LAKAWA

A few days ago Tighe had a nice review of his first ride on the Cabrinha race board, here is what he wrote, "Got a run on a Cabrinha Race board at the end of the day. Firstly this board is quite different. It has straps like a race windsurfing board, out on the upper side rail. It also has four...

Hi guys, I won't make the meeting but one point I hope you bring up besides the obvious and critical needs for better landing and launching technique and newbee concerns is this: Please do not jump when upwind or in front of windsurfers (or any other lake user)! It was as bad as I have ever seen it ...

Well said John. I too have been biting my tongue on this. It would really suck if we lost our Waconia access. Just imagine how the authorities would react if we had a 'serious' accident or an accident that involved another lake user. Think about how quickly this incident unfolded. Now think about ho...

Hey Tighe, Yes, you bring up some good points. There is a gray area here. Lessons definitely need to be highly encouraged to all beginners and intermediates. Usually the 202 lessons I have seen have been conducted safely and thoughtfully. Using a jet ski and the safest equipment plus being a HIGHLY ...

Thank you all for the thoughtful discussion. I have been windsurfing and kiting on our area lakes for over 35 years - primarily Waconia and Minnetonka. Quite frankly I have been horrified by the following: Kite lesson givers, Newbie’s, Noobs, Kooks, and the DNR threats. Bottom line: If someone costs...

Big thanks to the Fleet 8 volunteers and everyone that helped out. What a great time once again! It's pretty special how you make new friends and bump into old ones at events like this. In 1987 and 1998 I raced a C-scow in the Inland lakes regattas. I became pretty good friends with Steve Swift from...

Hey Mike, you are the head cheese here so you are expected to be a little "sales-ee." We all know it takes lots of time and money to operate this site so do it up! I enjoyed meeting your family. Fun to see kids that are the same age as mine and their parents scrambling after them. Next tim...

Nice Woody! What will this year's motherload of contraband from the Northland consist of???

I know we can count on a bumper crop of bumper stickers!

Nice, are trucks still going on at that access? Looking for some post work sessions this week!

Yes John, agreed it's all your fault... Now please wish for gobs of new snow and seasonal temps! Actually kite Island was great fun yesterday late afternoon. There is a nice pressure ridge between the Island and the point that is great for jumping in both directions on a SW. The snowcone type snow w...

The West side boyz will ride!

Thanks Michael! Always a great time, I can hardly wait! This event really does take a lot of hands to make it the best it can be, so help any way you can and encourage others. See you there!

Wow, harsh! That is certainly an area commonly traveled by kite. Can you be more specific where it is? Something like that should be marked. I did hear about the iceboaters hitting some "shell ice" out there a couple weeks ago. Five inches is pretty major. I wonder how many other surprises...

Yes, a very good situation to think about. About 7 years ago I saw Voita go in. He saw the bad spot while at full speed just before he got there. He decided his best option was to try and jump over it. Unfortunately the jump was not far enough and made a big splash in the ice chunks/ water/ slush. A...

http://lakeice.squarespace.com/

Everything you wanted to know.

Has anyone checked out Wayzata Bay? I was told it froze a couple days before the main lake. Could be a good option for Tuesday?!? If the ice is reasonably safe you will see ice fishermen out on the bay first. Visual anyone?

Anyone get a visual? Could be good to go?

It was incredible. Definitely the biggest waves I have ever seen on Waconia and I have been going there for over 30 years to windsurf. The walls of liquid smoke roaring down the lake were awesome. I would say the max gust was 55mph. My rarely used 3.7M came in handy that day!

Yeeha! That baby is wound up!

If you don't have the proper stick (windsurfer stick) for this condition you should check out the JP Wave I have in classifieds. Includes free delivery to the hurricane at Waconia!

Having the proper gear makes all the difference!

Wow Pete, that is a sweet looking launching ramp! You're right Randy, we need some "reality footage" from the breast of the mother!