Newbie Day!

Well I'd say the First Annual Team Indy Windsurfing Newbie Day on Saturday was a great success! The wind was perfect for beginners (NNW 5-10), and with the toasty temps, falling in was more of a reward than a punishment.

The old-timers that were present were Techno Matt, Chef Scott, Cowboy Bob and Captain Gail, Indy Car Mike, and World Wide Wayne and his son Trevor (although they were sailing a Sunfish instead of sailboard...hmmmm.... not sure if I approve of that or not!). The
newbies present were Agatha (who showed up with her brand new JP 180 liter New School board), and John and Rima, who drove up from Bloomington to join in the fun.

Techno Matt served as the head coach, since he had brought along all the appropriate newbie gear, including a printed page of newbie instructions that he got off the internet. So, as Indy Car Mike drifted across the water in the light wind, Bob and Gail rigged up, Agatha rigged her brand new gear, Wayne stood and looked at the water, Coach Matt and Assistant Coach Scott rigged the newbie loaner-gear, and gave John and Rima some beginning on-land instruction, and I lazily sat in the shade and had a sandwich and a coke.

Soon everyone was on the water. Agatha was loving her new board, and the center fin that makes it easy to stay upwind. John and Rima were taking turns on the loaner board while Coach Matt gave them some pointers. You could tell by the look in John's eyes that he was instantly getting hooked on this! Rima did great too, and I just noticed from Scott's pictures that the boom was set a rather high for
her. Rima, you'll definitely back and try it with the boom a little lower... I think it will make it easier for ya!

I eventually rigged my 7.5 and went out and cruised around for a bit. It was a nice day to be on the water, even with light winds.
After we were done sailing, we all headed to Rick's for some cold beers out on the deck. All in all, a great day! Agatha, John, and Rima, it was great meeting you all.

Lookin' forward to seeing you on the water again soon!

- Jibe Marker Jill

Jibe Marker Jill's Indian Lake report

oug and I got some planing action on our big rigs up on Indian Lake over the weekend. We sailed for a few hours on Saturday afternoon (8.0 & Go board for Doug, 7.5 and Carve 121 for me). It was a sloggy/planey kind of day, but it was warm and sunny and just nice to be on the water without any neoprene. And the wind picked up late in the day and we had a half hour or so of way overpowered action. We got out again yesterday, but rigged during the best wind (7.5 for Doug, 6.5 for me), and only got a few good runs before the wind shut down and the rain moved in.

But I'm pretty happy with my new Retro 7.5 and the Carve 121. The board is perfect for a busy lake like Indian Lake, with lots of annoying boat chop that's normally a pain on a smaller board in light winds. It's almost impossible for me to fall off the giant Carve board! (Although I have proven that it can be done).

- Jill

Columbus Jeff's Kite Land Boarding report

I didn't make it to any water yesterday, but I took advantage of the nice weather try some KGB (kite ground boarding). I was on the local high schools practice fields which were a bit rough so the mountain board took quite a bit of pull to get rolling and was prone to sudden stopping. I never actually fell down, but I did get separated from the board several times. The biggest challenge was getting balanced on the board with the kite figure 8ing overhead then anticipating just when to lean back as the kite dove into the power zone. Provided I was still on the board at that
point, and it was pointed down wind far enough, it would start to roll and the rest was relatively easy. Compared to that terrain, kiteboarding on water was actually easier. I can see where this will really hone those kite skills, but a smoother/harder surface would make board handling a whole lot easier.

Jeff

Columbus Jeff's Hatteras Report

As Jill said in her short note, a few more TeamIndy folks are getting hooked on kites. What she didn't say was how much Mike's kiting has improved. He was ripping it up with Zacher on their new kites while the rest of us were straining to hold down our 5.5 to 6.2 sails.

Thanks to Zacher, Mike, and Big Ken's patient help, both Wayne and myself were able to get up on the kite boards for the first time. The Matt's also spent an afternoon flying and body dragging on trainers. They aren't hooked yet, but give them time. I also learned to respect the awesome power that can be generated by a full size kite when an intended body drag turned into a crowd pleasing tea bag that took me over Ken's head. Steve say's those are normal and I'll get used to it. Maybe...

On Friday, Steve hiked nearly a mile down wind coaching me through my first board ride and Mike did the same with Wayne. After that, they had Wayne and I split a down winder with one of us hiking and providing moral support while the other rode. Ken and I stayed to get in one last session Saturday morning. It was my first "solo" session. Ken helped me launch first and I managed to ride for an hour while only losing a mile down wind (hey, that's a vast improvement compared to Friday when I made a single out and back and lost a half mile). Mean while Ken tried to launch with Kevin's help, but the wind had shifted and/or faded too much near shore and he couldn't get the kite started.

I haven't had wind fever so bad since my first year of wind surfing. So, all you wind snobs who not getting the water time that you used to, give kiting a try and you'll discover that addiction all over again.

LL "projectile" CJ

Jibe Marker Jill's rather brief Hatteras report

I've posted some of my Hatteras photos on line at:
http://community.webshots.com/album/549798400KbNypP

For those of you who couldn't join us on the trip, we had a really nice week. Plenty of wind the first 4 days (although sometimes ya had to get up early to get it), with Monday being a nuker with 30-35 mph winds. Then it was light winds and warm sunny weather on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. The light winds were still enough to get the kiters out on the water (and a few more Team Indy riders hooked on kitesurfing). All in all a very nice trip!

- Jill

Duckburn's Mississinewa Report

I called all of the rest of the Kokomo gang and let them know they
needed to be windsurfing yesterday. I was the only person at the
reservoir at 12:00 noon. I rigged a 5.0 and hit the water. The wind
direction was perfect for the Missy. Sailing over powered on the
5.0 really helps on the jumping. This was probably the best bump and
jump secession I have had on the Missy. I was consistently finding 3
to 4 nice ramp with each ½ mile reach. By 2:00 pm the wind had
really picked up and I was reading a wind speed average of 32 mph on
the water. Not wanting to de-rig, I decided it was a good time for a
brake. I went ahead and sailed the 5.0 for the rest of the day not
because it was comfortable but because of the jumping. I worked nose
first down wind landing. Joe finally arrived by 4:00 pm and got a
solid hour of sailing in before the wind starting to get a little
fluckie. By 5:30 or so the shut down had began and I called it a
day. Joe made a few more runs before being stuck down wind and
facing exiting the water though the tree line.

Except for the dead scrub tree surrounding Mississenewa's shore line,
it is nice having access to water within 20 minutes of home.

Overall a great day,

If you were not at the Missy you missed out!!

Duckburn

[Fwd: [Team Indy] Eagle Ocean report]

Jibe Marker Jill's Eagle Ocean Report

Well, Doug and I had Eagle Ocean all to ourselves this afternoon. When we got there around 2 p.m., the wind was blowing S 12-22 or so. I rigged for the gusts, my 5.5, and Doug went for power with his 8.0. At first it was a bit sketchy, with blasts of wind here and there, and a fairly consistent but narrow band of wind down the middle of the lake. But still, there were some good rides to be had. By 3:30 or so, it filled in much better, and it was pretty decent for Eagle Ocean, mostly planing for the next hour or so. Then the clouds moved in, the wind quickly got very flukey and went into system shutdown, so we called it a day. We both had a good time, and Doug was managing waterstarts with the 8.0. Woo hoo! The water is still toasty warm (okay, maybe not toasty, but very comfortable with a steamer).

