water under the bridge

5k ebb & clean peaks stacking up nicely at the south tower...

I had just gotten off an 11 hour transatlantic flight.
The recycled stale air and 3" of coach class leg room clearance had just about broken me.
I needed a fix.
The jet lag could wait.
I rode down the presidio, across the gg golden gate bridge on my bike to pick up my car in Sausalito and then down to the beach where 15-22k and a big ebb tide swell were waiting for me in the middle of the Bay.  From the bridge you could see the brown water ebbing out the gate like a river.
The tide lines lines were fantastic with the ebb tide swell setting up perfectly in front of a flat water paradise in the middle of the Bay.
I immediately took the ebb ladder up to yellow bluff at the Marin headlands were the swell was already penetrating the gate with some nice sets barreling through the slot.
The wind was in the high teens with an abundance of late afternoon sunshine coming through the golden gate. The September twilight colors are so intense that it makes you want to be the last one off the water every time.

Experience had taught me not to ever get too greedy- especially as the season starts to rool down.
Nobody like a shlog home even after a stellar session1

The avanti 7.7 and mikes lab slalom board were the perfect set up.
2 of the lightest pieces of equipment I have in my quiver and have ever sailed.
They make windsurfing so much fun as it feels like you've got nothing in your hands or below your feet at all.The board just floats over the chop and through the gybes.

Even with a cut down 44cm carbon formula fin, the board turns so nicely in the 3-4' swell that was stacking up with the outgoing ebb tide and opposing seas breeze.
The advantage of a strung membrane vs a traditional sail is amazing.
The sail feels like a rigid wing but soft enough to feel the power.

A few missed gybes and a thorough salt water flushing of 50 degree water and it was all good! Like I never missed a day.