Kiting in May !!

The wind was a bit gusty and we had a few kitemares, but Saturday was a good day at the beach. The beach, Soggy Peso, and Bonifacio's were all packed, but only a few kiters showed up. Today should be even better for kiting.

Marcos, check out the difference between your form and that of Kyle in this photo. You are too square to your kite. Straighten your front leg, twist your hips upwind, and relax.

Nice!

Sunday was a nice day at the beach. The wind was a little light but it was still very good. With luck we'll have another stupendous day on Monday.

Possible

Wind is possible for today and Monday but I doubt that it is going to be much. The water temperature is perfect 26C, or 79F.

It Was Great!

I wasn't expecting much but it was an excellent 15 to 18 knot day. I didn't take any photos but I stole this one from Gustavo's Facebook. (By the way, did someone leave a wetsuit at the beach?)

Again.....No

Once again the forecast is failing us as the day approaches. I am still planning on going out to the beach but I'm not expecting much. It'll be a good day for beginners to practice their skills.

Again

Once again the forecast is promising wind. This time it is for Sunday and Monday and I think we have a better chance of it being true this time.

Wind?

Buoyweather is calling for 14 to 19 knots on Wednesday. Other forecasts aren't so generous, so we'll see.

Nice Wind - Lots of Kiters

Two good days of wind as we near the end of the season. I didn't make it yesterday as I was at CIMA Hospital, but I made it to the beach today as did a great many of kiters. I won't be kiting for two months as the study they did yesterday showed that I am still at risk for more strokes. Hopefully it will be resolved within a couple of months.

A Couple of Beach Days!

Thursday and Friday are looking good for wind. I'm hoping to make it out there, although I won't be kiting. I need to go for more tests before I get the doctors OK to pick up where I left off. If the next test shows no more threats of a repeat, I'll be as good as new and you won't be able to tell that I lost a few brain cells. Until then, they warn me that another incident would be catastrophic. I might not recover from the next one.

STROKE

Friday night I had a massive stroke.


I had gone to Guaymas Friday to spend the evening with Manuela and decided to return early, about 12:30, since we had plans to spend Saturday night dining and dancing.

I was sitting at my computer for a bit before going to bed and suddenly I felt very tired. I passed out and fell right over on the couch. Around 2:00 I woke up and couldn’t sit up. My left arm could move and I grabbed the back of the couch and straightened myself up. As soon as I let go I fell right back down. I tried again, with the same results. I then managed to force myself to sit up and move my hand to the armrest and pull myself to lean to the left and I was sitting up. Yeah!

I looked down at my legs and I found that I could move my left leg but the right one was crooked and wouldn’t straighten out. I tried to get up but I got nowhere. I managed to kick my right foot over to straighten it somewhat and tried to stand. Success! For a moment, and then I fell to the right and tried to put my arm out to catch myself but the right arm was useless as well. I fell like a tree and ended up flat on my back. Couldn’t sit up. Weird feeling lying on the floor not able to move.

I struggled and managed to roll over and pushed up to my hand and knee. Eventually I was able to stand on one leg. My mind couldn’t comprehend what was going on, but I decided that I had to get to bed. Whoops, back on the floor again. Try it again. Once up, I braced my leg against the coffee table to allow me to reach the pull cord on the ceiling light but my right hand still wouldn’t work. Managed to get it with my left hand. Started to shuffle over to the stairs to the bedroom but the first step tripped me up again and I was on the floor. I couldn’t even crawl up the stairs without falling over on my side and fell back down the stairs a couple of times. There were only four stairs and I finally managed it. I grabbed a wall post to reach up to turn off another light and went back to all fours to reach the bedroom. One more light and I was ready for bed. Crawled into bed but it felt strange. I laid on my side and could feel that my right arm and leg was under me but there was no feeling to them. I couldn’t straighten them out or put them where they would be comfortable. I laid awake for a couple of hours and finally fell asleep.