I was on my new Carve 121 all afternoon. It's a fun little big board! Plenty of float, but feels pretty much like a small board. Planes up fast, but is still easy to control in the chop. (Well, in the 6" Eagle Ocean chop, that is). And, it's nearly impossible to fall off of it, although I did manage a few times. I think it will be a fine Eagle Ocean shredding machine, especially when the water's cold or the wind is light.

Looks like we'll have more wind tomorrow. Probably a better direction in the morning (WSW), with it veering more towards the west in the afternoon.

And for the truly brave Team Indy warriors, check out the Lake Michigan forecasts. Waves over 3 Jils high tomorrow! That's oh so out of my league!

Looking forward to hearing the reports on today's sailing at Clinton Lake and Lake Michigan (did anyone go there?).

- Jill

Jibe Marker Jill's Eagle Ocean report

It sounds like there was some good sailing on Clinton yesterday.

I opted for a half-day at Eagle Ocean. Also sailing were Chef, Dr. Jack and Lita from Lafayette, Indy Car Mike, and Techno Matt. It appears that the Toyota Higlander is now the Team Indy Boardmobile of choice, as 3 out of 5 vehicles at our launch yesterday were Higlanders.

Now on to the wind.

It was gusty.

When I first hit the water with my 5.5 and Fanatic Cross, I got about 3 or 4 perfect fully planing runs, with dry jibes between each one. The wind was steady, I was perfectly powered, the sun was warm... it was the makings of a perfect afternoon of sailing.

Then more sailors got on the water, and the wind went all freaky. 10 minutes of 5-10 mph, followed by 15-30 seconds of 25 mph from a slightly different direction. Repeat for the entire afternoon. I stayed on the 5.5 all day, and I think the rest of the gang was sailing 7.0.
When the gusts backed off later in the afternoon, I took my new Carve 121 out for a spin. It planes up nicely, but I hardly had enough time to into the straps before I would hit a 3 mph lull. Such is Eagle Ocean.

It was still nice to get out on the water, since I hadn't planed in months. Those who had just been to Hatteras were considerably less enthusiatic about the gusty wind and chilly water. Water temp is probably upper 50s to around 60 or so. Cool, but not jarringly cold. Very comfortable in a steamer.

Post-sailing festivities included beer and pizza at Union Jacks.

Looks like there's a a possibility for more wind on Sunday, so keep your eye on the forecast!

Columbus Jeff's Clinton Lake Report:

Yesterday almost made up for the windless fall. SSW23-25 all day, with gusts to 34 (although there was a 1/2 hr that felt a lot bigger than that), sunny and mid 70's. I got to the marina early and had time for a quick nap and a drive over to the West side boat launch. Frank and Glen showed up next. Glen went with his virgin 6.2 so he could test the range, Frank rigged a 5.0 and something smaller so he'd be ready when it picked up. I opted for a 5.5 and a my big board (106L). Then everybody started showing up, someone counted 13 sailors.

The wind line was just outside the cove, only a short schlogg out and it filled in nicely. Most folks sailed right in front of the marina, some because there didn't seem to be any reason to head up to the big pond, some (me) because it was supposed to pick up big time and they wanted to stay close to their higher wind gear. The wind finally tempted us up to the narrows with Hugh and Ken going deep into the big pond and making a run all the way to the dam. As expected, that's when the wind kicked in and I made a white knuckled downwinder to find something smaller. Most folks rigged down to 4.8-5.2, but I crossed my fingers and went with a smaller board and a very flat 5.5.

We hung on till around 4:00 when it seemed to shut down. Everyone except Glen and Chris headed in. It didn't look windy, but they seemed powered on 5.0-5.2's. Ken and I just couldn't let Glen be first on the water AND last off so Ken grabbed his 7.0 and I grabbed the big board and we joined them for a nice close out session. I think it was the first time I sailed all day on a single sail.

Not bad for November. But wait, Sunday is forecasting low 20's (wind) and high 50's (air) so maybe it may not be over.

Techno Matt's Eagle Ocean Report

Several folks were sailing at EO Sunday. I finally got free and
arrived at ca. 2:30 pm ... Bob and Gail, Bob and Sandy and a newbie were
there. Several were packing up and indicating they'd had a good time.
Over the next several hours three more came and went.

WWW was on the water when I arrived. I rigged 7.0 and launched. Wayne
relaunched. Occasional gust was it for 30 min. or so ... then it picked
up and we had a good time ... undoubtedly not as good as Clinton, but 10
min. from home! Planed most of the time ... occasionally underpowered
... occasionally overpowered ... out of the south, maybe a little east
so good except near shore launch where the shadow appears. All good,
then the west got very dark ... I headed back underpowered ... Wayne
headed back on plane and seemed to have caught the final gust. We were
on shore derigging when Toni showed up to warn us of the coming storm
and lightning ... both got out without drinking, drowning or sparks from
fingers (I might volunteer if the Rev was there with his prodigal camera
... what a way to go!!). I believe Toni was happy we were on shore.
The wind was picking up so Wayne couldn't resist suggesting we go back
out :) We didn't. The storm followed .. but not too closely.

Not Clinton or Maui, but better than sitting at home!

TMatt

Columbus Jeff's Clinton Lake report

We had a good turn out at Clinton yesterday, probably 8 sailors in all.
Glen and I gave a new kid some tips on how to rig and water start his first
short board. He'd sailed 4 summers in Greece on what sounded like ancient
long boards. He had a Mistral Explosion 273, 105 liters of skinny,
nervousness. He mentioned that he'd have to learn beach starts in a hurry
because his boom couldn't handle an uphaul. Whoa. We talked him into
staying in the cove where he could more or less touch bottom and fixed him
up with a mast protector (that fixed the boom) and a psuedo uphaul. He was
anxious to see if the prototype 2000 Neil Pryde Jet 6.7 would work on the
board so Glen took it out for a run or two. When it picked up to 6.2 wind,
we left him in the cove to fend for himself.

We sailed 6.2-6.3 for a bit. I had the sail very full with a very long fin
suited for marginal planing. When gusts started to hit, the fin lifted the
board about a foot out of the water and I began that slow spin that gives
you plenty of warning that a catupult is immenent, but there is nothing you
can do about it. After clearing the water out of my sinuses, I went in to
flatten the sail and get a smaller fin. That worked for about an hour
until the wind built to solid 5.2 conditions with gusts to 4.2. We sailed
till around 6 pm then called it a day. Reed managed to get in a string of
bottom turns on the bow wave of a big boat - he said it was like being in
Maui.

LLCJ

ps No storms, just lots of sun and wind.

