Mille Lacs was sweet

Share stores of your big days, soul rejuvenation experiences; moments that defy time.

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Kirk D.
Posts: 33
Joined: Tue Nov 26, 2002 11:01 pm

Mille Lacs was sweet

Post by Kirk D. »

Things just worked out for me today: lucky vacation choice (scheduled two months earlier), finishied all my household chores last weekend, and my wife gave me the green light to go sailing while she watched the kids.

After checking a few forecasts, I decided to risk it and head up to Mille Lacs although the threat of a skunk was lingering in my mind. I sailed from Izaty's many years ago, but had never had a good day at Father Hennepin's. The direction looked favorable as long as it did not shift too far to the North. Hit the road at 7am. About 15 miles south of Isle it started to drizzle and the though of rain killing the wind made me fear the skunk was meant to be. It only lasted a few minutes, then became patchy clouds. As I pulled in to Father Hennepins State Park around 9:00 and the big rollers were sweeping in. No skunk today!

Started on a 5.9 and a 95L board and was nicely powered up. Having only been on the water 4-5 times this year so there was plenty of rust to be shaken off. Bands of sun and clouds with occasional scattered showers in the distance, the wind and waves continued to build. Riding the wave faces and carving turns in the trough of a single wave is so much fun and seems so effortless compared to the usual choppy conditions.

After 2-3 hours, the 5.9 was getting to be way too much. I was shocked that no one else was sailing, but figured others would have went to Izaty's (Kevin, sorry I didn't get your message before I left, hope the day was similar for you). Put a 5.0 on and had a blast. The wind continued to increase and was surprisingly steady and clean after getting away from the swimming beach. At this point the swells were getting really big, especially in the "zone" Tighe mentions about this launch in the "Lakes" section.

Another couple hours of great sailing ensued. Fatigue and euphoria can be a dangerous combination. Thinking to myself "10 years younger or 15 pounds lighter and I could get my 4.1 out" instead I opted to try my 8'4" Dill glass board with the 5.0. With age comes wisdom, and this little voice in my head kept saying "be humble or prepare to be humbled". Sailing solo is never a great plan, especially with the though of accidentally letting go in mid-air and having to swim for the better part of the day to catch up with lost gear, or having the wind suddenly drop off and having to swim it in. The wind started to switch more north and was starting to back off a bit, and I was coming to my senses so I decide to bag it.

It is hard to walk away from good wind, but just relaxing and taking my time packing up and driving home gave me a chance to savor the day without feeling rushed. I truly hope others were able to get out and enjoy a great day on the water.
Tighe
Posts: 5274
Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2002 10:06 pm
Location: Here, Now

Post by Tighe »

Sounds like a wonderful day.

I hope you don't mind, I moved it to Stories, cause it is a story and there is some good wisdom in it.

Bill and I were just commenting today that Duluth, Father Hennepin, Byllesby and Pepin can provide some of the best sailing to be had anywhere if the direction is right. NW on Father Hennepin is a dream come true. Glad you got some. Hopefully your vacation will last into next week.
Tighe
Eric S
Posts: 970
Joined: Tue Nov 26, 2002 2:42 pm
Location: MN, USA, Earth
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Post by Eric S »

sounds like a perfect day man. glad you got some Kirk, you deserve it!
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