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Looking to sail around Boston

 
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duckwind



Joined: 10 Apr 2000
Posts: 24

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 3:10 pm    Post subject: Looking to sail around Boston Reply with quote

I'm from Oregon and sail all summer in the Columbia River Gorge, but I go to school in Boston for 9 months of the year. I went all last year without sailing but was hoping to maybe get some in this year. So I am wondering what the crash course guide to windsurfing near Boston is. I would be looking to buy some cheap stuff, or possibly shipping some of mine from home out here or just renting.

So I would just like to know where the best places are, how often and hard the blow, places to buy or rent, and things of that nature.
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npiankov



Joined: 14 Oct 2004
Posts: 82

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 4:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you have a car and able/willing to travel a fair amount, you can find decent winds on Cape Cod (2 hours each way). There is a reasonable number of days with winds over 20 or even 25mph there, where you'd find yourself using a 4.7. You should probably leave your 3.7 and 70L board in Oregon, though. Smile

Fall/spring is actually pretty good here, at least by local standards. We may get 2-4 days/week of 20mph+ right in Boston. It's often quite gusty, but not bad. I get a fair number of good days on 4.7-6.0 sails.

Around Boston, Pleasure Bay (close to downtown) is a popular spot. Josh Angulo now lives in Nahant (30 minutes from Boston) and that's become a somewhat popular destination, which may have decent waves from time to time.

As far as renting, your only real options are on the Cape (Sailworld or Inland Sea). Unfortunately, they are not on the beach and you still need a car to drive the gear to the beach. You could join Community Boating in downtown Boston and sail on the river, but you'll find our river very different from the one you sail on. Smile Expect to get a 180L board with centerboard and a corresponding sail. Of course, you can buy something local - search the usual places (ebay, iwindsurf, craigslist).

Hope to see you on the beach! Nikita.
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swmckay



Joined: 16 Jun 2008
Posts: 131

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:13 pm    Post subject: Re: Looking to sail around Boston Reply with quote

duckwind wrote:
So I am wondering what the crash course guide to windsurfing near Boston is. I would be looking to buy some cheap stuff, or possibly shipping some of mine from home out here or just renting.

Ha ha ha ha ha! If you find some wind here this year,
please let us know!

The autumn season should bring wind pretty soon, Sept
and Oct are often fantastic. Lotsa places on the Cape (Nikita
must drive slowly, it takes me 90 minutes). And Nahant and
Revere can be fun.

Oh, I have a 2009 (or is it 2010?) JP Freestyle Wave 85,
Pro Edition, that I'm looking to sell. It won't be cheap cheap,
but it'll be waaaaay under retail. PM me if interested.
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shreddbob



Joined: 31 Mar 1987
Posts: 361
Location: Hawaii

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 11:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's an old but detailed guide to the area. Most of the shops mentioned are sadly gone, and the "Type II" Bermuda High weather that Kalmus used to be famous for rarely amounts to much these days…but the sailing sites info is still pertinent.

http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/users/rweiss/MA_windsurfing_info.html

Also:
http://www.iwindsurf.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12456

Add Ned's Point (Mattapoisett) to the site list (look up "local info" on iWindsurf re Ned's). Ned's is an alternative if you don't want to make the drive all the way to Cape Cod for S or SW wind. It gets a nice thermal, sometimes when most other sites are too light, but never gets as strong on the big days…and there's a big slog out/in to the wind often times that gets worse in late afternoon. Swells are harder to come by there compared to other sites unless you dare to go far out (think Celilo like chop close in, if tide outgoing from high)…but on windy warm days there will be a nice group there.

Corporation can offer up some nice side-on wave sailing in a NW in spring/fall. West Dennis, Kalmus, Chappy do offer some swelly bump & jump conditions in the right winds and tides. And there can be some epic wave riding on the outer Cape (if you are not afraid of the sharks that are around there until the water cools), or at Horseneck beach, when storms grace us with ground swells.

I weigh 160 and do use my Open Ocean 8-0 a fair amount in the spring and fall with a 4.7. But until October the most used sails for me are in the 6.5 - 7.8 range.

You will have to learn/re-learn staying upwind around here. And you can't milk the wind with a tiny board and small saIl like in the Gorge, that's for sure!
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