WBL Lunch

[Barry P]

Today should be fun at Bellaire. I plan to be there around noon. I hope I'm not alone

[Randy]

Yesterday I skipped out of work for a short sesson at Lake Owasso. I'll never do that again on a S/SE wind. One minute I could barely keep the kite in the sky, the next I'm being pulled straight up in the neutral position. Today I opted for the bigger lake on a west wind and hit Bellaire at about 3pm, looking at white out for the first ten feet of surface, indicating some serious wind, so I opted to go to Goose...
I have finally learned that small lakes and kites suck... From now on I'll always go for the longer fetch. Or maybe it was just super gusty everywhere yesterday and today...
Any feedback from someone who rode a bigger lake?

[steveb]

Hey Randy I did'nt know you were back, hope you had a good trip.
Hows the snow on Forest Lake? Steve

[Coach]

Yeah, goose lake would have sucked... and you are right - any small lake for that matter.

Windsurfing on a small and gusty lake can be a huge hassle, kiting can be downright dangerous. You just never know what the kite might do in really gusty stuff, and sometimes that 'killer' gust might just come along...

Sure, it was windy on WBL (and is likely to be windier anywhere you've got a better fetch), but it will always be steadier the longer the fetch. I'd take overpowered and steady over less windy and less predictable any day.

There are instances where the air is just plain turbulent, but small spaces/lakes/parks/etc. are going to magnify that, as well.

So, I respect your acknowledgement that small likes are not a good place to kite.

Can you say Calhoun, anyone?
(Oh boy, I'm going to get flamed for that one...)

[Chuck G.]

Had a good time today on White Bear. Yeah, winds were gusty but my 7.3 Frenzy handled them well. The more I fly that kite, the better I like it. I'm always learning something new about it. By 2:30 my legs were shot and I packed it up before any damage was done. Not to mention that the winds became very gusty around then. Good time to quit.

Good to meet you, Barry! I'm sure we'll run into each other again sometime!

Chuck G.

[Denis]

Hehe. Don't knock Calhoun, Coach. That lake saw my first stumbling steps as a kiter. Hmmm... Maybe that's why those steps were "stumbling".

Chuck, I agree with you. I love every moment I spend flying my 7.3 Frenzy. I would love to be out there with you guys, but a cracked rib is keeping me grounded. I deluded myself yesterday when I went kiting with that rib. Probably set me back another week. Was well worth it though.

Denis

[Tighe]

It was gusty today, everywhere. I was out at Kite Island and there was easily a 5 mile fetch and still the gusts were huge. I was on my 9m, hanging on for dear life. It was cool, you could be barely moving or even stopped and send the kite for a mega boost. The gustiness made jumping a bit of a crap shoot though.

Second day in a row I had the opportunity to see incredible sunsets. Nothing like ending the day at the lake with a colorful sky.

Just great to be out on snow again. more may be on the way.

[Skyler S.]

Hey Tighe, I hear you there. It was crazy. I was running my 12m and there were times i was sidesliding at high speeds. Going upwind was great though. I was near Howards Pt. Marina on Upper Lake Minnetonka. It doesn't offer the protection of Kite Island, but there are some nice open areas to rip through.

[kyakmike]

Hey Chuck!
E-mail me with an address I can e-mail back to....
I have some questions about the 7.3 frenzy
and I couldn't find your address in the "Profile" thingie...
I'm at : kyakmike@frontiernet.net
for a short while yet, then I'm setting up an account at my sweeties house on a small lake...