Scary Larry's Morse Lake report

Doug Tackitt, Steve Reyburn, and myself went to Morse lake for a half day on Friday the 13th. Windsurfing was Indiana style - 125 and 135 liter boards uphauling 7.0 and 8.0 sails. Launch site was nice - used the East public beach site. By 3:45 PM, we were forced to leave from a thunderstorm. Doug was in the center of the lake at the time. Lightning was banging every second and wind was gusting radically in all different directions. Just when we thought Doug was getting his religion he popped right up, getting his first water start of the day, and planned full speed right into our launch site. Lucky, Doug was not caught downwind, like Larry was earlier in the day.

Scary Larry

Scary Larry's Morse Lake report

Saturday, April 30th, Whiz Kid and I had a learned day - on a lake that not every Windsurfer is familiar with: Morse Lake in Noblesville, IN. We started at 2:00 PM, rigged my new 7.0 (Areo-tech with scrim) and 135 liter F2 board I bought from Mike Alward. Winds were nothing like Sunday - guessing gusts were up to 12 mph. Over about 4 hours we shared the rig for about six runs each, until our arms got tired from holding up the sail. It was a no plane day. Doug got in the straps once. Sinking while schlogging was no problem with a 135 liter. But for us beginners . . . it was a good time.

Also, this was the first time I attempted to sail on this lake (which is very very close to my home). The best attribute about this lake is access. So far, there are two places worth noting. We went to the South Harbor clubhouse beach (on the South side of the lake). There, we parked 30 ft from the water, rigged in mowed grass, had trees to block the wind while rigging, and a sand beach. During the summer, there is a bathroom and snackstand nearby. The other access is the Morse Lake public beach on the East side of the lake.

Scarry Larry

Columbus Jeff's Clinton Lake report

Despite the heavy frost, I had the car and trailer rolling by 6 am. The
area temperature reports from the weather radio were all in the low 30's,
so I had my fingers crossed that it would be in the 50's by 10 am, as
forecasted. When I got to the lake, it was already starting to white cap
and I could have been powered on the 6.2. Instead, I opted to cruise
around and 1) find where everyone else was launching, 2) let the wind build
a bit, and 3) let it WARM UP.

Around 10:30 it had filled in at the marina and it looked like a straight
shot to the main pool which was fully capped over at that point. I rigged
5.5, crossed my fingers and launched. I made it to the main pool in 2
mostly planing reaches and had it all to myself. I eventually had to find
a landing to flatten the sail and opted for the far shore. The wind seemed
to be filled in all the way to shore and I found a nice little sunny beach
out of the wind to warm up and tune the sail. When I came back out, the
wind was well off shore and I had to swim the rig out. That's when I
discovered it had pretty much shut down completely. I worked on no-wind
water starts and schlogging a sinker and eventually made it to the correct
shore and prepared for my walk of shame.

Of course, that's when the wind started to come back. I spotted Glen,
Reid, Chris, and James (a UI who started sailing/kiting Clinton this
spring) launching and waited for them. They had a much tougher time making
it to the main pool than I did, but it was worth it. We spent the rest of
the afternoon well powered on 5.0's to 5.5's. Chop was nicely formed with
decent ramps in both directions. I noticed James getting some impressive
jump starts - that's when you get good air but miss the landing. The wind
was pretty cold and there were times that I could not feel the foot straps
and had to get into the water occasionally to warm up the fingers and toes.
To an untrained observer these warm up stops may have looked like falls,
but we know better ;o)

Mid afternoon, I was starting to get maxed out in the gusts and headed in
to Farmer's Beach to see if I could flatten the 5.5 just a bit more when
Ken showed up. On a 7.0 and barefoot. He had rigged a 5.0, but then
decided he'd never make it up to the main pool. He managed to hold on to
it and we stayed out till 4:00-4:30 and called it a day.

Jeff

Jibe Marker Jill's Hatteras Trip report

As Jeff mentioned, it was a great week at Hatteras, and extra nice to see some folks I hadn't seen in a long time (namely Ian and Fay, Steve Zacher, and surprise guest OJ, who flew all the way from Hawaii hoping to teach us how to wave sail!)

When Doug and I arrived mid-afternoon on Saturday, it was overcast, cold (upper 40's) and very windy (gusting to 45+). After consulting with our fellow Team Indy Riders, we opted for a walk on the beach instead of sailing. It turned out to be enough of a challenge to just walk in the wind, let alone try to hang onto a 3.0 sail. The ocean looked like this:



It was breaking waves as far as the eyes could see!

Sunday was sailable early in the day with some leftover NE wind, and I was out on my 6.5, and Doug on his 8.0. 7.0 to 8.0 was the call for most of the rest of the gang. It was the first time I'd sailed since last fall, and it took a while to shake the rust off, but it was great to be back on the water!.

Monday was a light wind day, good for newbies who were out on the water perfecting their skills. Doug and I set out for a kayak tour. I only went a couple miles up to the point north of our house, but Doug went all the way to Gull Island, a 17 mile round trip. Meanwhile, Chef Scott spent the entire day fixing a truly fabulous dinner for the whole gang, which we had at the ocean house. His tofu curry was the best I've ever had, and it was nice to have an evening where we had everybody together, since we were split among four houses all week. The ocean house that Bryan got was a really nice one, The Lydia, and we ought to keep it in mind for future trips!

Tuesday the SW wind picked up mid to late afternoon, and I was way powered up on my 6.5 (too lazy to rig down), and made Doug hang onto the 8.0. We sailed until right before sunset.

Wednesday was even better when the afternoon thermals kicked in, and 4.5 was the call for me, 5.5ish for the rest of the group. I got out on my little board (Naish 8'4"), which I hadn't sailed since last spring. I think this was the day that Doug made his first official full-fledged waterstart, thanks to a few pointers from Steve. Yippee!

Thursday gave us a little wind in the morning, gradually dropping off. I got a few runs on my 6.5, but that was about it. Doug set off to visit the reef in his kayak, where he was greeting by a pod of dolphins that swam near him for an hour or so. That night we had a birthday dinner for Jetro Matt, who turned 39 that day (and was in far better shape than a year ago when he spent his birthday lying on the floor after his back went out on him).

Friday was good for shopping in the morning, as Jeff mentioned, and it picked up nicely shortly after lunchtime. I was perfectly powered on my 5.5 most of the afternoon. Doug was happy on the 6.5, and the rest of the gang was on 5.5 to 7.0. I spent an hour or so out at the jibe-a-torium, trying over and over to make one of those elusive planing jibes. Techo Matt came out for some jibe practice, too. I think if I could just spend a few more months there, I might finally get it! The wind shut down just as I headed back in, and I slogged all the way back to the house and decided to rig a beer. Shortly after 6 p.m., though, the wind came back and Doug convinced me to head back out. Jetro Matt offered Doug his Xantos, and Doug set out for his first ever ride on something much smaller than his 180 liter GO board. He did great on the way out, and got out about 3/4 mile from the shore, then the guy running the wind machine turned it down a several notches, and Doug didn't have enought wind to get going on the smaller board. So I sailed the GO board out for him, and we both cruised back in just after that sun had gone down, and the moon was lighting up the sky.

As with all Team Indy trips, there was a bit of carnage, including Roule's impressive nose smasheroo on the Mistral Explosion that Sara ended up buying, Jethro Matt put a hole in the bottom panel of his 7.0, Rev did some damage to his kite (not sure of the details), and Dave McC had his knee go out on him which put him out of commision for much of the week. (bummer!)

