Based on faith alone I rigged the 6.4 at a very calm Surfdale beach around 11am. With B and P visiting from AKL we made a day of watersports and brought the tandem kayak and an old beastly sailboard from the early Mesozoic period. Shortly after rigging a bit of the predicted SE wind began to fill in, allowing for some windsurfing lessons. Also had some fishing from the kayak (no bites). I met "David" who decided after moving to Waiheke 7 yrs ago that he should take up a wind sport, so he chose windsurfing and was planing nicely on his new wide-as Bic board. The trend to wide boards for early planing and stability is reminiscent of the revitalization of skiing with the introduction of shorter fat skis.
Kite-surfer man arrived after noon and had a few good runs on a 12 m^2 kite, but said it just wasn't enough. I had some fully powered runs on the 6.4, but it was a bit up and down and I never ventured past the point into Blackpool. I had a few successful fast "short-board" tacks and fully powered jibe transitions.
The highlight was the surfing of the shallow waves by Isaac on the prehistoric sailboard. We shoved a short aluminum paddle in the mast receptacle hole that provided a handhold. Every time a wave started turning the board sideways the 6-yr old surfer shifted his weight and straightened out, taking 50+ meter rides on the train of waves resulting from the onshore winds.
Rudy (Rudi) showed up in the early evening to see what the wind was doing--he'll be back out by next weekend--the leg is healing well, but there is still significant edema in his ankle and foot from an allergic response to the stingray toxins. I find myself dragging my feet instead of stepping down when trudging through the shallow water (just in case the Rays want to score another strike for their team). As the tide went out I misjudged the water depth a few times and dragged the skeg along the muddy bottom--maybe I scored a retaliatory strike?--I'll need to sand the fin.
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