It was a fun day for all! On Sunday June 30th BABA teamed up with several other sponsors to hold the 7th annual Mayo Beach Fun Fest. We had a beautiful day with enough wind for zipping across the mouth of the South river on short boards and windfoils. The northerly wind direction made for pretty flat water (at least close to shore) and some great up and down-wind Stand-Up-Paddling. The bay water temp gave us a perfect break from the full-on summer sun.
Offering Taste of Windsurfing lessons is a big part of this annual event. It is always fun to share in the excitement of the 19 windsurfing recruits as they completed new skills – up-hauling, 180 turns, sailing position and sailing away. Their confidence in practicing these skills on land quickly transitioned into the big challenge – performing these skills while balancing on moving water and adjusting to the gusty and shifty wind conditions. Success yielded big smiles and cheers from on-lookers.
East of Maui (EOM) joined us again this year offering Standup Paddle (SUP) board quick lessons and free demonstrations and the chance to demo the new Windsurfer LT board and 5.7 sq. meter sail, which was surprisingly powered up in the northerly gusts. We ended the day with a two team, five sailors per team relay race on Windsurfer LT gear. Pictures of the winning and losing teams are below. Please ignore one of the sailors from team two who is still up-hauling for the last leg while team one is finishing.
BABA and Outdoor Architects provided food and drink for the event giving the 80-some Fun Fest participants a chance to cool down in the shaded picnic area of Mayo Beach 3 and to connect with long time BABA friends and to meet new people from all over the mid-Atlantic region.
Thanks to all of our co-sponsors who made this event possible:
- Outdoor Architects http://www.outdoorarchitects.com/landscape/default.aspx
- East of Maui http://www.eastofmauiboardshop.com/
- Baltimore Area Boardsailing Association http://www.windsurfbaba.org/
- In Partnership with – Anne Arundel County Recreation and Parks.
And thanks to all of the BABA members who volunteered to setup, handle registration, feed us, mix up lots of lemonade and ice tea, provide Taste of Windsurfing instruction and in-the-water mentoring … in short to make it all happen.
It is always fun to get together with BABA friends and to share our fun sport with new enthusiasts.
Mike McCormick
