An early Thanksgiving for Sunday 10/3.

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

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dave t
Posts: 276
Joined: Wed Nov 27, 2002 12:23 pm
Location: apple valley

An early Thanksgiving for Sunday 10/3.

Post by dave t »

I want to take time to give thanks for an awesome gift of a day on Sunday!

Thanks to God for making bumps on lakes and wind and especially for making big lakes with big bumps in big wind!
Thanks to my wife and daughter for understanding. Those of you with wives and kids know this is a big one and to those who don't, sailing isn't everything. But...that gets harder to say the more big days you miss.
Thanks to Sid for wanting his little Naish to have a happy new home. It was very verrrry happy Sunday at Father Hennipen.
Thanks to Kevin O for raising the Mille Lacs flag. I was focused way too much on Port Wing.
Thanks also to Kevin and Terry for sailing and opening the door to get a little bit crazy in the waves.
Thanks to Bill for not trying to talk me into staying local for a late Byllesby session. I hope you got some wind and I'm sorry for not pushing you to head north.
Thanks to my board for not splitting in two when I launched for orbit off big face #1, missed the back of #2 and landed right in the middle of the trough. That jump felt like kiting air and I totally understand Brian's Lazy Boy padding on the deck.
Thanks even for 6.3 wind to start out that made the switch to 5.1 wave gear even sweeter.

I arrived at Father Hennepin and Terry D had already rigged a 6.5 for the still light but building wind. I admit I was a bit worried that this would be another one of those days and held off rigging for awhile. Kevin O rolled in and we had the mandatory riders meeting: Liters. Meters. Knots. Fronts. Iwindsurf, Experimental. Everybody knows the drill. Terry and Kevin went out on the lake while I optimisticly rigged both my 6.3 and 5.1 and then joined them.
Big lakes are great because they provide terrain to play on even on the bigger gear but I was really hoping and praying that we would get more than that. The wind was nice and solid and building and I was starting to think about the 5.1 sitting in the grass. I wasn't the only one as Kevin headed in and I followed. By the time I had switched booms etc. Terry was also in to rig down. The wind was really coming up and I skipped right to my Naish wave toy and ran to the water. As much as you can run carrying a board and sail through the trees and into the wind anyway.
The first run out proved my choice was a good one and I was in heaven! 5.1 felt perfect and that little board just plain rips! Brian hit the nail right on the head after my first big Cannon day riding the Naish "You have been deprived far too long". The only reason in the world I would want to go in a straight line on that board is to get up wind or maybe to catch my breath. It just screams TURN!! and those waves aren't there to just sail in anyway. They need to be ridden, carved, jumped and slashed.
Kevin and Terry were back on the water shortly after me and having tons of fun with the waves also and it sure is nice to know you are not alone when you have so many chances to wreck something.
I did my very best to get the full potential fun from each wave. There were times when I was up and down the face three or four times then pop out the back and grab a few more cuts from the next in line all with pure joy to be out there. Other waves set up with such a nice valley that they demanded screaming down the face and up the backside then ripping a huge turn right at the crest with a wall of water flying off the top.
Jumping was at will or even by accident and huge. I saw Kevin getting big air several times and even looked to be on the way to a back loop on one. One jump that I would just love to see in a picture felt so cool. It was right through the whitewater and most of it came with as I launched off the crest. Just water everywhere flying over the gap. It probably wasn't in real life but in my mind, that jump was as beautiful as any picture in the magazines!
Eventually, the 5.1 was a bit much (I think it's time for an Ezzy) but I couldn't get myself to leave the playground to rig down. It was like as a kid when you're really hungry and your mom is calling you for supper but you can't stop because you are having too much fun.
I never did figure out where the magic "zone" was for sure because there were at least four areas where the lake was doing wonderful things and between them was as good as the best conditions I've seen at Cannon or Green. Like Dave Z said about the MilleLacs waves, you can try stuff that would get you munched at TotLot and not have to pay the price. The wave might take you out but it doesn't slap you around and hold you under.
We played out in the terrain until the sky started turning orange and after a few "just one more" jibes, both Kevin and I both just headed in and as icing on the cake caught a few final slaps off the shore break on the way! It seemed to be building even more at 6:30 while we were derigging but, I think I speak for all of us, there were no thoughts of going back out. Spent but energized was how I felt after the session. The sunset was every color of the rainbow with big purple clouds as I headed off for one of the shortest two hour drives I've done. Of course it was spent mostly in replay mode with my mind still out in the waves.
Barry P
Posts: 517
Joined: Wed Nov 27, 2002 11:32 am
Location: Plymouth, MN

