Thursday at 3rd and the Skunk Index

From: Chris Kogelnik (kogelnik@interval.com-DeleteThis)
Date: Fri Sep 11 1998 - 11:48:11 PDT

Next message: Jay Runge: "Found Sail and Mast"
Previous message: Dave Hoagland: "Limantour road closed M-F"
Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]
Mail actions: [ respond to this message ] [ mail a new topic ]

Message-Id: <2.2.32.19980911184811.011d227c@interval.com-DeleteThis>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1998 11:48:11 -0700
To: wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis
From: Chris Kogelnik <kogelnik@interval.com-DeleteThis>
Subject: Thursday at 3rd and the Skunk Index

Wow. Thursday at 3rd was about as good as it gets. Solidly powered to
over-powered on a 5.9, 8'11" (215#), from 5:00 to 7:30. Wind filled into the
beach when I launched, good swell and ramps on the ebb. One of my most
enjoyable days of the (limited) season. It was a reaffirmation of why
windsurfing is so great. Got to watch Harold throw some forwards. Planed back
in as just as the sun set. In the only benefit I've seen from the golf course,
their lights made it bright for derigging. Parking was also in plenty of
supply. Too think that I almost didn't go!

It totally made up for Wednesday's Force 5 Skunk at Berkeley. Pierre St.
Hillare told me of the Skunk Index (apologies to Jay Runge or the originator):

Force 1 Skunk:
   Drive there and there is no wind.
Force 2 Skunk:
   You called to find out if there is wind but when you get there it's dead,
   or the wind is up when you arrive, but dies as soon as you finished rigging.
Force 3 Skunk:
   Rig and suit up and the wind dies.
Force 4 Skunk:
   Rig, suit up and grab the gear and as the beads of sweat are forming on
   the inside of your suit you get to the ramp, about to hit the water, and
   the wind dies.
Force 5 Skunk:
   Drive for some period of time to get to the launch, watching the pager
   steadily increase from an already adrenaline-producing level, finally
   rigging and getting suited up, only to have the wind die just as you launch
   into the chop and current, turning into a slogfest/swim-back-to-the-launch
   bi-athalon or something worse, like getting sucked under the bridge.
Force 5+ Skunk:
   Anything else: Like driving to the Gorge, getting stuck in a heatwave and not
   getting any time on the water for 1 week, is way off the Skunk Index and is
   culled since it is too much of an outlier.

May the Force not be with you,
Chris

Next message: Jay Runge: "Found Sail and Mast"
Previous message: Dave Hoagland: "Limantour road closed M-F"
Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]
Mail actions: [ respond to this message ] [ mail a new topic ]

This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sat Jan 05 2013 - 02:02:35 PST