Day 51 of the 2016 sesson: Ludington road trip resulting in an rewarding downwinder

After much debate the 3 of us decided to head to Ludington from Empire, were the forecast looked so much better.
An 80 mile 1.5 hour trip from Empire but well worth it for Craig, Jerry and myself.
We rigged at the Ludington Beach and took a side trip to the harbor before beginning the downwinder. At the start the wind was very lite but we were committed and already to far downwind of our launch site. Still enough wind to drift the kite as I rode the inside waves but not much slashing or hard driving turning - love the drift on this kite. Finally about half way the wind kicked in and made the conditions better. Now able to slash on the wave faces and do some aggressive turns on the inside clean waves. In return I wore myself out enjoying it to much without pacing myself. So the last couple of miles I just cruised in enjoying a few inside trips.
Great Day with Craig and Jerry and then meeting up with Kim, Jerry, Chuckie and Michelle for beer and dinner at the James Brewery in town.

TOW:  1:45 - to 3:30
Gear:   11M Z1
Water Conditions:   SSW swell
Weather: Clear to cloudy, 80ish degrees
Wind: 10-30 SSW
Highlights: Nice spot to kite we played in the harbor before we did the downwinder.

Ludington Harbor and Downwinder tracks
MAX SPEED 22.38 mph
AVERAGE SPEED 13.44 mph
DISTANCE  23.31 miles

Ludington downwind to Big Sable Point
MAX SPEED  18.78 mph
AVERAGE SPEED  12.61 mph
DURATION          1:06 hour
DISTANCE 13.38 mile
crow flight 6.2 miles

Wind data from Big Sable

Storm approaching ended a second chance of a downwinder