Some of the more positive highlights of the week were:
- Seeing old friends who came such a long way to join us
- Seeing the Rev up and flying along in total control on his kiteboard. We even have it on video! Woo hoo!
- Watching the newer sailors make progress with beachstarts, waterstarts, and sailing in the straps
- Having an Apple Ugly delivered to me on the deck of the house. Yeah!
- Watching Mike Alward torture T.J. with rigorous training activities every day. Running 12 miles, biking 70 miles, kayaking 10 miles, more running, biking, etc. etc. etc. I don't know how they did it after all the sailing!

Also, Doug and I took a slightly alternate route to and from Hatteras, which ends up being one mile shorter, takes about the same amount of time (depending on traffic), and avoids going through both Norfolk and Richmond. Take the 288 bypass around Richmond (newly completed, so it may not be on your map), and go south on 95 to Petersburg, then hop on 460 to the south side of Norfolk. 460 has a few towns you have to slow down for, but they're worth is. One had lots of shops selling fresh Virginia peanuts, and another has a nudist resort!

- Jill

Columbus Jeff's Hatteras Trip report

It was the biggest Team Indy reunion I recall. OJ surprised us by flying
in from Maui and Zacher flew in from Da Gorge. There were 24 people in 4
houses, which made for a lot of room, but with everyone so spread out it
didn't quite feel the same. Below is a rough summary of the week. Some of
the days are probably mixed up, but in general it started out windy and
cold then gradually warmed up.

Saturday. Cold and windy. Gusty, cold, and overpowered on a 3.5 till
early evening when it backed down to a nicely powered 3.5. Water and air
were both in the middle 40's. I generally knew it was time to come in for
a break when I couldn't feel the footstraps. Most of us called it a day by
late afternoon in anticipation of another high wind forecasted for Sunday.
Bryan and OJ spent most of the day searching for a sailable ocean launch.
The shore break was just too extreme. Bryan finally launched on the sound
in late afternoon and got the best of the wind. Zacher and Lou headed to
Wilmington also in search of ocean sailing, but were unable to launch and
had a long drive back when the fairy to the main land was stopped due to
the high waves.

Sunday. The forecast lied and we had 8.0 winds, but still cold. Sara
showed up with full fuzzies, a convertible suit, a farmer john and neoprene
jacket. That earned her a nick name - Sumo Sara. She was warm, but
frustrated when she discovered couldn't lift her legs high enough to beach
start. I think all 4 kite sailors all got out (Ken, Lou, Mike, and Steve).

Monday. No wind in the am, but building enough for schlogging and kiting
in the pm. Sara ditched the farmer johns and gained enough flexibility to
beach start - but I think she's still stuck with the Sumo moniker. I used
the kayak to follow Sara around so she could practice beach starts, sailing
down wind, and she even got in a couple of shakey schlogg jibes. The kayak
worked out very well and I highly recommend it to those of you who are
planning to help out beginners.

Tuesday. I think folks started on 8ish gear then dropped down into the
6's by late afternoon. And it was continuing to warm up.

Wednesday. It started lightish and built to 5.0-5.5 in the afternoon.
Several folks made a run out to the reef, but it was pretty small and
disappointing.

Thursday. Dawn patrol on a 6.2, dropping to schlogging winds by late
morning. I again chased Sara in the kayak while she practiced deep water
beach starts.

Friday. Warm with no wind in the am, John took several of us for a drive
on the beach out to the Buxton point. On the way back we stopped at
Windsurfing Hatteras and I ended up buying a 2004 Mistral Explosion 150 as
was (i.e., with a nasty nose split from Rue, a Team Indy visitor). John
slapped some 4 minute epoxy on it as a temporary fix and we had it ready
for Sara by lunch. By that time, wind was 8.0 and building. On her first
reach she beared off and popped onto a full plane, got into the foot straps
and held on. Two big firsts. The only problem was that she didn't want to
upset anything by turning so she ended up about a half mile downwind. The
rest of the afternoon she spent planing downwind on the outbound reach and
schlogging up wind on the inbound. I later explained that she could have
planed both ways if she had just lined up with the direction everyone else
was sailing. She even managed two full water starts. The wind eventually
built to 5.3-6.2 for a few hours then died mid afternoon. It was glassing
off and most folks derigged and started packing. A few (Ken, Lou, and
myself) procrastinated and stayed rigged and in our wet suits while we
packed what we could. The wind came back for a couple hour 5.3-6.2 session
until dark. Lou, Ken, and I pretty much had the Sound to ourselves for a
great session. Jill and Doug watched for a while then came out to join us
till dark. It was a great way to end the week.

All in all, 6 out of 7 days sailing for me. One 3.5, one 5.5, three 6.2's,
an 8.0, and one kayak chase day.

LLCJ

Duckburn's Mississinewa report

Lightning Joe and I got in some early March madness at the Missi. We both got on the water at about 2p.m. We had pretty good 5.7 conditions until 5 p.m. Joe nailed his first couple of jibes and was pretty stoked about the beginning of the season. I hope that this season will bring many more days of planing and hopefully soon a new windsurfing board. Here is a cold water sailing tip that Joe and I being Northern sailors have picked up on. If you make your jibes you won't fall into the water!!

Duckburn

Duckburn's Maxinkuckee report

Lighning Joe and the Duck traveled North to Maxinkuckee Saturday. We
both arrived at the south end of the lake to find a thick blanket of
white caps. Joe rigged up a 5.0 and headed out and I sat in my truck
trying to get over the stomach flue. After watching Joe for a while, I
decided to try eating my lunch and if I was going to puke I might as
well do it on the water! I rigged my 5.0 and joined Joe. It was
amazing after my first reach across the lake I was feeling great. Now,
not only does this place rock, it heals. When you guys are tired of
that cold crappie EO, travel north to the hottest sailing lake in
Indiana. Joe was having a little difficulty with his jibes due to the
water conditions. Both Joe and I sailed until 4:30 when we called it a
day. This place is great on a good north blow. Joe went down in the
center of the lake and said that he could touch bottom. This sound bar
really stacks of the swell that has about 2 miles of fetch to build.
Little to no gust and great water conditions and the temperature HOT!!!

Duckburn

Columbus Jeff's Eagle Ocean report

The Eagle Creek AWOS reported 21G27NNW and 10C. Let's see..., that's 50F and clearing. Darn, no more excuses, it's time to sail. At EO the lake was covered in white caps and the place was deserted. I was debating whether to launch solo or not when folks started showing up. There was Brian, who is still mastering waterstarts, Eric the kite boarder who was desperate to find a launch/landing clear of trees, and Brymart. WWW also showed up, but declared he was just out for a run as it was too cold to sail.

Brian measured 6G30+ and we rigged 5.2-5.5's on semi-floater boards. As Bryan said, anything you rig will be wrong 50% of the time so you may as well rig something that will plane more than schlog and float you through the lulls. Brian made a single reach out, fell in, and called it a day when he finally struggled back to shore down by Rick's. It just wasn't a day for practicing waterstarts. No one measured the water temp, but it was tolerable in a drysuit, dryboots, hood, and mittens.

