Oh, come on...

Remember when you were a kid?  Yeah, me neither. ;-)  You'd get a cool toy for Christmas - like a bike!  And you'd be up to your butt in snow.  No way you could ride that bike; probably for months.  For full disclosure, I never got a bike for Christmas... but, I'm sure some of you can empathize with the situation.

Well, I would like to be playing with my cool new toy.  I've checked out some on-line videos about SUPs... and all the beginner videos say you should start with calm water.  Not easy to find around here these days, since the wind continues to blow like stink.

We did get the scoots out for a run to the store today... yep, the wind was strong and gusty.  That is about as far as I'd care to go.  I can say that it's a warm wind, out of the south.  Just for fun, Mother Nature is going to turn that around tomorrow, probably towards evening, and the wind will blow like stink out of the north (gusts above 30 mph).  Tuesday, the high for the day is predicted to be 60º... in mid-April.  Sheesh!

A rose amongst the thorns...

No, this post has nothing to do with roses.

I was getting a touch of cabin fever late this afternoon.  Joan was taking apart our Bose DVD player (yes, really), Izzy was taking a nap... I decided to take the scoot out for a short ride.  The wind was blustery, but I rode out of the resort; when I got to Highway 100 (the main road through town), a police car was pulling across the road, blocking traffic on the side street.

Oh, I forgot about the "bike parade" at 5:30 - motorcycles run from Port Isabel, across the causeway to South Padre Island.  Looking to the right, I saw 4 Harleys parked in a driveway... with a few people with chairs set up on the sidewalk.  Well, this looks like a good place to take in the parade.  I pulled my shiny red scooter in between the Harleys.  The guy on my right looked like he smelled something bad.  The one on my left was sitting on his Wide Glide, sporting a mohawk (him, not the bike) that led to a braid in the back.  His bike had a Minnesota license plate.

I asked him, "Are you from Minnesota?"

"Used to be.  I live in Harlingen now.  You?"

I said, "We used to live in the Black Hills..."

Of course, that led to the usual discussion of the Sturgis Rally (he told me about the DUI he got during the 2011 Rally)... cold winters... not missing cold winters.  My new buddy, Mario.

I told him that when I've seen this "parade" in the past, it was more like a race: several hundred motorcycles blasting through town (the local law enforcement blocks off the east-bound lanes) at somewhere beyond twice the 30 mph speed limit.

Before long, we heard sirens... then two squad cars, followed by two police motorcycles, all with sirens blaring.  Four pick-up trucks, sporting ads for different beer companies, then the bikes... all going the speed limit, since the vehicles ahead of them filled the lanes and set the pace.  Once they got to the causeway, the speed limit goes up to 55... so, the paced picked up... a bit.  It was pretty tame compared to the blur of bikes we've seen in the past.

In about 10 minutes, it was over.  Mario stuck out his hand to shake, fired up his Harley, and followed behind "the parade."

No, I didn't have a camera with me; not even my phone.  You'll have to paint the mental image of 3 black Harleys, one black with flames painted on the tank... and a shiny red Honda PCX.

Born to be wiiiiiiii-iiiii-illd!

Paddleboarding - what a workout!

Who knew?  I've seen all the images of people paddleboarding - they are all sleek looking and paddling with smiles on their faces.  If it is so easy to do that you can smile while you're exercising, I think I am in.

We discussed this, and decided to go for an inflatable stand-up paddleboard (known as: iSUP), so we could roll it up and take it with us.  The next decision was to buy a moderate priced board.  We looked at a lot of different brands; saw one at the Phoenix Sports Show that impressed me.  In the end, we decided to order one from Tower Paddleboards.  (As seen on Shark Tank!)

We read the reviews, pro and con.  No, it isn't a "high performance" board... this is not a high performance body.  If it floats when I'm on it, moves some when it is paddled, and I don't fall off repeatedly, just trying to get on the board (like with an inflatable kayak we bought years ago), we may consider something more "upscale."

Joan informed me that our package was "on the truck for delivery" today.  UPS.  That usually means we will see them some time after 5:00 pm.  Joan surmised that, "with so many people in the resort gone, they might get here earlier."

She should have bought a lottery ticket - the brown truck rolled up in front of our house before 1:30.  Joan had some errands to run, so that gave me time to unpack the board and set it up...

I carefully unpacked everything, checked to make sure it was all there and in good shape - yep.  Some of the on-line reviews mentioned that there was no manual or documentation with their board.  Not the case with this one...

I wouldn't call it a manual... unless you'd consider one page as a manual.  But, there is one image showing the board, and the writing is small... so you can get more words on the single page.  Fortunately, this isn't a lot different from an inflatable dinghy (same valve as our new dinghy).

The board as it came out of the box...

I can guarantee you it will never be that small ever again - well, that is the case with the dinghy.

I unrolled it, checked the valve to make sure it is in the "ready to inflate" position, put together the pump, and went to work...

