaching fronts and changing wind and weather. So bring your laptop when you head for the Outer Banks!

Spring and Fall bring front-driven high wind sailing conditions on the ocean and sounds. High wind conditions may last for days, and be interspersed by sunny low-wind interludes for relaxation, recovery, or teaching kids and novices.

Plan to stay long enough to catch full frontal cycles alternating high and low pressure weather patterns. If winds are too light for windsurfing, or above your level of expertise, make full use of all the other things to do on the Outer Banks rather than going stir-crazy. Try another sport or activity like surfing, kiting, fishing, kiteboarding, or rent windsurf equipment conducive to the current conditions.

Once you become an accomplished windsurfer, you will want to visit Hatteras high wind hotspots. Depending on wind direction, these include "The Reef" 2 - 6 miles offshore soundside, "Ego Beach" oceanside at Canadian Hole, and "The Cove" south west off Hatteras Point. Learn to wave sail in safety at The Reef, jumping, jibing and waveriding for hours, before venturing ocean-side in the helpful company of local experts. And for those who want the ultimate challenge, a full-on "Hatteras low" thrashing the Outer Banks with persistent 30 plus knot winds, provides epic conditions and world-class waves to temper the skill and stamina of windsurfing's intrepid.

Women In Windsurfing
by Mary Hammond-Tooke

At any windsurfing site, you will see many more men than women. Please do not let this discourage you. Windsurfing is a wonderful sport for women. It can be a mild activity, enjoyed at slow speeds, featuring the enjoyment of the outside, the sun, light, birds, water, etc. Or, it can be fast, a wild adventure, as the rider flies across the water on a windy day. You can decide which way you enjoy and be happy that even at high speed the risk of injury in windsurfing is small.

Onlookers frequently assume that serious upper body strength is required to windsurf. In reality, it is a counterbalance sport. Your body weight is used, in a delicate balancing act, to offset the force of the wind in the sail, and allow board, sail and rider to skim across the water almost effortlessly.

Women are more interested in, and tolerant of instruction. Windsurfing can be learned the hard way. But, with good instruction, the learning curve is dramatically reduced. What used to take many days and much frustration can be accomplished in a short time with proper instruction and the advantages of modern, light, user-friendly boards and sails.

So ladies go get those lessons and get out on the water! It's time we stopped letting the guys have all the fun!

Windsurfing Is For Kids

Kids take to windsurfing like ducks to water, literally!

With encouragement and instruction, enthusiastic 12-14 year olds can learn to windsurf in one season, and be planing in the straps the second year, sometimes to the annoyance of their windsurfing parents!

In other cases, kids can have a disappointing experience, and are lost forever to the sport. Perhaps they were too young, too overpowered, too overwhelmed by the wrong equipment, or just didn't have much fun.

The kid's really wanting to windsurf, is the first ingredient in getting him or her enjoying the sport for a lifetime. Sometimes, over-eager windsurfing adults put pressure on their kids to take up the sport before they are truly ready. "No disappointments" is the slogan in teaching kids to windsurf.

Here are some rules of thumb experience has taught which may help guide parents on this critical timing issue:

Teaching your kid or grandkid to sail is one of life's greatest privileges. Enjoy!!

Wavesailing Cape Hatteras
by Dana Miller

Sure, going off the lip feels completely unreal, especially if you take some air while you're at it, land clean, then continue to ride. And many believe it's the only move that really matters in wavesailing. But I better remember the dolphin pods that dropped in on me as I rode. And the insane sunset sessions ranging from merely dramatic to outright mind-blowing as the whitewater reflects the blazing peach into orange through pink and finally to the deepest purple. Then right as you're thinking it's too dark for another ride and you're too thrashed to drag your stuff up the beach, the Lighthouse comes on to show the way for just a couple more.

There was a day last fall, when even though it seemed as if the wind had died while I was rigging, I stepped on my board and as if by some magic, planed right from the beach. On my first run out across the impossibly smooth ocean, rays of the late afternoon sun broke out and played against the gray green storm clouds towering above the Gulf Stream. And what at first seemed a black slick off in the distance turned out to be hundreds of cormorant resting to the outside. As I approached them they rose up en mass and I blended into them as we pressed to windward as one. It was one of those pure connections with the natural world that are such a huge part of what drives me to spend so much time on the island.

Getting out on the Pamlico Sound to dance with light twice reflected is amazing enough. But being out on the even more boundless ocean takes the experience to another level. Right up with returning unscathed from the verge of disaster, sharing a wave with a pod of dolphin or having a hurricane do your breathing for you, wavesailing by moonlight is one of the most powerful experiences I've ever had.

Forgive me if I go on and on about the wavesailing, but there's so much magic that comes with the freedom to position oneself more perfectly on the wave's face as it begins to rise. With the sail, you can also come to the lip with power to spare, and get out on the ocean when the conditions are so extreme few else would dare. I'm sure it's not the equipment or even the skills that matter so much as the soulfulness you bring. And being in the ocean is the best avenue I know for beating down one's ego. I am ever grateful for the lessons in humility, the completely magical displays, and for all the company even in the dead of winter when I might have thought I was the only one out.

I'm sure most people that come here to vacation find themselves doubting they could ever be able to windsurf in the ocean, but I would offer that there has never been a better time to take it up. Carbon composites, modern coaching and the epic new designs conspire to make what was once an admittedly daunting learning curve far more compressed and fun. And if you look me up, I'd be glad to tell you about the good spots and help get you out there. With respect!

Accommodations In Hatteras

From traditional "salt box cottages" on canals and back streets to elegant palaces that will house several families with fantastic views of surf or sound, the Outer Banks has a wide variety of rental packages to suit all occasions and budgets. How long? How many? How much? Soundfront, Soundside or Oceanview? These are the questions that you will guide your choices.

