where to sail in the great white north tomorrow?

[scooper]

IWindsurf is forecasting the best winds to be on the north shore/ Cape Ann tomorrow. Can anyone advise about sailing spots that work around there in S to SE winds and with summer crowds and restrictions?

I'm really only interested in ocean sites that have an open fetch in S/SE, not Joppa Flats etc. Further north would be fine too. Waves would be great. There is supposed to be some small SE swell.

I've sailed at Plum Island, on the ocean side, but I can't rememebr if it was in season for swimming or exactly where I parked. (If I had been keeping a blog back then I would have recorded all that stuff and I wouldn't have to ask.)

Thanks in advance for any info!

[USvoile]

That's going to be an adventure. Although I live on Cape Cod, I love Cape Ann. It's much more interesting and worth exploring. It's also loaded with history and sailing lore. Personally, I'ld go to Beverly Farms or Manchester and talk one of those rich landowners into letting me launch off their lawn. Believe me, you can do it!!!

[scooper]

Well, I've heard of people parking in the driveways of some of those $$ houses, off season, and taking a chance on not getting towed. I don't think I'll try that.

I ended up going farther north, to Long Sands Beach, York Maine. It was really nice! I got lucky with the conditions for once.

[speedysailor]

Read your blog entry for Long Sands. Good report. Too bad you couldn't find someone to take your picture windsurfing in front of the light house. August generally is the busiest month there. With such cold water, people like to wait until it's the warmest. That's gutsy: parking in someone else's driveway without their knowing about it. I used to park at the end of a short dirt road. When some New Yorker built a house there, I thought it best to ask the lady of the house if she minded my doing it. Of course she said No. Then a year or so later a guy told me that he parked there and ignored her. In fact they have to post a sign before the town will tow. I've often thought that if you approached the right people correctly, they would be happy to let you rig on their property. If they have kids, they might want you to teach them about the sport, though.