 

The "manual" says you can expect to pump for a while before there is any sign the board is inflating.  Yep.  I saw on the on-line reviews that most people (in reasonable shape) will take 8 to 10 minutes getting it pumped to full inflation (it comes with a gauge).  One guy said he could do it in 3 minutes.  That guy is what I like to call: a liar.  I am proud to announce that I was able to get it to full inflation in only 9 minutes...

Not counting the time it took for me to try to catch my breath... then more pumping... then swiping the neighbor's oxygen bottle, before going back at it again.  I'm kidding... I didn't swipe the oxygen bottle - she saw me lying on my back, gasping for breath, and brought it over on her own.  I'm kidding again... we don't even have a neighbor who is on oxygen... well, not a close neighbor... and I was in no shape to go looking for an oxygen bottle, since my heart felt like it was going to explode!

It may look like I am testing the board for rigidity - I was just trying to get back on my feet.  ;-)

Kidding aside, I was impressed by the inflated board - it feels very solid.  No deflection in it when you stand on it.  I think that's good.

Fins are important to give the board steerage.  Some boards have one fin; some have two, seems that most have three.  On other boards we checked into, you have to attach the main fin before you inflate the board... I would think that might make it vulnerable when pumping the board up and you collapse on it from exhaustion and lack of oxygen, when the board is on a solid surface.  With this one, you can attach the fin after it is inflated (and you collapse on it).

We ordered "the kit" (pump, adjustable paddle, one page manual, and a backpack bag to tote it all) - the paddle seems decent...

Of course, I don't know a thing about stand-up paddleboard paddles.  But, it is, at least, as good as the paddles on the dinghy.

I read one review where the tester put an inflated paddleboard over two sawhorses, then stood on it, to check for rigidity.  I didn't have sawhorses handy, but...

Yeah, I didn't stand on it.  But, I did lean on it pretty good... didn't flex a bit.  Stiff as I will probably be tomorrow... just from getting it inflated.

"So, how is it on the water?" you ask.  Hey, the wind is blowing like stink again today... and the sun was in my eyes... there is that whole exploding heart thing... and, we will be heading to Herb and Wilma's soon to get together this evening.  I didn't want to go to their house all wet... from salt water... sweat... blood... and possibly urinating on myself.

The wind is supposed to stay up for the next several days - I'll let you know when there aren't whitecaps in the canal and the palm trees are back to just swaying, not bending over like a yoga instructor.

I swear, these palm trees are more flexible than I am.

Yeah, I got me a pretty good workout in today.

;-)

Look what the tide dragged in...

Well, wind and tide.

We have been busy around the house since getting back.  We planned to run around on the scooters yesterday, but the wind was gusting around 30 mph, and that just wouldn't be fun.  Today, we decided to get an earlier start on that - hopefully, before the wind builds up (as it is predicted to do again).

We drove around in the resort, with the wind building to about 20 mph.  Most of the winter crowd has gone north - the resort is more empty than full.  There are new places being built here, something we haven't seen much of since the economy tanked.  Good to see that people have confidence again.

The canals in the resort are not all like ours, running straight...

Some of them are L-shaped, and a couple U-shaped...

That's the resort on the lower right side of the photo.

We have pretty good circulation in our canal.  That's not the case in every canal here.  With the higher spring tides and the strong south wind the past few days, we saw this in one canal...

Seaweed... packed into the dead-end of this canal.  You can see the "clear water line"  down the canal a ways.  Here's a closer look...

I haven't seen it like this before, other than at our boat ramp when there is a west wind.  My best guess is: it moved into the opening of this U-shaped canal on the north wind we had a few days ago, high tide brought it around the corner, then the strong south winds kicked up and packed it in.

Workers are removing it by hand...

I spoke with one of them briefly - he said it would take them "probably 3 or 4 days to clean this out."  They can't let it sit in there - it will eventually start smelling and disintegrate, settling to the bottom.  That will add to any silting that happens naturally.

Up north, we had to rake the leaves in the fall.  Down here, they rake the water in the spring.

Before anyone things this is a Gulf Coast problem, we see seaweed this thick and more come in on the tide and pack into the marina at Friday Harbor.  A protected area is nice... until the wind and tide switch and conspire to bring crap in and pack it in.

Our maintenance fees are paying the workers to keep this place looking and running good.  The resort looks good, too.  Kinda quiet right now, before the summer folks come in.  While scooting around, I saw this sign on a porch railing...

:-)

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind...

That may be the answer, not sure I even understand the question.  Another blustery day in the Tropical Tip.  I was up for some scooter cruising, but the wind is currently 23, gusting to 30.  Sure, the scoots can handle that, but it isn't much fun... and the scoots are all about having fun.

The Blonde is cleaning the furniture and railings out on the deck, I am inside (out of the wind), waiting for an air conditioner guy... seems the new a/c we put in last year isn't putting out like it should.  Better to know this now than to find out when summer time rolls around.

