Messages

946

Random / Re: Rare snowfall

« on: February 28, 2018, 08:20:58 AM »

I like watching winter from Florida.... ha ha, I feel like a turncoat!

Instead of turncoat, I think the proper term, since I was born in the state of Virginia and now live in Texas is......................"carpetbagger". 

947

Gear Talk / Re: US Coast Guard Approved Type III PFD's

« on: February 28, 2018, 08:17:40 AM »

A little update.

Early this morning, I received an email from Leisure Pro with a UPS tracking number. I went to the UPS tracking site, put in the tracking number and my Mustang life jacket is "scheduled" to be delivered on Monday, March 5th.

948

Random / Pacific Weather Fronts In Texas

« on: February 28, 2018, 08:12:01 AM »

Where I live in southeast Texas, at this time of the year, we mostly get mild Pacific weather fronts. Many times, these weather fronts just don't have enough "oomph" to make it down to the upper Texas coast.

As an example, last week we had two Pacific weather fronts that stalled out over Houston, Tx. I live north/northwest of Houston. So our daily high temperatures were in the high 50's. But Galveston, Surfside (Freeport) were south of the stalled weather fronts by about 45-50 miles. So these places had high temperatures of 70 degrees F and above.

The most interesting thing about these stalled weather fronts is how they effect water temperatures. Right now, about 25 miles from me is Lake Conroe. The water temperature there is (as I type this post) 57 degrees F.

But down on the coast at Galveston, Surfside (Freeport), the beach water temperature is (as I type this post) a balmy 69 degrees F. So it looks like where I live we are going to have an early Spring.

There are other signs too. The wild cherry laurel trees on my property are starting to bud out. All of my loblolly pine trees are budding out as well as all of my live oak trees. And quite a few of my wife's azalea bushes are budding out too. The only thing I don't like to see, my brown San Augustine grass is starting to turn "green" in color. I don't like to mow grass.

For the next 10 days, my plate is full with lots of things to do so I can't take my new board down to Surfside since the water temperature down there right now is in my comfort zone of 66 degrees F and I'm itching to "take some nice long gliding rides" with my new toy.

I'm just hoping we don't get one last Arctic weather front which drops the water temperature down by 8 degrees and if there is no Arctic front, I plan on surfing my new sup during the second week of March.

As they say here in Texas, "what is it like in your neck of the woods" where you live?

949

Random / Re: Rare snowfall

« on: February 28, 2018, 07:36:42 AM »

That second photo looks like a winter wonderland.

I can relate to a rare snowfall. Twice; not once, but "twice" in December, we had snow where I live in southeast Texas. Looked like your second picture.

Thanks for sharing the pictures.

950

NorthEast / Re: Hah....just scored a pic on the Newport Surf Report

« on: February 26, 2018, 07:36:36 PM »

One thing about the Creek color scheme, it was easy to spot you amongst the other surfers. 

951

Downwind and Racing / Re: F7 on an F14 - Downwinding Vid

« on: February 26, 2018, 01:12:23 PM »

Looked like a fun ride.

952

Gear Talk / Re: US Coast Guard Approved Type III PFD's

« on: February 26, 2018, 01:04:15 PM »

@ 2Rivers

I had already looked at the Hyde "Wingman". I even found a YouTube video of it yesterday, Sunday. I thought the Mustang would be a little cooler to wear in our brutal "hot as hell" months of July and August.



Anyway, I've seen many good reviews for the Mustang DLX 38 Manual Inflatable PFD. About 45 minutes ago, as they say in Texas, "I pulled the trigger on it" and bought one from Leisure Pro. And I got the very last one in the Red/Black color. It should arrive early next week.

When it arrives at my home, I'll be all set to take my new 11'1" board out for it's first paddle.

https://www.leisurepro.com/p-mst2981/mustang-deluxe-38-manual-activation-inflatable-pfd

953

Gear Talk / Re: US Coast Guard Approved Type III PFD's

« on: February 26, 2018, 04:56:21 AM »

@ photofr

1) Right now, on my digital scale I weigh 147.2 lbs and I'm quite nimble at this weight.
2) With my 147 lbs, I have very little body fat.
3) Since I don't like cold water, I don't wear a wet/dry suit. All I wear is "usually" a hat, long sleeve shirt, long pants and tennis shoes.
4) Coming from the maritime industry, I'm comfortable in both calm and rough water. The key is not panicking when a situation arises.
5) I won't be in much trouble in wind and water conditions for flat water and/or coastal paddling since I do leisurely paddling.
6) As for water temperature, since I don't wear wet/dry suits, hypothermia shouldn't be a problem since my water temperature comfort zone, the minimum for me is 66 degrees F on my skin. Which harkens back to point #3.

How do I know what the water temperature is? I look it up "before" I head out to my paddling launch site.

http://www.sjra.net/lakeconroe/lake-levels/

https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/wgof.html

At 66 degrees F water temperature, I don't shiver if I get wet. At 65 degrees F water temperature, I start shivering. So I've got a built in thermosat for my body and my built in thermosat will tell me if I start to get into trouble hypothermia wise. I also understand if the wind is blowing, that 66 degrees will start to feel colder than 66 degrees. In that case, as long as the water is 66 degrees, I'll go back in the water while hanging on to my board. One just has to keep their wits about them to survive if things go south quickly.

Getting back on a long board should not be a problem for me. My method to re-mount my boards, either my 8'11' Hammer or my new (and so far untested since I just received it) 11'1" One World is to go around to the tail end of the board, push the tail end under the water which allows me to shimmy up to the middle of my boards where my sup handle is.

Of course, the above is predicated on the life jacket not being inflated. If it is inflated, I'll un-inflate it. This is why I want a manually operated life jacket and not an automatic or hydrostatic life jacket.