Bryan and I got in maybe 3 sessions, coming in to warm the hands and toes. It was a very good wind for EO, puffy, but not psycho, and eventually filled in nicely. I had the 5.5 as flat as it would go and should have rigged down, but I was too stubborn (lazy?). It only took three or four tail walks to remembered how to sheet out without removing mast foot pressure.

After working out the cobwebs I got semi comfortable in the conditions and started to work on sailing as opposed to surviving. Outbound reaches were with the chop making it smooth and fast. Inbound was pretty rough with some impressive ramps for EO. I managed a few hops and saw Bryan attempt what looked like a forward loop. As for jibing, well let's just say that the 5.5 was just too overpowered for jibing. That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.

We ended the day while it was still early and blowing strong. A nice start to the season.

LLCJ

ps Where was everyone else? I remember when a day like this would have filled the launch area until either the wind died or it got dark.

Jibe Marker Jill's Eagle Ocean report

Well, it wasn't quite as windy as "Epic Sunday" on Eagle Ocean
yesterday, but it was pretty darn close!   The Indy airport yesterday
reported peak winds at 45 mph, and a peak gust of 51 mph.

I showed up at EO around 11 a.m.   Indy Car Mike had already been out on
his 5.5, getting hammered in the gusts.   Chef rigged his 5.8, and Rev
rigged his 5.5, and suggested I go 4.5.   At this point, the Airpark was
reporting winds 22-33, so I opted for my 4.0.  By the time I got out,
everyone was coming in to rig down.   It went out on the 4.0, got out
about 100 yds from shore, and couldn't even begin to hang on in the
gusts.  So, I immediately came back to rig my 3.0.  Lots of others
started showing up, including Dr. Evil, Techno Matt, Jethro Matt,
Martin, Mike Award, Red Truck man, a few sailors I didn't know, and
probably some others I'm forgetting.   3.8 to 4.5 was the call for most
sailors (basically everybody rigged the smalled thing they had).  It was
rough going for everyone, as it was insanely gusty.   The wind was from
the southwest and gradually got a little more westerly as the day went
on.   There weren't the nasty directional shifts of a true westerly, but
the wind speed constantly varied from 20-40 mph in a matter of microseconds.

I was slow in getting my 3.0 tuned, but finally got back out the
water.   When I did, most had come in for a break, or to flatten their
sails more.   At first the 3.0 was perfect in the gusts, a little light
in the lulls, and I had a couple of reasonably fun, but gusty, runs. 
Then, somebody really turned on the wind machine.   EO was whipped into
a total frenzy, tons of spray coming off the water, and if I raised my
sail 1 inch above the water to get ready to waterstart, it would get
ripped out of my hand.   Mega mega windy!!!   I managed to get back to
shore, sailing in the lulls, and crashing in the gusts.   I ended up a
bit downwind and waded back to the launch in conditions that I choose to
describe as "shorebreak".   Little shorebreak, but I'm calling
shorebreak nonetheless!!   Chef was on the shore with his windmeter, and
measured 40 mph sustained winds.

The wind cranked hard like this for quite a while, and we mostly just
sat on the beach and watched.  Every now and then someone would head out
on the water, providing entertainment for the audience on the beach, and
return and pronounce it unsailable.  A few who had just returned from
the steady winds of Hatteras made disparaging comments about Eagle Ocean
winds, and decided to head home.

After a while, the wind finally backed off chunk, and most of the gang
headed back out to enjoy the somewhat sailable but still very gusty
conditions.   By 3 p.m. or so, it had backed off enough to move up one
sail size, and became a bit more sailable.  I went back out on my 4.0
and had what I thought was the best sailing of the day.

A new-to-Indy sailor named Eric showed up.   He just moved here from
Oregon, where he sailed the Gorge.   Ouch!  Eagle Ocean is undoubtedly
going to be a letdown for him.   But he seemed happy to be sailing
nonetheless.   He and Martin sailed until the wind had backed off more,
and they were the last ones off the water.

Post sailing festivies were sushi and beer and Ginza Steakhouse.

All it all, it was a fun but crazy day on the water.   The warm temps
and sunshine sure helped make the psycho conditions more enjoyable!

- Jill

Columbus Jeff's Clinton Lake report

Unlike the Max crew, the Clinton crew was able to sail yesterday - sort of. Sara and I got to the lake a bit after 9:00. Chris had just got blown off the water on his 5.0 and Reed was measuring gusts at 39. He and Chris were rigging 4.0's. I put Sara on a 3.5 and instructed her to say inside the cove until she felt confident she could handle the wind and chop. I didn't want her ending up at the swim beach while the rest of us were sailing the marina.

The wind backed down a tad and Chris couldn't make it up to the main pool on the 4.0 with a 72L and so came back for his 5.0. Ken, Glen, and I rigged 5.2, 4.5, and 4.2. Getting up to the main pool went something like this - schlog, hulu a sinker in the lulls and then catapult in the gust - schlog, this time survive the gust and plane like hell to the next hulu and catapult. After reaching open water the wind was steadier, but still up and down with voodoo chop. I hung on a while then went in to flatten out the 4.2. That made the gusts more manageable, but wasn't enough in the lulls. I could jump - conditions were perfect for big (to me anyway) air - but jibing was something else entirely. By the time I started getting my confidence back and was beginning to make a few jibes, the wind backed off forcing Ken and I to sink/schlogg back to the launch. We should have paid more attention to Glen and Reed who seem to have a sixth sense and made it in while they could still plane.

Nanos arrived about then, sans booms and wet suit. Glen was able to scrape together a suit and boom for him so he could get out, but he just couldn't make the main pool on 4.8 & 72L and gave it up. After a leisurely lunch the wind came back and we made it up to the pool again for a better session.

Sara never did make it out of the cove, but she made 100% of her beach starts - which is quite an accomplishment for a beginner in the swirly 0-40 gusty cove. When Ken asked, she said it was fun for about 3 seconds and then she'd hit the far shore. She wisely elected not to attempt leaving the cove and is now determined to focus on waterstarts so she'll be able to venture into deeper water. I think she's been hanging around wind snobs too much and doesn't realize it's possible to uphaul in lower wind conditions.

Some other locals made it out too. I met Tony from Decature, but he felt his board gear was too big and didn't go out. Hugh was also there and consuled Sara that she should go to U of I in Champain for grad school - it has a good Microbiology dept and is close to good sailing. She's considering, but feels it's too far from skiing. Hmm, sounds a bit like her dad.

Wayne's Lake Maxinkuckee report

Friday - I did go to EO about 1PM. There was not much wind. The water level was way down, so I spent some time picking up large rocks and trash in the exposed beach area. Then I rigged my 7.0. I waited, but there was not enough wind to entice me to suit-up. I gave up and went home at 2:30.

Today - I met Duckburn and Joe at the east Max launch site at 10:45. They were standing in Joe's trailer, just looking at the water. It was nukin'. There were long, continuous breaking waves, with water spraying off the tops. There were limbs breaking. One limb landed in the middle of the access road, just in front of us. We moved the vehicles farther back, away from the water, for fear of getting hit by a falling limb.

