The last drop of wind

Today we had another great day at Montrose. The wind shifted to NNW and there were pretty nice rollers to play with. I was on my 6.5, which was just enough to get me going. The guy in the picture was on a 7.2 and it looked like that was enough... It's been my fourth straight day on the water, Fall looks promising...

Two in a row

Fall is in full effect here in Chicago. Thursday I had an evening session at Montrose with strong SSW wind. The wind was dead offshore, perfect for speed runs in super flat water. After a couple reaches I realized I was getting far away from the beach, trying to catch more wind, so I decided to call it, it was a little past 7 when I left the water, but I saw another sail cruising around. Someone else sneaking a session before dinner...
Yesterday was just another epic day at Wolf Lake (sorry, no pics). SW, powered up on a 5.2 until 5 PM, then 6.5 for the last two hours. There must have been 20 windsurfers out there, all having a great time.
Today I woke up and there were white caps everywhere! I got to the beach, but it didn't feel enough. The rollers were leftovers from last night's wind. Did I still give it a try? What do you think?
Tomorrow the forecast is calling 15-20 mph NNE. Let's pray for wind...

Montrose beach from my window

Old school

So fall is upon us. And soon the wind will start cranking everywhere. In some places, it's already happening. Rocktober, the windsurfer's window of opportunity, when it's crazy windy but not crazy cold. In Chicago this window is even narrower for a simple fact: the lake freezes, so we have to make the most of these epic days. So I'll hopefully be posting a ton of notes about short sessions squeezed here and there: late afternoon, early evening, after work, etc.
Here is a picture of last weekend's sesh at Montrose (Brotherhood), iwindsurf has a forum with a thread called: oldest gear that you still use. This rig is pure beauty to me...

Brotherhood

Last week I got married in Portland, OR. It was a very exciting week, and most of my family came from Argentina for the wedding, my brother Carly among them. Carly is a windsurfer, and the reason I became one. So put yourself in the shoes of a dude who is sitting at a wedding ceremony, an hour from the Gorge, and it's blowing... I swear I could hear him whispering numbers of sails and boards "5.2, 4.5, 85 liters" during the ceremony... He did not sail the Gorge in his first visit to Oregon... Again, put yourself in his shoes. Anyway, we came to Chicago after the wedding, and Carly came along... So this Sunday we went for a light wind session at Montrose, and the wind was enough to plane for a few hours... enough for Carly, who live with a smile and a promise that next time, we will visit the Gorge.

Light wind speed machine in action

Carly on Lake Michigan