LAKAWA

Just a reminder, today is the last day for advanced registration and the $30 fee. It is also the last chance to order the hooded sweatshirt for an additional $8. You can access the Fleet 8 website and Paypal button at: http://fleet8.com/news/ A third of those already pre-registered will be doing the...

Mille Lacs date for fishfhouses is February 28th.

I have found Wunderground local sites rather inaccurate, being placed in variable terrain and not focused on wind data. Minnetonka Yacht Club has a station on Lighthouse Island a little more than a mile from Kite Island. Since it serves the sailing community, it is probably maintained better. Try it...

Since this year the race is held after the ice houses are off the lake, I don't think I can roll out my sleeping bag next to my car on the ice overnight. Anybody have any ideas where I could lay my bag outside for some good sleep? This question has been brought up several times recently. Last year,...

Lodging update.
Twin Pines still has a good selection of rooms and cabins. Garrison Inn has a dozen with half non-smoking.

Lodging is still looking good, thanks to scheduling the event a week later than usual. We will have a pond hockey tournament sharing the Garrison ice which may effect lodging if they draw from the Cities. EconoLodge Reasonable rooms, jacuzzi suites, continental breakfast. 800-839-7006 Garrison Inn &...

The Fifth Annual Mille Lacs Kite Crossing is once again shaping up to be one of the biggest and most dynamic snowkite events in the country. Last year, the Kite Crossing became the first kiting event to surpass 100 registrants. With many of the fastest snowkiters in the world being from the local co...

At the very least, Larry Reed, Vojta and I will be. Will you be stocking some home brew for proper anti-freeze?

Polar bear plunges, ice bowls, Chilly Open… Obviously, some Minnesotans are built to laugh at Mother Nature. Last year’s Kiter Winterfest at Green Lake was on the coldest weekend of the season. No chance lightning would strike twice. With the forecasts for a base wind of 12 kts, at least the windchi...

Kiters Winterfest at Spicer is the weekend of January 24-25. And snow conditions look great! We will have all the extras of last year; fireworks, ice castles, wine tasting, waffle feeds, bon fires, etc. Yes, we have been invited to a festival as a guest of honor and all we have to do is show up. Kit...

Anticipation was high even though forecasts were mixed as 39 windsurfers and 22 kiters gathered in Garrison for the second edition of The Crossing. Friday proved to be prophetic, forecasted as the windiest day of the weekend, yet never really developing. Saturday morning looked very promising with e...

I, for one, would never call him 'ol Vojta to his face. He has a tendency to make most everyone else look old, or lacking. But he certainly has been missed. Without his contributions, this weekend would not be happening.

Nope. Being an evening series, diminishing daylight forced us to end at the end of August.

Surface water temp at Mille Lacs yesterday was 62-63 degrees. With the range of temps over the next few days, I don't see us losing more than a degree.

Talk about the opening the proverbial 'can of worms'. Actually, it all seems very doable. The original discussion was between Stoh and myself when planning a potential Madeline expedition a couple of years ago. We discussed teams and relays and the biathlon deal. But we have a very unique event and ...

It had been discussed as a possible event during the planning of an expedition to Madeline Island. Only logical since the vast majority of kiters in the early years came out of the windsurfing community. Which was a contributing factor to combining windsurfers and kiters in the redesigning of The Cr...

We have added the Notice of Race and lodging info to our Fleet 8 website as well as a PayPal button. Accordingly, we will extend the early registration fee through Sunday. Since we put the Notice of Race in a PDF to make it easier to print and mail, just provide the information in your e-mail regist...

The BIG EVENT is a little more than two weeks away and the stoke is building. Friday is the first deadline for saving money. We are offering as an option to the sweatshirt, a long-sleeve T-shirt with the same logo. This option is only available to those who mail their advanced registration no later ...

Lake Waconia has hosted over 55 windsurfing events, including several district and state championships. In recent years, the Wind & Wave has been the sole event. While it still draws out the top competitors, the focus has been shifted to developing entry-level racers. It is a perfect atmosphere ...

With all the talk, thought this might be appreciated. I was at Malmo two weeks ago, but Stroh tossed me a towel shortly after I came out of the water. No problem. My only experience with swimmers itch was while working on White Bear in a large shallow, sandy area. What is swimmer's itch? Swimmer's i...