Evening session

The forecast for today was 17 mph or so gusting to 20s, coming from the ESE, great chance for a sunset session at 63rd beach. I got there by 5, and the wind was enough for a few runs. By the time i got out of the water the street lights were on, I derigged and went home.
It's almost midnight now, and as I write this I hear the wind whistling trough my windows; it must be cranking at the beach now, only 10 blocks from my house. I'm going to fall asleep to that sound, thinking about the epic evening session that I'm missing.

The boom killer

Some people break boards, some others do the same with sails. I, on the other hand, specialize in breaking booms. A ridiculous number of boom have perished in my hands in my short four years windsurfing. Every component gave up at some time, and some more than once: the head, the alloy "arms", the outhawl clip; and now, my new thing: braking harness lines. Booms famous for lasting "forever" last a season in my hands...
In other news, we had a good session at Wolf today (depending on who you ask...). The wind was WNW, which according to the locals sucks at Wolf... I kind of agree now: the east coast of Lake Michigan was the place to be, with a new boom of course.

Smoke...

35 mpg gusting up to 40? In Chicago? Impossible... Well, some people still say that there are no waves on Lake Michigan... I packed my stuff and was at Wolf by 5. I was not going to risk it on an off-shore day on Lake Michigan as much as I wanted... Wise decision, as the forecast turned out the be real, and we had one of the most brutal sessions since I moved to the Midwest. I was totally overpowered on a 5,2... of course I was overpowered! But that's my smallest stuff anyway... Do I need smaller gear? I hope so!

63rd St beach offered everything you will ever need

OK, maybe it didn't offer everything, especially if you live in Maui and your name is Francisco Goya. But I live in Hyde Park, Chicago, I work on Sundays until noon, and my name is not Francisco Goya, but I do own a Goya board, and that is a good thing...
Today it was cloudy, rainy, and warm, so there was a great chance that the forecast (18  gusting to 28) was going to hold. I got to the beach at 2, and it was already blowing (fully powered on the 6,5). The wind was on-shore, which created a stack of rollers as far as I could see. And where there are waves, there are wave riders. Four kayakers were hitting the shore break, which made me extremely happy... Territoriality is something strange to the Lake Michigan waterman, we're just happy to see another insane soul putting some rubber on and hitting the freezing water with ANY sort of craft.
And so we shared the break, and it was perfect. The on-shore wind was just great to practice some wave riding, and to get the occasional air time. A few hours later I said bye to the kayakers, who turned out to be a pretty cool crowd, and left the beach.
The perfect session? Of course! Perfection is just a point of view.
See you out there...

These guys knew how to deal with white water...

Most of the times...

The quest for 40

Now that spring is definitely here, it's time to define my windsurfing goals for this year... And since there is no harm in dreaming, I'll be extremely ambitious. Number one: to land a forward loop. I'll be happy if I land on my back once... Number two: to have 40 sessions. There are about 52 weekends in a year, so 40 sessions will take a lot of commitment, considering the lake freezes in the winter... I'll cut myself some slack here, and will consider a session anything with at least one planing run, and sailing on ice will count too...
Too much for a weekend warrior? Time will tell...
Chicago from 63rd St beach

St. Joe notes

Last night the forecast for Lake Michigan read: NNW in the high teens gusting to 20s (mph), so I thought about trying St Joseph, MI... This spot has a reputation of going off with anything from the north, with a little bit of west. I heard countless stories about epic swell hitting this place. The stories come from windsurfers, surfers, and kiters... I have my own scary story about this place. It doesn't involve big waves, or great wind; it involves a swell big enough to crash you against an ice covered break wall, during a November session that went wrong...
So I spent the rest of the night remembering how I climbed the frozen ladder out of the water, and how I almost lost all my gear. The mistake that day: I wasn't fully powered close to the beach, but I could see the windline so I went for it. Coming back I did not have enough juice to make it to the beach,  I fell, and got pushed by the current against the break wall...

Long story short, today I had the same feeling as I went out. I could see the whitecaps just a few yards from the shore, but near the beach the wind was not enough. I went out on a 5.2, came back rigged the 6.5, and had the same feeling. After I made it back, and as bad as I wanted to give it another try, I packed my stuff and called it a day. I'll go back though, I have yet to see the legendary St. Joe's wave...

63rd St. beach, and the Big Guy is ON!!!

So... This is 63rd St beach (the southern beach on the picture), on the south side of Chicago, literally 5 minutes from my house... and from this place I launched today, my first session on Lake Michigan. The breeze was 16 mph or so, coming from the NE. The rig call was my light wind speed machine (Starboard F type, 9.8 Sailworks sail)...
On the inside the rig felt fine, but on the outside the breeze was a little stronger, almost overpowering at times...
It was pretty cool to go back to the lake... I was getting a little concerned about my avoiding attitude towards the Big Guy, always finding an excuse for not going out...
Anyway, I'm just psyched that the season on Lake Michigan started!!!
See you out there...