Cape Cod Tues - Wed

[OliverTwist]

Looks like strong wind Tuesday and Wednesday, although bad weather. Anyone planning to sail?

Oliver

[ocorvez]

Hi there,
I read your post and you seem as hooked as I am about windsurfing. I will soon (and sadly) leave the SF Bay area for Boston... and wonder if you could recommend adapting my current gear for the Cape and vicinity? my most used sail is a 5.5 and 93 liter freestyle wave. Should i gear up for very light wind during the summer? I really don't know what to expect when there (early May) and wonder if I should toss my wave board for a +120L and an 8.0... Thanks, Olivier

[OliverTwist]

I'm not a wave sailor yet. Maybe scooper could advise you there. I was talking to another sailor in Boston yesterday and he said his 10.5 with a Formula board is what he sails most often. I 'm buying a Formula board next weekend.

Cape Cod does get lots of good wind, but odds are 5 to 2 it'll be during the week, so the closer you live to the Cape the better your chances. For me it's a 2 hr+ drive so I don't get there that much. There are plenty of days that will be good for your current kit, but there'll be days when you might want a 120 or a Formula. Anyway, you'll still have fun sailing in NE
We'll see you out there.

Oliver

[ocorvez]

Thanks Oliver. I'll be looking for a big slalom board once my wife and I settle down in Boston. In the meantime, getting blasted here in SF (nearly every day) with 5 or 5.5 days! and one great launch is a 10 minutes drive away from where we currently live... I guess it will be tough to beat that in NE.... sailing after work? O.

[rationalnational]

there is absolutely no wind on the cape year round

[scooper]

Welcome to New England! The sailing conditions are pretty varied. There is good sailing in Boston, (Pleasure bay, Boston Harbor), just north of the city, (Nahant), and Just south of the city, (Duxbury), just to name a few. But often times the best wind and waves are on the cape or the coast of R.I. In the Summer generaly the wind is on the Cape, where places like Kalmus can get a thermal wind that can be very solid. During the colder half of the year the winds are mostly frontal driven and can be good all over.

Check out this blog to get an idea of Cape Cod conditions-http://home.comcast.net/~gerjan/index.html

You might also want to check out the Cape Cod Windsurfing Guide-http://www.iwavesolutions.com/ccwa/ccwg/guide/

I mostly sail on weekends so I take what I can get. My most frequently used board is a 94 liter wave board. I also have a 123 for marginal winds/flat water and a 85 liter for bigger winds. A few times last year I could have used a smaller board. Sails go from 3.5 to 6.8.

Here are a few waves sites- Chapin Beach & area, Chatham and area, Chappy-West Falmouth, Duxbury on the ocean side in a NE, Nahant in a NE, also some good wave sites in R.I. These are all within a 2 hour drive. There are so many more good sites. IWindsurf has some site info and directions.

Heres a windsurfing club in Boston that sponsers some trips & clinics-http://www.amcboston.org/windsurf/index.html

It would be interesting to see how the 2 coasts compare. Hope to see you out there.

[Weedfin]

I would start off going to Kalmus Beach in Hyannis for Southerlies make some contacts who can fill you in on other spots.

[Weedfin]

Oh yeah, bring your weedfins with you.

[broadreach5]

Kalmus is the most popular and frequented beach. It has a good parking lot and reserved access for windsurfers as does West Dennis. A Barnstable beach parking sticker can be optained for vehicles registered outside of town for a reasonable price. However, you actually can sail all over Cape Cod. We have a doldrums period in the summer which can last for three weeks. Depending on your size and skill level, you will have to adjust accordingly. The previous messages should give you enough to go on. If you are going to be living in the city, you will find it rather restrictive depending on your income. Storage and parking do not come cheap in Boston. Although it is not like N.Y.C., it can be very difficult to get out of the city when everyone else is trying to do the same. Traffic down to the Cape on big weekends and in the summer can back up at the bridges and make for hours of delay. Weedfins are optional. As a wave sailor from cold waters you may want to check out the Maine and N.H. beaches which have become surf spots. Nevertheless, they don't see much wind at the height of the summer and still retain cold water. In addition the best wave sailing can be found on the Ocean side of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, but travel there can be expensive, the beach access difficult and lodging hard to find.