From what the neighbors tell us (and what we saw on the weather app), wind has been piping up more than usual all winter and spring.  I thought maybe it had gotten this out of its system while we were gone... I thought wrong.

At least it's sunny and a pleasant temp (upper 70s).

Little Izzy stuck her head out the door to the deck and said, "Umm... no thanks; I'll stay in here."  I'm with her.

Dismasted!

No, not our boat.  It is safe in indoor, climate controlled comfort... 2,800 miles away.  Oh, and it doesn't have a mast.

Yesterday was a blustery day in the Tropical Tip.  Our neighbor across the street (Randy) was out sailing on his MacGregor 36 catamaran with his wife and another couple.  Just like they frequently do.  When in the Brownsville Ship Channel, they heard a loud "Crack!" - the forward bridle came apart and the mast busted in two... and came down!  Fortunately, it didn't hit anyone.

Unfortunately, it is a boat design that hasn't been in production for over 30 years, so finding a new mast for the boat is going to be a challenge.

Photos...

The boat looks small without that mast that stands higher than anything else on either side of that canal.

Where the mast broke - right where the lower stays connect.

What's left of the mast, on deck.

Randy is an excellent sailor (Joan and I have sailed with them on this boat), and handled the situation.  The boat is going to need some work; hopefully, he will be sailing again, soon.

GoPro revisited...

This afternoon, my name came up in a discussion of a potential GoPro camera purchase by a guy on one of the boating forums I frequent.  Here is my response...

Joan bought me the GoPro 3 Black for my birthday last summer. I was a professional photographer for 32 years, so I have a bit of experience in that field. (Master of Photography, Photographic Craftsman, Certified Professional Photographer, Internationally Affiliated Photographic Juror {for judging professional photography competitions})

The GoPro is a solid little unit, with good resolution. Good for use on a boat, with the waterproof housing. That said, I am not really into video (our studio offered video services back in the days of tape and lengthy editing). As a stills camera, the GoPro (to me) is pretty much a one-trick pony, due to the fact that it is extremely wide angle. Back in the film days, I shot with Hasselblads; once or twice a year, I would use the HWC Hasselblad SuperWide for a particular commercial shot. There are times when only extreme wide angle will do the job. Other times, it is nice to have normal and telephoto views.

Regarding the video, when the GoPro is in the waterproof housing, the audio is almost non-existent. Fine if you are going to drop music over the video. I did a few small test videos, but really don't care for the time it takes to edit. One of the last times I used the camera for video, I shot about 30 minutes of video on our motorscooters; edited that down to less than 2 minutes of video... and it was still something I only cared to watch once.

If you are doing "extreme" stuff (surfing, skiing, motorcycle off road, alligator wrestling), there is probably no better camera for POV video. This old body gave up "extreme" stuff a long time ago... it takes too long to heal these days.

Mounts I bought: rail mount, helmet mount, head mount, tripod mount (can use with a monopod), and a variety pack with some stick-on bases. What I use the most: the tripod mount and the rail mount.

One last gripe. I have reasonably normal size hands (men's size large gloves)... that isn't the gripe. The GoPro has essentially 3 buttons that are pushed in different sequences to scroll through the menus to get to the mode you want. Three relatively SMALL buttons. I get a lot of photos of views up my nose, while messing with those little buttons. That is the most frustrating thing about the camera. In case you think I am just a duffer with a camera, please re-read the first paragraph.

I don't take a lot of "selfies" with my phone, either. And that is something the extreme wide angle view of this camera is especially good for.

So, if you know what you intend to do with the camera... are willing to spend some time editing the video... have fingers the size of a #2 pencil... and good vision to see the menu screen that is about half the size of postage stamp... well, this may be exactly the camera for you.

I also bought an aux charger and a couple extra batteries... the batteries last about 20 minutes, on average. And, each time you replace the battery, you get to scroll through that damn menu maze again. Sorry, I got frustrated just writing that.

The first unit I brought home was DOA, right out of the box. GoPro Customer Service was good, but the first two people I spoke with seemed to think I just didn't know how to run the camera. (Please read the first paragraph again). It took a couple weeks to get the camera replaced under warranty (did I mention the camera was brand spanking new??).

I have to say, the videos I see on the internet look GREAT! People surfing monster waves. Guys doing flips with dirt bikes. Girls in bikinis running in slow motion. No, I just made that last one up, but I'm sure there are plenty of those if you search.

I get WAY more use out of my little pocket point & shoot that has a decent zoom lens. I am sure you will get other rave reviews from folks who are doing extreme stuff. I was excited to get in a little nap this afternoon, but I don't need video of it.

Hope that helps.

-------------------------

Yes, I still have the GoPro.  I just thought it would be helpful (at least for me) to have this user info somewhere that I can refer to it again, when the question comes up.

;-)