ben to hatteras

Cape Hatteras Light

Sarah and I returned last week from our annual fall Hatteras trip. We were joined by house regulars John and Dorothy. Mike and Jen Wazenski stayed for a few nights, and we had Bill Gassaway and Mark Ingino in the bunk room. Long time regular on the trip, Fred Hyla didn't make the trip this year due to a injury. Fred is always good company, and we missed him.

We were treated to good 5.5 and 5.0 conditions on Sunday and Monday. Mike and I had a nice session on the reef Monday. Mike launched (and landed) a bunch of big jumps. Me....I launched and then proceed to explode most of my landings. Still we had a good time playing on the reef before making the speed run back to the house. We spent Tuesday morning on slalom gear and 7.5's and 6.5's. In the afternoon, Sarah and I drove to the lighthouse for walk on the beach and to snap some pics.


My shoulder is messed up and was killing me, so I took a breather on Wednesday. Sarah got a nice morning session on the the 6.5. Wednesday afternoon we drove south to the Indian Town Art Gallery in Frisco , where I bought a couple of cool photos from long time windsurfer turned photographer Don Bowers. We drove over to the Frsico bath house and ran into Jim and Elisa, who we know from cross country skiing at White Grass in West Va. They were staying up in Rodanthe and invited us to have dinner with them later in the week. We talked to them for a while before another nice sunset walk on the beach.

Frisco Pier, Golden Sunset

No wind on Thursday, so Sarah I packed up the beach chairs and took the SUP's down to Frisco and played in some nice small waves.

Surf's Sup

Friday was a bit of a disappointment. Forecast was upper 20's to low 30's. Bad shoulder and all,I was was pumped to try out my new 80 liter Naish wave board and some small Ezzy Wave Panthers. We got up early, but the wind never really happened. I got a couple hours on my 5.5 Naish All Terrain Sail the the 95 liter Naish AT board. It is a sweet combo, so I really shouldn't complain. The wind backed off and Sarah stole the 5.5 from me. I was too lazy to rig another sail, so I organized some of my gear and headed for the hot tub.

Mark on the 5.5, The Quiver, Sarah rock'n the 5.5

Le Spot

We had to check out of Le Spot on Saturday morning. Sarah and I checked into the Light House View Motel in Buxton, and then headed back down to Frisco for another great day on the beach and more SUP fun. Waves were huge, almost double over ankle. The water was clear and we could see all sorts of sea life swimming around as we paddled up and down the beach. Lots of bait fish and I paddled over a little ray. Nothing too big, but a reminder that when you leave the beach that you are stepping into the food chain! Sarah had a posse of dolphins swim close by, so that was cool. I'm a big fan of fins that go up and down and not side to side!

Double Ankle High!

Maybe if I get real low, I can get tubed! NOT!!

Sunday morning we caught sunrise on the beach in front of the motel and then went down the street to the Orange Blossom Bakery for coffee and Apple Uglies. Nothing like a big wad of fried dough and apples covered with sugar to start the day. Once again, we spent the afternoon on the beach in Frisco playing with the SUP boards. We drove up to Rodanthe and had a delightful dinner with Jim, Elisa, and their friend Lisa.

Sunday Sunrise Service

Monday was another beautiful day of hanging on the beach and playing in the waves before heading home to Annapolis.

Sarah gets air!

Hatteras is one of my favorite places in the world. It is a special place. I'm blessed to have been there, and even more blessed that I been able to go back many times. For the most part, we had beautiful weather and a great time. Less than three days after we left the Outer Banks, the East Coast was pounded by the remains of Tropical Storm Ida. Buxton, Hatteras Village, and Rodanthe all suffered a lot of damage. From what I understand Hwy 12 has just reopened in Rodanthe. Several houses were lost further up the road in Nags Head. It will be interesting to hear Jim and Elisa's tales. Part of my heart lives down there, and I wish the locals many alohas and a speedy recovery.

Official End of Summer 2009!