Next morning I woke up at 8 and I had an appointment at 9 for a job. My leg had movement now and I managed to get dressed. Went to the bathroom to brush my teeth but my right hand still wouldn’t cooperate. I then looked at my tongue in the mirror as I knew that a sign of a stroke was a crooked tongue. Sure enough, it was off to the side. I was moving around in a daze, but I was coping. For some reason I thought that I could conquer it. My brain was mush. The phone rang and I picked it up. It was Phyllis about the job. It was then that I realized that I couldn’t talk, just some gibberish. I was still determined to continue on. I got in the car to go to the job. I couldn’t put the key in the ignition with my right hand so I did it with my left hand, and off I went. I was aware that I was diving well but wasn’t controlling my speed very well. Mostly I was driving too slow. I managed to reach my destination and there was Phyllis. She was showing me the job and I was answering her with monosyllables. She understood that something was wrong and had me sit down and try to talk to me. I couldn’t do it. She handed me a pad of paper and a pen and I couldn’t write any better than I could talk. She asked me if I had a stroke and I nodded yes. She immediately searched for a doctor and off we went. Now my leg was dragging again so she had to drive.



The Doctors Office

They got me hooked up to a heart monitor and then tried to get a needle in a vein for an IV drip. Several attempts in several locations before they had success. My veins tend to roll away when you push on them as there is no fat tissue to hold them in place. They gave me blood thinners and who knows what else and attached me to an EKG. I finally was able to talk some, but for some reason only in Spanish. Dr. Canale wanted me to speak only English in order to not lose my ability to speak my native language. I tried and tried but it was very frustrating. I was only able to think in Spanish for a few hours but eventually I got better.

They got enough medicine in me to do some good and sent me home. Phyllis drove me home and arraigned for someone, Roberto, to come babysit me. Phyllis was incredible the way she catered to me. She checked in on me constantly, drove my car home for me, bought me food and drink, even checked in on me as her last stop before going home, and she is coming here first thing in the morning. It is a good thing that I had an appointment with her, who knows how long I would have waited to seek help, if ever.



Recovery

It has only been a little more than 24 hours since this happened and my recovery is amazing. I still have some weakness and speech fails me a little but I am confident that I will get completely better. I’ll know more when they do a brain scan of some sort to see what damage was left, if any.

Light Wind

Friday was a little bit of wind. Later in the week we may have a little more. Nothing much. It isn't looking good.

Strong Wind

We've had some good days. Today it was blowing hard as you can see in this photo:

Monday should be just as good, and Tuesday we'll hope. After that who knows? Nothing in the forecast. Good days may be few and far between. The end is near.

Sweet

The wind has been blowing strong the last couple of days. Early afternoon saw the sand blowing waist high but by 3:00pm it had mellowed out and was sweet. It looked like everyone was having a good day. Water is still chilly but the air temperature is nice.

George is nearing the end of his stay in San Carlos and has been putting in some long sessions and his progress shows it.

Easter

I think that this photo says it all. Lots of people and not much wind. Buoyweather is calling for some wind today (9 to 13 knots) but I won't be going out there. Traffic yesterday afternoon was standstill coming back into town. This year they severely limited the number of permits for stands selling food and other stuff and very little live music and almost no parking in town. I returned home early, about 5pm but the party in town sucked. Very few people walking, everybody driving. Nothing going on.

Getting Busy

The beach is getting busy and today was only Monday. The rest of the week will be even more crowded. Forecast shows wind, then it changes to no wind. Right now it is showing good wind tomorrow and then later in the week. We'll see.

People kept getting in the way of my photos, damn.

Warm Weather and Strong Wind

The weather has been warm and although the wind hasn't been blowing as consistently as we would like, there has been wind. Sunday was strong all day and today should be the same. A bit choppy and gusty for the beginners. Tuesday should be a mellower day. The beach has been getting a little crowded so we need to think safety out there. Launch away from the crowd, and don't be shy about asking for help.

