jeff shuck

Well, once again it has been quite a well since I have written. My time has been focused almost solely on work, which has been really busy, and on a recent family trip to Florida for spring break. The first trip to Disney! Whoa. That was an eye-opening experience. I’ll post photos in the next week or so.

Before we left for the trip, the signs of spring were beginning to pop up. Buds on the trees were starting to dust the trees with light-green sprinkles. Early spring is one of my favorites times of the year — everything beams of potential. The green dusting over everything is so refreshing.

At the end of March we got a nice treat — two 75 degree days in a row. The lake is still about 40 degrees, but with 20 knot winds blowing I really couldn’t resist. So I got my first two days of windsurfing in for the season, about a month earlier than I’ve ever been out.

The first few days of windsurfing for the year are always pretty humbling. There is an instant realization of the effect of each slice of pumpkin pie, each extra beer, each helping of mashed potatoes, each and every indulgence from the holidays. Because of the temperature of the water, you have to wear an enormously bulky dry suit, and even getting into it adds to the sense that you’re probably not quite ready for the experience. Then you clamber onto the board, sweating as you sit in what amounts to a portable sauna as you try to remember how to rig everything together, only to be then ridiculed by the wind for becoming soft and weak. At least for me, my forearms become sore instantly and my shoulders are soon to follow.

Still, it is all countered by the thrill of finally being back out on the lake. And while there is a sense of pushing (no, shoving) the season, it is the first step in helping coax summer to come and visit.

Unfortunately, when we returned from Florida, weather had settled back into the lungs of the Midwest, and we’ve seen two weeks of cold and at points, snow. Ugh. But the last several days have been getting warmer, and this weekend is supposed to be 70 again, so maybe we’ve pushed back winter once and for all.

I’m going to try some new things this year with windsurfing. This is now my fourth year, and while I’m much better than I was when I started out, I’m still learning some of the basic maneuvers. My two biggest gaps are the water start and the jibe. I’m going to try to focus on learning and improving skills instead of just going out there and blasting around.

I actually just got a new board as well. I started with a Starboard Go 180, which is a starter board. It is a big, wide, and floaty, and while that makes it plane quickly, it basically offers the sensation of sailing a door. Last year I got a new Kona Style, which is part of the new return to old-style longboards. At 220 liters, it has even more volume than the Go, but because it is much longer and skinnier, it actually is much faster. I got the Kona as a light-wind board to take advantage of the many days where we have less than 15 knots. I’ve been really pleased with it and found that I reach for it almost all the time.

But as I progress I wanted something to balance out the Kona for higher wind conditions, so after a lot of looking I settled on a RRD Z-Ride LTD 146. This is actually still considered a lighter-wind board, but because I’m not water starting yet I needed something with enough volume to uphaul. Plus, given my size (195 pounds) I am considered a “heavyweight” and so my volume requirements are higher than most folks. Basically though, compared to what I’ve been sailing on, the Z-Ride is a race car. I’m really excited to get out on the lake on it, because I’ve been told that I will really notice the difference, particularly as I progress.

It was delivered yesterday and I was struck by how beautiful and how light it is. It is about one-third the weight of my other boards — it is just amazing. I spent the evening after work gluing on a protective nose cone, which protects the tip of the board from mast damage. I’ll leave it on until I get comfortable and then I’ll pull it off.

I need two days for the silicon to dry and then it will be ready to use. Hopefully the weather will cooperate!