954

Gear Talk / Re: US Coast Guard Approved Type III PFD's

« on: February 26, 2018, 04:25:12 AM »

@ hbsteve

Texas law is the same as California. A Type III PFD can be carried or worn. Since I'm going to be doing flat water padding and coastal cruising on pubic waters with my new 11'1" board, I'll always be wearing a PFD. For the reason being, it is light in weight when worn and if something should accidentally happen, I don't have to worry about getting it from the board from where it is stowed, putting it on and then securing it properly on me if I'm just carrying the PFD on board.

As the old adage goes, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

BTW; for a sup in Texas, since a sup is classified as a vessel, one has to have a wearable type life jacket (Types I, II or III) for each person on board. Life jackets "must" be USCG approved.

www.tpwd.texas.gov/boatsafe

So a Type V only would be illegal in my state.

955

Sessions / Re: February LBI Fun

« on: February 26, 2018, 03:49:28 AM »

That was a nice video to watch. Nice waves to sup surf. And I especially liked hearing the sound of the surf.

Thanks for sharing your video.

956

Gear Talk / Re: US Coast Guard Approved Type III PFD's

« on: February 25, 2018, 04:34:37 PM »

Since I'm still doing some more PFD research today, I ran across another one. A USCG approved Type III  harness type PFD. It is the Hobie manual inflatable life jacket PFD. I found two, YouTube videos for it.

I have a feeling though, the Mustang will be more comfortable for my back if one looks at how the Hobie straps come together on the back. The Mustang looks better designed for the straps in conjunction where the straps come together on a person's back. But the Hobie looks like it has a bigger storage compartment than the Mustang. A trade off if back comfort is a concern and for me, it is.

Anyhow, here are the two Hobie PFD videos.

957

SUP General / Re: HOT Chicks on Stand Up Paddle Boards!

« on: February 25, 2018, 02:13:09 PM »

@ magentawave

A good looking wahine who can surf a prone longboard and also nose ride. Can't be that.

Thanks for sharing the video.

958

Gear Talk / Re: US Coast Guard Approved Type III PFD's

« on: February 25, 2018, 02:03:57 PM »

@ addapost

Your suggestion for a Type III USCG approved waist pack, the MTI Fluid 2, is also a good choice. However, the Mustang Belt Pack has 35 lbs of buoyancy whereas the MTI Fluid 2 has 29 lbs of buoyancy. Not that much of a big deal since I only weigh 147 lbs as of this post (I weighed myself this morning). Just a small detail I noticed.

As for why I am not looking at a waist pack, to be honest, I never thought of them as being a USCG approved Type III device. My mistake. Also, because of my lower cranky back, I'm more partial to a harness type of PFD since I'm not fond of anything hanging off of my waist or lower back.

959

Gear Talk / Re: US Coast Guard Approved Type III PFD's

« on: February 25, 2018, 01:52:09 PM »

@ rbgar

I see when you provided the link to the Mustang Inflatable Belt Pack PFD, you ran into the Zone site not re-directing you directly to the Landfall Navigation site. A little detour along the way via Wayfair. This is why you edited your post and typed the link a second time. I ran into the same problem with a Mustang DLX Inflatable PFD and Wayfair when the link I was originally going to put up to the Landfall Navigation site. 

I am going to include the Type III Mustang Inflatable Belt Pack for consideration since it gives 35 lbs of buoyancy. I will say I am more use to a "over the shoulder harness" type of PFD.With the harness type of PFD there is a small amount of storage space where I can put my keys and driver's license in a small waterproof pouch.

When out on the water in the state of Texas, if our state law hasn't changed for 2018, we are required to have some kind of personal identification on who we are on our person. If we don't and a TPWD game warden checks us, he'll look for the US Coast Guard approved Type III PFD and personal identification. If we're not in compliance, we'll either get a written ticket or a written warning depending on the mood of the game warden at that moment.

BTW since you mentioned Mustang, below is a video of the Type III Mustang DLX (manual) Inflatable PFD which I am also looking at.



And the above DLX is easy to maintain too which is in the link below.



As you can see, I've been "busy" info wise this Sunday afternoon. 

960

Gear Talk / US Coast Guard Approved Type III PFD's

« on: February 25, 2018, 09:41:27 AM »

Now that I have my 11'1" x 30" One World in my garage, I've turned my attention to getting a PFD so I can "comfortably" paddle my sup when flat water paddling on area lakes, rivers, salt marshes and coastal cruising. My old Type III I used for kayaking is just too bulky for sup paddling.

In the state of Texas, sups are considered a vessel by the US Coast Guard and they come under the jurisdiction of the state of Texas through the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD). Texas state water extends out to 9 miles offshore from the beach into the Gulf of Mexico. Which means I'm going to need a US Coast Guard approved Type III PFD.

I've come to two Type III choices (so far). One choice is similar to my old kayak PFD but isn't as bulky. The second choice is a manually inflatable PFD. I don't want  an automatic inflatable because when I fall off my board and get dunked in the water, it would inflate. Can't have that. BTW, I do know there are advantages and disadvantages to both kinds of PFD's.

The two US Coast Guard approved Type III PFD's are the Onyx MoveVent Dynamic Vest and the MTI Helios 2.0 (Manual) Inflatable PFD. You can see them at the links below.

https://www.onyxoutdoor.com/p/movevent-dynamic-vest?pp=24

https://www.mtiadventurewear.com/products/sup/web400200000-helios-20

Right now, I'm favoring the MTI Helios 2.0 (Manual) Inflatable Type III PFD because it won't get in the way of paddling, nothing to stick out and foul my paddle stroke and it will be relatively cool to wear in the extremely hot months of July and Ausgust when the heat index can reach 112-115 degrees F.

So if anyone has any comments on my present choices, please feel free to post your opinions.