De Vez en Cuando

Once in a while we get a few days of wind but they are separated by too many days of relative calm. The forecast is calling for light northwest wind all next week, and there is a good chance that it will blow good enough every day. Last year the last part of our season was very good and I'm hoping that this will be the case again this year.

I was in Tucson most of last week but I don't think I missed much wind. We were expecting nice wind yesterday but it was almost dead calm. And cold. The cold air is going to last another day and then warm back up on Wednesday. Forecast calls for good wind the next two days and then nothing again for awhile.

Saturday Report

There was no sign of wind up until after 2:00pm Saturday afternoon. It looked like the wind wasn't going to show up, contrary to the forecast. Then the wind started. Nothing real strong but gusting close to 20 knots. There were lots of kites on the beach waiting. And waiting. The wait was worth it - the wind was wonderful. 12 kites on the water, all in the "sweet spot," made things a bit crowded and crazy but it all worked out okay. The forecast doesn't look so good for this week.

Strong Wind

The wind blew hard all day yesterday and looks like it will do the same today. Saturday looks a lot more mellow. Once the wind came around from the northwest yesterday it was nuking and stayed that way all day. By 3:00pm no one was on the water. It was too much work to be on the water with my 10M kite and I was all alone, so I went home early. Today I'm working, so I'll see you all Saturday.

Nasty but Fun

We've had wind. Sometimes very strong, sometimes gusty, and sometimes changing directions; but always fun. Looking for another good day today, Sunday. Then the forecast is for it to back off for a couple of days and start up again on Wednesday.

Not for the Faint of Heart

It is going to nuke today and Saturday according to Buoy Weather. It has been blowing every day since Tuesday, and looks like it may continue to blow for a while with only a minor interruption early next week.

The Wind is Coming

It looks like we are finally getting a good stretch of wind this week. The prediction is for it to start to blow tomorrow and continue for 6 days. Let's hope that the prediction is correct and that we have more weeks like this one. Yesterday was my birthday and there was no wind so instead of celebrating on the beach, I went for a hike.

Perfect Conditions

Saturday's forecast was for only 10 to 13 knots but it blew close to 20 knots all afternoon. Weather was warm, wind was steady and it never got too crowded on the water - all in all a great day. This coming week is looking awesome. According to WindGuru it is going to start blowing on Tuesday and never stop.

Not Much Wind but Lots of Fun

Febrero Loco?

Usually February is our windiest month but weather patterns are changing and the wind hasn't been consistent at all. Although it has been possible to get out on the water a few days a week, the wind has been spotty and with shifts in direction. Here is a photo from yesterday:

Cheap Kite

I was browsing eBay and saw this new 2011 9M Cabrinha for sale, $800, complete.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2011-Cabrinha-Convert-SE-9m-Kite-Kitesurfing-/290670537871?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item43ad506c8f

Nice Days

Weather has been really nice and warm with wind. Not every day has good wind but we are probably averaging around four days a week, more if you count the days when it only blows for a couple of hours. Not a lot kiters, even on many of the good days. Yesterday Glenn and Sue were out at the beach along with myself and that was it until late in the day when Scott and Jose Luis showed up. Today should nice conditions but then WindGURU shows 5 days of no wind.

Good Weekend

There has been some good wind all week but I've been too busy to get out there. Thankfully the wind stayed for the weekend and I had two great days on the water and I'm hoping for enough wind on Monday. Sunday a bunch of kiters went up the coast by boat and did a long downwinder back to Algodones. I haven't heard how it went but they had good weather.

Congratulations to the newlyweds!

Nice Wind Coming

The weekend was pretty good. Light wind on Saturday with a lot of kiters, then better wind and almost no one on Sunday. Monday and Tuesday will not see any wind but then it looks like we'll start a good several day blow lasting through next weekend. Sue sent me some photos.