The season opener

The birds are back, the ice melted and my car smells funky again. We are up for another season, my sixth, and what a better opening than good ol' Wolf Lake on a chilly, 13-20 mph NNE day. I hope this year brings more toys (I could really use a new mast), more friends and more fun.

See you out there!

First ride

Remember the first time you rode a bicycle? How about the first time you got up on a windsurfing board? This weekend was packed with work for me so I had little hope of going out; but the wind picked up right during my tiny window of opportunity, unbelievable!
With 18 mph wind, I was going to take it easy, again, and work on flying my kite. But my buddy Jim had another agenda to get me out of the mental block. So he put a board on my feet, gave me a few invaluable pointers, and sent me riding on a broad reach like a madman. My first ride on real gear.
 For the rookie kite rider, every fall is a massive crash.This learning curve will be a steep and bumpy one...

Kiters heading to the playground

Maurice and his trusty Flysurfer

Base camp

Whare am I?

This is a picture of Lake Michigan taken from my window today . It reminds me that not so long ago (in geological terms, of course...) the lake was a giant glacier. No snowkiting this weelend, maybe next week.

Snowkiting in Grass Lake

We finally got some snow here in the Midwest, and on Friday night I heard from Maurice that he and his buddy Jim were going to hit Grass Lake for some snowkiting. We arrived to the lake at 10 AM, and stayed until 4 or so, and I must say that the place was incredible. There must have been eleven kiters out on the lake, all sharing the stoke. I spent most of the day flying Jim's 3m foil, and learning kite etiquette. Maurice was on a 8m Flysurfer foilkite, and Jim was on a 12m Cabrinha. The wind must have been 11-12 mph gusting to 16 or so, and there were around 4 inches of snow on top of black ice. By the end of the day I was feeling comfortable enough to put my Liquid Force up in the air, but the wind had died, so I flew it just for a few minutes. The thing flies beautifully, so next time it'is play time!
Some final comments: For those conditions, 12 meters was OK, but people were asking for a little more wind, or more kite, so maybe 15 would have been better for a 170-180 pound person.
Jim rigging his Cabrinha

Unknown kiter flying another Cabrinha

Maurice getting some...

Park City, UT

I am waiting for the shuttle to take me to Salt Lake City airport. The sky is clear, despite the fact that it snowed all night... The mountains must be full of fresh powder, but it's time for others to enjoy it. I had my share of beauty, Jessica did too (it's our honeymoon!!!). Someday we will be back, that I can say.

Power

This is the first log of 2011, and it is about kites. Today I put up the Liquid Force 12 m in 15 mph WSW, at Montrose. The safety features, the most important part of the kite (for me) work fine, but even at 15 mph it generates too much power for snowkiting, which is amazing because 15 mph is not a lot, but it means that most likely I will need another kite for this purpose. Let the gear accumulation begin!

Good bye to a rig

Yesterday I sold my light wind speed machine. Thinking about this rig brings memories of the places I visited, and the people I met through windsurfing. Fogland, RI; Cape Cod, MA; Cape Hatteras, NC; South Haven, MI just to mention a few. My brother Carly sailed this board on Lake Michigan, and I will never forget his face when he came back to shore, only to tell me that he was going out again "for a little more". I remember sunny and warm summer days in Fogland, sailing until late, and then coming back to shore to have some jalapeno burgers and enjoy the sunset.
My life is about people and places, and this rig has taken me to both.
Farewell my friend, it is time for you to make someone else as happy as you made me.

Afternoon in Fogland