We all rigged our smallest stuff. Joe 3.8 (which he bought from me last week), me 4.2, Duckburn 4.5. Around noon, Duck volunteered to be a wind dummy. He made a couple of struggling runs and came in, proclaiming it "unsailable", despite the fact that he had just proved otherwise. That was enough to keep me and Joe off the water for a while. Around 2PM the wind finally showed signs of lessening. We all went out. Duck was making a lot of long runs, although he was also falling in a lot. He launched a backward loop, and landed on his back. Joe and I were still strugging just to make short runs. The shore break was significant, and the waves were very close together. In the time it took to get reasonable wind, the temperature dropped a lot, and I got chilled in my 3/2 convertible. Joe was in a drysuit, and Duck in a 5/3 steamer. I didn't feel like changing into my drysuit, so I quit early. As the wind started to taper down, Joe took out Duck's 4.5, and was marginally powered. As we headed out, they showed me the esoteric south launch site, and Irsay's summer home. They convinced me that Maxintuckee is a great place to sail.

WWWWW

Sunday 4/25/04 - Clinton Lake, Illinois (Glen's report)
Sail size: 5.2-5.5, wind W 20-30 mph, air temp 70, cloudy skies

Yesterday Clinton came through with a good 5.2 session, Reid, Chris, Ken and I took advantage of the Westerly down in the main pool with many flat out slalom races from the farmer’s beach to just south of the west shore at the narrows. Due to the overcast skies the wind was a bit puffy – not quite the 4.5 day we had a week ago but pretty good for the Midwest. The bass fishermen were having a tournament but didn’t venture in our territory very much.

Later,
Glen

Sunday 4/25/04 - Eagle Ocean (The Rev's report)
Sail size: 6.2-5.5, wind SW-W 15-30 mph, air temp 70, partly sunny skies

For Jill, Ron, and I it was opening season at the Eagle - and a very gusty
one, more so than usual. Indy Car Mike also made it out and a new sailor
from Lafayette - Bob. The wind was SW early and shifted to due West by
middle of the afternoon. With the West shift it seemed to increase in
strength and that seemed to make the sailing better for me. I really
flattened out my 6.2 at this point and sailed a bit longer. All in all it
was good to get out at the local site and a nice day to be outside.

Aloha
Rev

PS I measured a water temp. of 61 F.

Saturday 4/17/04 through Friday 4/23/04 - Hatteras (LLCJ's report)
Sail size: 3.5-8.0, wind SW mostly 20-25 mph mph, air temp 70-75, sunny skies

This...ouch...had to be...oww...the best...groan...Hatteras trip ever. Olaf at the Sail Repair called it a Bermuda High. What ever it was we had 7 straight days of beautiful warm, sunny weather. Oh, and it was windy every day. The Riders were completely worn down after 7 out of 7 days of great sailing and no one even suggested staying to sail on Saturday. TI no longer stands for Team Indy, it's been changed to Team Ibuprofen.

The typical day started calm or with light winds allowing the riders a leisurely breakfast and time for the Ibuprofen to loosen those stiff muscles. I generally grabbed an early lunch while the wind machine started cranking up and other riders hit the water with big gear. I'd start around noon with the 6.2 and then switch to the 5.5 after an hour or so.

Tuesday was the exception. Jill and I were preparing for a dawn patrol and it looked 6.2ish to me. We managed to chase down a Canadian who had just came in. He was on a 5.0 and 72 liter board and "Eet eez no fun. Eet eez very rough, and zee door, she eez always open." He was dropping down to a 4.2. I went 4.7 on the 72 liter and I think Jill went 3.5. Although overpowered at times, the 4.7 generally was just right. The wind started developing holes after an hour, but I stuck with the 4.7 and got in more time on the 85 liter and finally finished the session around 9:30 on the demo AHD Type F 64. The rest of Team Ibuprofen kept going on bigger gear in the dropping wind for another hour or so while I returned the now slightly overdue board.

I really liked the AHD. It's a 106 liter Freeride board aimed at control and comfort in high winds. Sail range is claimed to be 4.5-8.5. It certainly handled the 4.7 conditions well. It's fast enough to be competitive with Duckburn and Alward, fun to carve in the chop, jumps and jibes nicely. I was tempted to buy it, but my preference is to wait till fall when the demo boards go on sale. When I asked the salesman the price he said they were all out of them, but he'd make me a killer deal on the demo I had just brought back. SOLD! My beloved Veloce was last seen heading to Kokomo with Scarey Larry.

The reef was user friendly early in the week and several TI riders took advantage - even Dr Evil who ventured out with his Go board. About half way to the reef we found the Jibe-a-torium. It's a big stretch of flat water just made for carve jibes. Duckburn and I ripped it up all one afternoon trying to find out just how far you can lay a board over when carving. The answer is a lot farther than you think. The AHD handled everything from my usual long drawn out planing jibe to some extremely tight laydowns and still ripped out of it - provided I was fast enough with the footwork and flip. Word spread and the next few days several other TI riders joined us. Everyone make great progress with their jibes.

We discovered the far edge of the jibe-a-torium via the first ever triple land loop. Techno was leading and was midway through a nice carve when he fell. I was close behind and decided to mark him. I had plenty of speed and had just started to flip the sail when I felt something tug at the fin and kersplash. Duck was right behind me and saw an opportunity for a double mark and went for it with gusto. Another splash. Fortunately the bottom was soft and everyone was unhooked to jibe so there were no booboos.

About the only down side to the week was the shallow water at the launch. We seemed to have less water every day and you either had to hike out past the platform or try to get planing in the channel and try to make it through the slightly deeper water just down wind of the launch. The exact location and depth were difficult to judge and there were several hard landloops - I think we injured three boards, an ankle, and a back in all.

Now, if I can just get up enough energy to unpack...

LLCJ

Sunday 4/18/04 - Eagle Ocean (Martin's report)
Sail size: 5.7, wind SSW 25-35 mphs

Sunday was one of these rare nuking days on EO. SSW wind gusting up to 35 mph 90F air temperature in April!!. It was outstanding. I sailed for a good 3 hours on my old Bic veloce and a Highfly 259 (90l) board on a 5.7 trimmed all the way flat. I was overpowered at times, but the larger size helped in the lulls. The ups and downs of EO sailing...There were about 5 other windsurfers, but we sure missed the Hatteras gang. I hope you are getting lots of use of your 4 and 5 size sails down in Hatteras.

See ya! Martin

Thursday 4/15/04 - Clinton Lake, Illinois (The Rev's report)
Sail size: 5.4, wind S 20-35 mph, air temp 70, sunny skies


We had a pretty good crew at Clinton yesterday: Glen, The Impaler, WW Dave, Mark-Reid, Hugh, me, and another local sailer. The wind was a bit gusty (later in the afternoon my 5.4-flat was quite a bit to hang onto) but I was on my little wave boad and enjoying life quite a bit. Saturday looks possible too, SW 15-20 forecast. Hope that the Hatteras crew has a safe drive and is rewarded with good windd this coming week.

