LAKAWA

Our sponsors are lined up, rooms are being booked, the stoke is building for the event that first defined endurance snowkiting. Besides the big race, there will be product demos, mini-clinics, speed runs, terrain park and for many, a gathering of friends, this time of year. Whatever level of kiting ...

Contact us at Fleet-8@juno.com to receive the Notice of Challenge in a PDF format. It should provide all the necessary information. We will be accepting electronic registration by e-mail. If you have registered for a Fleet 8 event in the past two years and nothing has changed, just provide your name...

The seventh annual Mille Lacs Kite Crossing will be held the weekend of March 4-6. With many of the fastest snowkiters in the world being from our local community, the challenge continues to draw from across the country. Riders of all levels are encouraged to attend. Come out, meet riders from aroun...

Amendment to the Notice of Race The current Notice of Race has Garrison Beach as the site for Friday and Saturday morning registration and check-in. Since we have two venue sites, Garrison Beach and Malmo Park, we need to have both registration/check-in and the racers meeting at the site dictated b...

Last September ended the incredible, 28-year run of the Crossing. The focus switched from one BIG race to a full weekend of racing for both windsurfers and kiters. Racing provided the foundation that helped make windsurfing the fastest growing sport in the world. By 1982, over 100 metro-area windsur...

The wind forecast is the best that we’ve had for the Waconia Wind & Wave in nearly five years. We have over a half-dozen long-distance windsurfers registered and anticipating double that attending from the metro area. For those planning to attend, but have yet to register, contact us at Fleet-8@...

Thank’s, Jim. Well defined. It becomes a slippery slope when trying to keep the event open to the community while maintaining enough structure to have signed waivers which is required by our insurance policy. Now that it has been addressed, we would appreciate that non-registered kiters looking to u...

Lodging : Garrison Inn has only three Jacuzzi suites left, Twin Pines has at least six cabins and/or rooms left and MilleLacsRental.com has four condos. Garrison Inn & Suites, 320-692-4050; MilleLacsRental.com, 763-227-7991, Twin Pines Resort, 320-692-4413. Registration and check-in: Registrati...

The sixth annual Mille Lacs Kite Crossing is once again shaping up to be one of the biggest and most dynamic snowkite events in the country. Only two years ago, the Kite Crossing became the first kiting event to surpass 100 registrants. With many of the fastest snowkiters in the world being from the...

I believe the PASA insurance for members is a general liability insurance protecting you for anything happening to others while you are kiting. The description of policy should have accompanied the waiver. Fleet 8 carries event insurance through a subsidiary of First Flight and waivers tend to be em...

I have posted photos from The Crossing in the gallery. Vivian Clark was on a course boat and took over a hundred photos, but had multiple shots of each subject since fewer sailors got close to her. Jeff Olson was on the committee boat which meant every competitor had to come by more than once. I tha...

Thanks for your words, Steve. The Crossing weekend has been special to many couples, you and Nancy, Mike and Meri, Dennis and Alyse and more recently, Woody and Margot, providing some of the many rewards that energized my role. Sorry I missed you at the lake, but thanks for getting me the bar. Woody...

It is only three weeks to The Crossing and the stoke is building. The reputation built over 28 years still reaches both coasts and at Kite Worlds last month in San Francisco, it was surprising how many knew of at least one of the Crossings and certainly interested in learning more. Of course, The Cr...

We had a bye last week, but we will resume this Tuesday and for the following two weeks, the 18th and 25th. The status of the south side lot is day to day, with reconstruction planned to start immediately. For updates on Tuesday, you can call 612-508-8083. Meet time-5:45, start time-6:15.

Just a quick update, 66 kiters from 9 countries and 8 states, most from California, Hawaii and Florida gathered for a 12 noon racers meeting. Hosted by St. Francis YC, this is the first course racing World Championship for kiteboarders under the sanction of ISAF, the international federation of sail...

Tuesdays on Calhoun was scheduled to start on June 16th, but Mother Nature provided a better chance of storms than wind. The next week was one of two byes with Calhoun Yacht Club hosting an adult C-class session. Last week, we had the wind, but the chilly temps discouraged attendance. This Tuesday w...

The first scheduled Tuesday fell victim to Mother Nature with rain and unstable winds dominant. We will have a bye tomorrow, the 23rd as well as two weeks from now to accommodate the Calhoun Yacht Club schedule. The next scheduled dates will be June 30th, July 14th, 21st and 28th. An additional date...

There may be remote areas of Minnetonka where kiting is feasible, extended shallows and/or areas protected by reefs from major traffic. And there are a few kiters living on the lake that have exercised the proper caution gained from their experience on the lake. Bottom line, kiting on Minnetonka sho...

Access to the venue will once again be in front of Garrison Sports, half block past the Holiday station. The crack is much closer than the last 3 years, so we will be working from both sides. The command tent, spectator parking and possibly some of the sponsors will be on the shore side. Participant...

We did an analysis of the site venue yesterday. They had received a total of 7-8" over the past 12 days but the wind had reduced it to a dense 5".