Top of the line are the soundfront houses with their own launches (known as "windsurfing houses") in Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco, Hatteras Village.

Rental Companies (houses rented Saturday to Saturday or Sunday to Sunday) are the most popular type of accommodation in Hatteras. Check availability and "walk through" rental options on your computer. Below are just a few of the rental companies in the Hatteras area: www.hatterasrealty.com, www.midgettrealty.com, www.sunrealtync.com

For a more detailed list of rental companies please click here.

Hotels/Motels and Bed and Breakfast

If you want to stay overnight or for a few days, bed and breakfasts or motels will fill your needs.

Selections include
Avon Motel, Avon. (252) 995-5774. www.avonmotel.com
Cape Hatteras Bed and Breakfast, Buxton. (252) 995-3002.
Cape Hatteras Motel (252) 995-5611. Some units have an ocean view.
Comfort Inn Of Hatteras Island, Buxton. (252) 995-6100.
Hatteras Heaven, Frisco. (252) 995-0298.
Lighthouse View Motel, Buxton. (252) 995-5680, next to Cape Hatteras Motel.
The Inn on Pamlico Sound, Buxton. www.innonpamlicosound.com

For a more detailed list of Hotels/Motels and Bed and Breakfast in the Hatteras area, please click here.

Camping

There are several National Park Service Campgrounds in the area. Visit http://www.outerbanks.org/accommodations/nps_campgrounds/

Frisco Woods Campground (252) 995-5208. Excellent sound launch in Frisco. You will need to bring RVs or tents; small, basic 'Kamping Cabins' are available. See http://www.windvisions.com/Hatteras/frisco_woods.html.
Cape Hatteras KOA, Rodanthe, 252-987-2307, on the water. See: http://www.koakampgrounds.com/where/nc/33166/index.htm.
Sands of Time, Avon :252-995-5596, not on the water.See: http://www.sandsoftimecampground.com/

Equipment What And Where

The Outer Banks has eight full-on windsurfing shops, packed with a wide range of equipment choices, beginner to advanced, for sale or rent, and helpful advice for visiting windsurfers.

Wind and weather changes day to day, and often hour-to-hour, on the Outer Banks. Bring all your gear, and equipment for all eventualities if you don't want to be caught short!

Also, be prepared to rent or demo equipment if you want to try out wider boards, slalom sails, lighter masts, or the latest wave boards. Try before you buy! Windsurfing equipment needs to be tried out in practical situations to be evaluated by the sailor. Whatever the magazines say, not every innovation works for every sailor! For differing reasons, much equipment designed for light, athletic males may not work well for women, heavier sailors, or novices. Novices and heavy weights alike need larger, more stable, boards. Very light boards, designed for early planing in light airs, may not be robust enough for clumsy, heavy-footed, or beginner sailors. Ask around for advice before you whip out the plastic!

Rental is a great option for beginners and novices who will move rapidly up the learning curve with good instruction. Rental also works well for those traveling by air or long distances by road. Expect to pay about $200 per week for modern boards and sails, which you will swap for different sizes as wind conditions change, or your skills mature.

Get the low down on rigging your equipment. Windsurfing sails are high-tech devices, and need an expert touch to make them friendly and forgiving. Inadequate downhaul and too much outhaul simply kills the performance of modern slalom sails, making them feel heavy and uncontrollable. Learn exactly how to rig your sails by getting an in-shop demo, or accessing the sail designer's website. Pay particular attention to how to "tune" your sails for changing wind conditions. In brief: Flatten the sale with more outhaul for high-wind gusty conditions, and move the mast foot forward a little to hold the nose down. Slacken the outhaul for more low-end power and move the mast foot back a little to promote early planing in lighter conditions.

Choose fins appropriately. Use efficient swept-back "weed fins" to avoid floating-weed spin-outs, and inevitable grounding out in the shallows. Be cautious of using long straight "Formula" fins designed for early planing in light winds. These will catapult you if you hit a sand bar, and may make your board very unstable in windy conditions.

The Outer Banks windsurfing shops that will give you great service and deals include the following:

Norbank Sailing Center, Duck, Jon Britt, 252-261-2900 www.norbanks.com Limited sound access, $5, Starboards, Exocet boards; Sailworks sails. Instruction: beginner/intermediate.
Duck Municipal Waterside Park has water access for windsurfing.
Kitty Hawk Water Sports John van Lunen, 252-441-2756 www.kityhawswatersports.com.
Starboard, Bic boards; Sailworks sails Hatteras Island Sail Shop, Waves, Barton 252-987-2292 www.hiss-waves.com. Great launch, Bic, JT boards, Neil Pryde, Gaastra sails, all levels instruction, ABK clinic site Avon Sail House, Avon. Margaret Nold 995-7945 www.avonsailhouse.com. Quatro boards, Simmer sails. Windsurfing Hatteras, Avon, Brian Klauser 252-995-5000, www.windsurfinghatteras.com; North Sails, Mistral boards, Naish boards and sails Sail World, Avon 995-5441. Brett Landry: 252-995-5441. AHD, BIC, F2, HiFly, Starboard boards equipment, instruction www.hatteras.ws/ Ride Hatteras 995-6755 www.ridehatteras.com equipment, instruction Fox Watersports, Buxton. Donny Bowers. 252-995-4102 www.foxwatersports.com

Why Buy Windsurfing Lessons?

Windsurfing lessons are a great bargain! Windsurfing is a highly technical and completely non-intuitive sport. Two or three hours of professional instruction will save you weeks of flailing around, exhausted and frustrated, while you teach yourself bad habits that will prevent your moving forward.

A good instructor will save you from:

Take lessons, and move forward efficiently enjoying your sport, secure in the knowledge that You Look Cool on the Water!