Easy Hero Sailing

Sunday 5/27/2012, Lil Glen Lake

Storms in the morning brought gusty inland lake conditions, Lake Michigan wasn't quite enough with a solid marine layer of stable air holding the winds down.

Finally around 2:00 the sun came out and the warm front moved in creating strong gusty warm winds over  Glen Lake.

With SE winds from 10-30 MPH directly onshore or down the shoot, at Lil Glen it made it hard to get out and harder yet to get in. 

Rigged and got on the water by 2:30 with the 5.5 and 100 liter RRD.

Once I got out through the narrow channel and into the deeper water the conditions were a blast I could sail from the sandbar on the north side to sandbar on the south side which is a short distance maybe a quarter mile at the most so lots of jibing and hero jibing it was. Flat water on the shallow sandbars and nice chop in the deeper water between the sandbars.

A 4 hour non stop session in up and down conditions..

Sailed 4 hours from 2:00 - 6:00.
Gear: 5.5  Ezzy SE and 101 liter RRD FSW.

Conditions: On Shore SE winds, 5-30 mph, flat water at the sandbar jibing marks and chop hoping in the deeper middle section

Weather: Air mid-80s, sunny sky, water mid-60s.
Wind: SE all day.
Schooled:  Just plan old blasting along, chop hoping and hero jibes.
Video: Easy hero jibes from a boom end view.
Picture: Chop Hopping

3 in a row - Getting Greedy

 

Monday 5/21/2012, Blue Lagoon,

Got the call from Captain Bastard at 5:30, it looks like an after work, after dinner session is to be had.

Threw the minimum gear in the van 6.0, 5.5, 100 and 85 liter boards. Rigged and got on the water by 7:00 with the 5.5 and 100 liter RRD.

Three in a row and that's rarity for me in Michigan.

The cold front passed and brought cooler weather and an el norte wind to the Lagoon.

Conditions were on-shore winds to 25 mph with voodoo chop in and out. Eventually the wind clocked more east and the inside improved to the best almost down the line riding I've ever seen at this spot.

A 2 hour session, mostly perfectly powered with the intermittent lulls as expected from this spot.

Sailed through a bright red sunset seen below the clouds at the horizon.

About 6 kiters including Craig with Larry and Harry representing the day crew.

Sailed 2 hours from 7:00 - 9:00.
Gear: 5.5  Ezzy SE and 101 liter RRD FSW.

Conditions: Swapping N to NNW to NE onshore winds some voodoo chop at the beginning of the session. Then for some reason the confused chop got organized and the last 45 minutes were as close to down the line sailing as you can get.

Weather: Air mid-60s, cloudy sky, water mid-60s.
Wind: Mostly a few degrees either side of North, 5-25 mph estimated.
Schooled:  Just plan old blasting along and  down the line swell riding on the inside.
Images: Wind from Belle River

2 in a row

Sunday 5/20/2012, Empire Beach,

Ok that's two in a row of 80 plus degrees, bluebird day and my favorite spot on Lake Michigan.
Empire Beach, with 15-30 mph side on south winds with fairly flat water conditions on he inside.

A quick hour and a half session, overpowered in the gusts and perfect in the steady inside hot blasts coming down from the dune. Worked my way upwind about a mile to the Empire Bluff National Park sign on the beach. Wanting to do a down winder once I got there but was foiled when the wind slacked off and had to sail an on/off slog to get back.

Note: About 3:15 the wind really pickup to 5.0 conditions but I had to head back south and couldn't do anything about it.

Sailed 1.5 hours from 1:00 until 2:30.
Gear: 6.0  Ezzy Panther and 101 liter RRD FSW.

Conditions: Gusty south winds with flat water on the on inside and lighter marine layer winds about a mile outside .

Weather: Air mid-80s, bluebird sky, water mid-50s.
Wind: South  up to 30 mph estimated.
Schooled:  Just plan old blasting along with some jumping on the way out. Hero jibes on the flat inside.
Images: A mouth watering view of Empire Beach looking toward Empire Bluff on an classic southwester day.

Welcome back to Windsurfing

Saturday 5/19/2012, Little Glen Lake

It's been exactly a month since the last recordable windsurf session.

A surprise session Lake Michigan with 5-10 mph conditions but inland things were firing up.

Good conditions at Little Glen Lake got me on the water by 2:00. A bluebird day with 80 degrees plus and strong hot gusty winds from the south. Called the Bonaire of the north due to the sandy shallow bottom.

Sailed the 5.5 Ezzy SE with the101 liter RRD.

Sailed 2.5 hours from 2:00 until 5:00

Felt good to be back on the water especially in 80 plus degrees and 65 degree water very warm for this time of the year. Overdressed with the full summer wetsuit I easily could have been in a shorty.

 

Gear: 5.5 Ezzy SE and 101 liter RRD FSW.
Conditions: Gusty south winds with flat water.

Weather: Air 80s, bluebird sky, water 60s.
Wind: South  up to 30 mph estimated.
Schooled:  Hero jibes, fast tacks heli-tacks, downwind and upwind 360s and just plan old blasting along.
Images: Sandy, shallow, flat, clear, warm water.
Video: Rare footage of a down wind 360 followed by an upwind 360.