Aloha
Rev

Sunday 4/4/04 - Lake Maxincuckee, Indiana (Duckburn's report)
Sail size: ?, wind NNW 20-30 mph, air temp 45, mostly cloudy skies

Both Joe and I took it to the Max. on Sunday. We rigged 5.0's and
were on the water around 1:30 pm we sailed up to 5:30 pm with one
break to eat an apple. Like Maxinkuckee is awsome on a good north
blow. The south end of this lake has a sand bar that really stacks
up the chop and makes for some really nice ramps. Both Joe and I
agreed that the combination of wind and water conditions is as good
as Indaina gets. When you all get tired on sailing in that EO mud
hole you guys should give the Max. a try, but do not all come up here
at once. We only have parking for a couple more people.

Duckburn

Sunday 11/30/03 - Eagle Ocean (Jibe Marker Jill's report)
Sail size: 6.5, wind S 10-20 mph, air temp 50, sunny skies


Ummm, where was everyone yesterday?! It was warm (sort of).... it was sunny.... it was breezy. And I had Eagle Ocean all to myself! I decided to sail once the temp got above 50 degrees, and the EC Airpark was reporting winds SW14-18 knots. I got in a few hours of enjoyable sailing on my 6.5. The wind was up and down, but I was planing about half the time. I was plenty warm enough in my drysuit, without a hood or gloves, but I opted for the OJ technique of surviving cold weather sailing: Don't fall in. I did get dunked once... the water is pretty chilly, but not yet at the ice-cream-headache level.

It looks like we'll have cold temps (mid 40's at best) for at least the next couple of weeks. Could this be the end of Eagle Ocean sailing for 2003?

- Jill

Sunday 11/23/03 - Eagle Ocean (Jibe Marker Jill's report)
Sail size: 5.5-8.5, wind S 10-25 mph, air temp 65, skies cloudy with light rain later

With a forecast of S 15-25, and a strong cold front on the way, it was looking good for an afternoon of sailing on Eagle Ocean (and our first wind on a weekend in a long long time). I got to the water around 11:30. Techno Matt and Martin were powered up on 7.0s. Rev was there rigging his 7.0. As I started to rig my 6.5, Matt came in and said the 7.0 was too much in the gusts, and was getting a smaller board to compensate. He had been having great time on the 7.0 since 10 a.m. (Doh! I should have gotten out sooner!) I noticed white caps on the water, and decided to opt for my 5.5. As I finished rigging, John Medaris and Word Wide Wayne showed up. The 5.5 was the right call, at least for a while.

The wind was due south, which meant launching from the point. It was a bit up and down, but filled in enough to get plenty of good rides, and I was plenty powered on the 5.5. The water was a bit chilly, but a steamer was warm enough with the toasty air temps. We all sailed until about 1 p.m., when the wind backed off considerably. Seemed like a good time for a lunch break. But after the last crumbs were eaten, the wind had still not returned. We all waited and waited, wondering what had gone wrong. The isobars looked good, the front was due to bring a big temperature drop, which usually indicates big wind. Phone calls to surrounding AWOS's showed there was plenty of wind all around us... but on Eagle Ocean, it was blowing about 10, with the occasional gusts to 15. Indy Car Mike and Ralphin' Ron showed up and decided to rig big. We hoped that would bring the wind back. But it didn't.

Matt went back out on the water, but sooned deemed the wind too light for real sailing, and the water too chilly to work on light wind freestyle stuff, and called it a day. I went back to the point, where we had all left our rigs, and thought I'd give the wind one more chance, as I had to get my board back from the point, anyway. It was still light, as as I drifted slowly across the lake, a light sprinkles of rain began.

By 3 p.m., pretty much everybody had given up, as the light rain came and went, and the wind was nowhere in sight. At least there was some good sailing for a little while.

Tomorrow it's supposed to snow. Brrrr!

- Jill

Monday 10/20/03 - Eagle Ocean (Jibe Marker Jill's report)
Sail size: 5.5-6.0, wind 15-33 mph, air temp 79

I know most of you are off in Hatteras, but I thought I'd post a note anyway about sailing Eagle Ocean yesterday. It was about as good as is gets on Eagle O. The wind was SSW at 18-25, and surprising steady, with only a few gusts and lulls here and there. Weather was sunny, temps in the upper 70's, and the water was still warm enough to be comfortable in a 3/2 wetsuit... even when ya fall in all the time like me!

Bryan and I were the only ones on the water... along with the Pike Fire deparment who was doing scuba training.
I was powered up on my 5.5, and Bryan was on his 6.0. I got on the water around 1:30, and it was solid wind until about 4 p.m., when it started backing off a bit and getting more flukey. Bryan called it a day, and I hung around for a while to see if the wind would pick back up. There was still plenty of wind for my 6.5, but I was too lazy to rig up. I decided to call it a day, too, and of course the wind picked back up as I left the parking lot, and kept blowing until well after dark.

We've sent the unused wind to Hatteras... hope you all are enjoying it!

Wednesday 9/24/03 - Eagle Ocean (Jibe Marker Jill's report)
Sail size: 6.5-9.5, wind 13-20 mph, air temp 78

I got out on Eagle Ocean about 4:30 yesterday, wind was in the 13-20 range. Indy Car Mike had been there since noon, and was packing it up. He said he'd had a great afternoon on his 7.5.

I was planing about 75% of the time on my 6.5, in a fairly steady SSW that had occasional lulls, but nothing at all psycho. Techno Matt was there, on what I thought was his 7.5, planing almost constantly. I couldn't figure out how he was staying on plane all the time. Every time he'd come flying by when I was in slog mode, I'd try every trick I knew to get planing, but to no avail. It wasn't until we were done sailing that I found out he had been on his 8.5! It pays to have a big motor!

Old Tom joined us after a while, on his 9.5. We all sailed until a half hour before sunset, when the wind backed off.

It was a beautiful sunny clear afternoon, and as we packed it in at sunset, the clouds from the approaching front line were just appearing over the horizon.

The water is a bit cool, but I was plenty warm in my shorty, and others were fine in a swimsuit and lycra top.

Wednesday 9/24/03 - Clinton Lake, Illinois Clinton Lake, Illinois (Rev's report)
Sail size 5.5-6.0, wind SW15-25 mph, air temp 78

Clinton was quite good yesterday - as per our post sailing phone call. It was strong 5.4 for me for 5 hours (with small breaks) - a bit up and down but pretty darn good - and down right great after all that time off. Matt Simcox drove me over and later Ken made it out - we sailing upwind in the main pool where I decided that it would be too much work to take my wave board - but the blue board was pretty good, so I was a happy camper. Quite tired today- I think that I'm headed over to Decatur this weekend, I may bring gear as a hedge...

Sunday 8/24/03 - Indian Lake, Dowagiac, Michigan (Jibe Marker Jill's report)
Sail size: 6.5, wind SW10-15 mph, air temp 82

I managed to get an hour or so of sailing today on Indian Lake, planing a whopping 30% of the time. The wind was gusty, there were lots of pesky boats and jet skis in my way. But it was still nice to be planing and in the straps for the first time in over 6 weeks. John Medaris reported that there wasn't enough to sail on Lake Michigan this weekend, although he said that he's had a pretty good summer sailing there this year... although the best wind is usually a dawn patrol.

