Day #38 on the lake

Max Temperature 71 °F / 21 °C
Wind Speed 7 mph / 12 km/h (South)
Max Wind Speed 14 mph / 23 km/h
Max Gust Speed 21 mph / 34 km/h

I almost didn't sail today because the neighbors kept me awake until after 6:00 AM and I barely got three hours' sleep; but I had left messages for Jamey and Monte the night before and when Jamey called and said they were going, I psyched myself up and went and was really glad I did.

Monte's Superlight blew off his roof racks a few weeks ago, so he brought his DuFour Wing, but since he didn't think to bring the mast extension for it, he had only the base to work with and therefore rigged a 5.3. We were rigging about 1:45 and at times I was tempted to sail the AHD and let him sail my Superlight, but there was a large wind shadow at the boat ramp, so I didn't.

It was me on S'light/9.5, Monte on Wing/5.3 and Jamey on NTrance/6.3. We raced upwind and I was amazed at how well Monte did on that little sail (Monte is 200 lbs.) I railed the Superlight and shot upwind, then hung out to wait for them. Then we all worked on light wind jibes, I sailed fin first, and we had a ball for about 2 1/2 hours.

These guys have never sailed larger sails and two minutes after I swapped with Monte, the wind died, and boy, do I mean died. We all headed for the boat ramp, Monte caught me and we switched back, and I pumped like mad to get to shore before dark. The sun didn't set as quickly as I thought it would, with sunset officially taking place at 4:35 and it was still light at 5:00, but I used a flashlight to check for anything we might be forgetting.

What a nice day, I'm glad I've still got a longboard.

Day #37 on the lake

Max Temperature 66 °F / 18 °C
Wind Speed 7 mph / 12 km/h (SSE)
Max Wind Speed 16 mph / 26 km/h
Max Gust Speed 21 mph / 34 km/h
Water Temp: low 60's

I expected to post a nice report a week ago, but missed two good days because there was nobody to sail with. Last Sunday looked great and last Monday saw gusts over 55 MPH and I won't go out in that kind of wind without company. Yesterday I finally got back on the lake.

I drove to Hamilton Creek and saw one or two whitecaps, but it was mostly hovering around 10MPH, so I called Bob and said I didn't think I would sail. He called back 15 minutes later and said he was going to go to Cook, so I went home and grabbed the trailer, calling Jamey on the way. When I was a mile from Cook, Bob called and said it was too light and he was leaving.

Jamey and I met at Cook around 1:30; I rigged 9.5/big AHD and Jamey sailed his NTrance and 6.5 (his only gear). I saw the best wind of the day when I pulled into the parking lot. If only I had a nickel for every time I've said that...

We could have sure used more wind, but there were seven or eight sailboats out, one or two powerboats and no PWC, so it was nice to be out on the water. In the 45 minutes we sailed, I had three or four nice runs in the straps and the rest was fast slogging.

We met a couple who just bought a Hobie Wave and they had a great Rottweiller that really enjoyed playing with (my dog) Shadow. We met another nice couple who had a Border Collie and a Beagle. All dogs got along really well. I also met an older family who was out walking and taking photos and a Greek man who was doing the same. It was a nice low-key day and all the right people seemed to know it; i.e., no jet-skiers!