Post by Barry P »

Dave,

THANK YOU for sharing such an awesome time with all of us. Maybe if I respond, it will help bleed off some of the charge I got from reading it. Probably not :lol:

Sailing Sunday on Waco I was wondering if FH was setting up for another huge yield or not. I'm so glad you guys got some.

Every year sailing I wonder when I'm going to get to the edge it, and become bored. Every year I find it more and more addicting, even more electrifying to my soul than the year before. How many times this season have I come home and told Teresa 'This was by FAR the most fun I've ever had on the water!"? She smiles, rolls her eyes, and gets me some aspirin.

Yes... thank God for all these extremly good things in large portions.
Last edited by Barry P on Tue Oct 05, 2004 9:11 am, edited 2 times in total.
Bill S.
Posts: 271
Joined: Tue Jul 22, 2003 9:37 pm

Post by Bill S. »

Dave, it is good indeed that you finally scored a Father Hennepin session to savor. I figured it would happen and were it not for the umpteen thousand household projects I have going would have joined you for the trip. Next time. In any case, I'm glad that my encouragement on the phone helped push you out the door and to the north. A full day at play in the waves on big water is a gift of unreasonable proportions. Be there when you can.

I waited till the wind clocked westerly then headed over to Byllesby about 3:30 p.m. to await the front's arrival. My wife and daughter tagged along and it was nice to kick back as a family in the afternoon sun. At 4:00 p.m. the front rolled through and the wind went from zero to a steady 25 mph in a matter of minutes. I rigged 4.7 and had an awesome hour-long session with Sid, Pete, Greg O., Doug and John, everyone ripping, everyone smiling.

It just keeps getting better.
BSMITH
Posts: 985
Joined: Mon Dec 02, 2002 10:41 pm

Post by BSMITH »

Excellent Dave! It was my turn to sacrifice again. I don't think I have sailed Mille Lacs this year!!!!! Every time the wind goes NW something goes terribly wrong. Cannon tomorrow?
Kevinousdigian
Posts: 646
Joined: Thu Nov 28, 2002 10:37 pm

Post by Kevinousdigian »

Dave - Thanks for sharing Sunday afternoon and Teri thanks for 2 big days at FH in one weekend. I can't believe how much fun FH provides. I was so exhausted from 6 hrs there in 3 days but got a major adrenaline rush when the wind cranked up to 4.5 that my body forgot about all that tiredness and I had a blast for another 1.5 hrs until we came off the water. I woke up at 4am with the adrenaline still going and couldn't get back to sleep - go figure.

After 2 days there this weekend with the wind all the way from straight north for a brief time on Friday to nearly straight west for a brief time on Sunday with it mostly N-NW I now believe FH is sailable and fun from all directions - I was a naysayer before. I still like Izaty's for getting out into the big part of the lake but FH terrain is sweet. The water level is real low. I came off a huge ramp and fell into the trough into 1 foot of water. It is interesting how the wind gets bent into there regardless of the direction and the waves do too. There were different sweet spots depending on the wind direction.

I'm hoping we can get up there at least one more time this fall for some more memories to last through the winter.
KO
Kevin Ousdigian
Dave Z
Posts: 1130
Joined: Wed Dec 04, 2002 12:13 pm
Location: White Bear Lake, MN, USA
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Post by Dave Z »

Sweet story Dave.... So, still on my list as "Haven't made it yets..." are Mille Lacs and Pepin...got a few months to go...

So lets start the debate: Which is better? Father H or Izaty's??? stir, stir, stir :D
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