- Jibe Marker Jill

Friday 7/4/03 - Eagle Ocean (Jibe Marker Jill's report)
Sail size: 6.5-8.5, wind 10-25 mph, air temp 90

The wind gods delivered on the Fourth of July this year. It wasn't nukin' by any means, but it was warm and breezy enough for some solid planing with big gear, and the wind built as storms approached late in the day.

I got to Eagle Ocean around 1 p.m. Rev Mike, Jethro Matt, and Indy Car Mike were there. Mike and Matt were taking turns on Chef's new Formula Board. (Poor Chef is still recuperating from shoulder surgery, and hasn't had a chance to try is own board yet... it must be torture!). But Matt was quite impressed with it! Soon more sailors arrived, including Southern Brian, and Sumner, who was teaching his stepson to windsurf. The wind was up and down, but I was getting plenty of planing runs on my 6.5. World Wide Wayne showed up, and miraculously didn't kill the wind. And then Dr. Evil appeared on the scene, along with his kids Jordan ("Mini Me") and Betsy. We rigged up a 4.0 on Dr. Evil's GO board, and Jordan and Betsy tried their hand a windsurfing while Coach Dr. Evil paddled alongside in his kayak. They both did great and got up and sailing, although there were plenty of splashes too. Nonetheless, it's nice to have some Kid Windsurfers on Eagle Ocean.

The wind kept building, and reached a pretty solid 15-25 that made for some great sailing. Techno Matt showed up and had some runs on the Cheformula board. Soon some dark clouds appeared on the horizon, though, and everybody started making their way toward shore. Dr. Evil and Jordan were quite aways downwind, and I went down to check on 'em. The wind got really psycho, and I had a heck of a time trying to get back upwind (the Eagle Airpark wind reading at that point was variable at 7 gusting to 25). Jordan was having equal troubles padding the kayak in the psycho wind, so mighty Dr. Evil paddled the kayak and towed Jordan and the Go board back to the launch. The storm passed just north of us, but another one was right behind it and headed right towards us, and everyone got their gear packed up just as the lightning got too close for comfort and the rain started to splat down.

All in all, a pretty good day!

- Jibe Marker Jill

Sunday 6/8/03 - Eagle Ocean (Rev's report)

Sounds like Clinton as usual delivered - I'm sorry this I missed the trip (I've been to Illinois three of the past four weekends to visit family and was not up for it this past weekend) - but it could of been worse... This is because the Eagle was pretty nice Sunday, WWWayne called it the "first day of summer" as we were all in spring suits (Jill, WWWayne, Sheila Me, Old Tom, Dr. Evil, and a farmer named Jeff - in a shorty), and there was quite a bit of sunshine.

We were quite warm at the launch as you are well sheltered from the wind, which was the usual amount of gustiness from SW. I was on a fairy flat 7.0 and used Chefs new formula board. That board rocks! (Morelater on that.)

I think everybody did well, most notable was Dr. Evil - he had his Starboard up to speed and was sailing very nicely - all this in the
typical EO blasts. We did see a pair of catapults from him. And they were executed with the style and grace that you Jeff, as a habitual Land Looper, would surly approve of. Jill was up to speed and in spite of my teasing, actually did pass me on the water and seems to have found another gear. WWW set many jibes marks for me, I got four good ones on him and a fifth (the
first attempt) where I got past him but he was actually on plane at that time, so I won't count it (Wayne only counts two but he has never been very good with numbers...) Tom was on his new 9.5 Retro and liked it quite a bit - was able to handle it in some big gusts.

Now on to the board review: it is 85 cm wind by 270 long, and 155 liters of volume. It is the wood construction and is extremely light. Beveled rails that are somewhat soft (very soft for a light air board). It has a lot of vee in the back - I'm not sure about the rocker. Now the wind was the usual gusty EO stuff - the big gusts were a handful on the flat 7.0, but this board sailed it very well. In my judgment as good as any 120 liter or bigger board that I have been on. It actually felt good in big gusts!

The jibing is quite good, although I'm still working on the technique - it is so light that you can really mess things up coming around after the sail throw. But I was looking forward to all my jibes with this board! In light air it planes up very quickly - seems like you could pump it onto plane if 5 knots (but probably need a bit more). Stays on plane in huge holes - none of this is surprising as this is what light and wide boards should do. What is amazing is that it sails so well powered up - definitely the shape for Mid-west sailing and in light air at Hatteras. It is quite different from the small boards that I have been sailing the past few years - you really need to be out on the rail to hold down the big fin. And when powered it responds differently than what I am used to - I'm still working on that.

But this is by far the best wide board that I've used - as compared to the Bic Techno I think the light weight is a huge improvement (for the more advanced sailor), but I've not sailed the Techno that much. I think that this shape is the best thing to replace the 110 - 130 liter and bigger light air free-ride boards for most people (7.0 meter and bigger sails). It does sail quite a bit different than the typical narrow shape, and this does take getting used to. WWW tried it and did not seem too impressed (but by this time he may have had impaired judgment from lake water ingestion :-). But I think most people would like it better after getting used to the different technique.

Amen
Rev Mike

Sunday 6/8/03 - Clinton Lake, Illinois (LLCJ's report)

It was a perfect 6.0 day at Clinton, although if the Rev were there he probably would have gone 5.4 or maybe even 5.0. I just don't know how he keeps that little gear planing.

When I got there, Chris was teaching his nephew to uphaul and taking a few quick runs near the marina now and then. His 6.5 was a bit small and he recommended a 7.5, but the main pool looked a lot windier. I rigged 6.0 on the 100L and worked up to the main pool getting some short planing runs occasionally. Once past the point, however, it was perfect. I hit the main pool at 12:00 and planed non-stop till after 3:00. A couple of weeks ago I would have called it choppy, but after Lake Mi it seemed smooth with a few sweet little ramps scattered around. At 12:30 the wind picked up to what I call comfortably overpowered and I had some really sweet chop hops - despite the heavy board.

The season got off to a late start but made up for it with a lot of 5.0 weekends. This was the first time I've had the 6.0 out this year and I'd forgotten how much I like this board/sail combination. Even overpowered, everything seemed so easy that I was able to just relax and enjoy the day.

Matt worked up to the main pool a little after 2:00. He was on his 5.7 and struggling a bit in the gusts until he remembered his ABK lessons and got things under control. We had a great time till it started getting holey a bit after 3:00 and backed down big time around 3:45. We schlogged back downwind - not all that easy as there were still a few gusts that liked to sneak up behind you. Funny how they would then disappear when you needed to waterstart.

We grabbed a late lunch and I called it day at 4:30. The wind was coming back, but I was happy to leave. Indoor rock climbing yesterday and sailing today had me happily worn out. Matt headed back out and Chris returned after taking his nephew home hoping to get in a little personal time.

We had a couple of light sprinkles, but mostly the weather stayed dry and skys alternated between sunny and heavy clouds. Steamers were plenty warm when sailing, but a tad cool hanging out on the beach. One guy was sailing some pretty old gear in a swim suit, but his wife said that's only because they forgot to bring neoprene. Oh yea, the best part was that there were hardly any boats out.

See ya on the water....
LLCJ