October continues to deliver

The good days keep coming here in the Midwest. Last Tuesday we had a SSW breeze, and I ended up at Wolf for an after-work session. It was good to see all the familiar faces once again, ripping in anything from 6.5 to 5.2. It was as gusty as Wolf can get, but overall it was a good session. The days are getting colder and shorter, so it's time to bust out the dry suit and enjoy what's left of the season before Chicago goes into hibernation mode.

Chop hop at Wolf. Courtesy of  Brian Geen.

In the news!

Check out what Reid Fillman from www.windsurfillinois.com found about the insane session last Wednesday... I saw the photographer, but I didn't know that we were going to make the news! This gives you an idea of how inane the conditions can get in the Midwest in the Fall, and how respectful you have to be of Lake Michigan.
Fall is not over yet! I hope we get a few more good days... although we may need a smaller boat...

Check out the two links for more pictures!

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/86194,in-pictures,picoftheday,windsurfing-in-chicago-picture

http://www.newser.com/story/131480/25-foot-waves-pound-chicago.html

Another boom bites the dust

You gotta love the Fall, pumpkins, apple cider, colored leaves, and insane winds. Today, for the first time since I moved to Chicago, I had to leave the beach because I didn't have a small enough rig. The wind was in the 40s (mph) from the NNE, a perfect Montrose setup. I got there by 1 PM, and Steve and Andrew were on the water already. Steve said he was super overpowered with his 5.2; bad news, because I have almost the same rig (both of us have Ezzy Wave 5,2 and 105 boards, his is an RRD though). I pulled the crap out of my downhaul, and prayed my already banged mast held the tension. But still, the wind was too much. I could not get the board under control and every piece of chop was throwing me up in the air. After an hour of kamikaze runs, we decided to call it a day, the wind was gusting well into the 50s by then.

In one of the hundreds of wipeouts, I killed another boom, confirming that my thing is destroying booms. 

Tomorrow it looks insane too, should I say "Pray for less wind?" NEVER!
Here is a video of the session by Andrew. Let's hear what Bill Clinton had to say about the day...

Big Fall day at Michigan City

There were 30 knot winds and 10 foot swell this Friday in the Midwest. We headed to Michigan City where things looked pretty intense. The wind was side on, with enough grunt to push you through some chest high white water. Outside there was no place to rest, it was a jibe and head back business, as some pretty big swell was coming at you. I never felt at ease, although I was making it out and back, something was just too much. By one PM I decided to end my wave riding session and go to Wolf for some speed runs. I was in one piece, and so was my gear, which is more than I can say about my last session at Michigan City.
Fall is here!

Great fall session!

A big front passed through the Midwest for the past three days with winds up to 25-30 knots. On Friday, Matt, Andrew and I tried a new spot North to Chicago called Wilmette, in Evanston IL. The wind was side shore but not super strong. The waves were pretty big, with that relentless pounding typical of wind swell. We struggled for an hour, and then we decided to retreat to Montrose, where the wind was more on shore, but the waves were less intimidating. The story continues, but since I'm not that good of a writer, I put together this video, just to show some of the action. I hope you enjoy it!