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

Montrose wave special

OK, maybe you live in Maui... I, on the other hand, live in Chicago, and I call a 3 feet roller a wave. Adapt or die said Darwin to the windsurfers, so we developed an incredible range of gear so we can have fun in the water no matter what...
The day started light, with non-planing runs on my super light wind gear. Then, it picked up to planing conditions and beyond. The wind kept getting stronger, and the rollers kept getting bigger, so I decided to give the 6.5 and the Goya 105 a try. Did it work? I must say it was fun to play around in the waves, but I think we were still a couple knots short from epic...

Montrose beach, you can spot the bigger sets in the distance (just kidding...)

Montrose session

Wow... It's been a long time since I last posted... Times have been a little crazy here so I've been slacking a little... But anyway, I just moved to a new apartment right in front of Montrose beach... I can see the beach from my window, so I guess I don't have any more excuses.
Today the forecast was 15 to 25 knots from the SW, bad for Montrose, great for places like St. Joe or Oval beach in Michigan... However, the morning was rainy and there were some thunderstorms in the forecast too, so I decided to go local...
Montrose notes: Nice launch, with buoys (for the jetskis mainly) and a rigging area close to the beach... The place may work on N, NE, even in SE, not so good on SW or anything from the west (there is a big city between you and the wind, hahaha)... Anyway, it was great to be back on the water. By the way, I'm going to reformulate my yearly windsurfing goals... 40 sessions stays the same, but a sesh will be any time on the water :) Even without planing...

See you out there...

63rd St short session

Last Sunday the forecast was 10-15 mph from the North, so I decided to go for a bike ride. As soon as I hit Lakeshore Drive I was hit by... wind? That was not supposed to happen!!! So I went back home and grabbed the gear. I went out at 63rd St and it felt good in the inside, but there was NO wind in the outside, something I've noticed on Lake Michigan quite often...
So I derigged, and went for a swim instead... Short session again, but I'm happy to be out again!

Gotta love this pond

I'm beginning to love these evening sessions! Today's conditions at Wolf were a little light for the 5.2, but the sail felt perfect in the gusts. There was little chop, enough for a few jumps...
Forward loop update: I'm getting used to jump and look back, but I still don't have the guts to hold on to the boom... anyway, I'll need some more courage, maybe next time...

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.