Superior
Moderator: MK
-
Chris Lock
- Posts: 181
- Joined: Sun Mar 28, 2004 3:04 pm
- Location: Where eva da wind at Brah
So????
Looks like Wednesday should be classic, with a stayover for Thursday. Any takers? Pretty sure I'll be up there by noon tomorrow.
Ride...just be it!
www.just-be-it.com
www.just-be-it.com
Tott Lot
Partly sunny, and yes, ten degrees colder than Mpls., but 25mph, 5M conditions in some outrageous terrain. I'll be here a couple hours today if anyone's dropping by. Brian,,,,where are you?
Ride...just be it!
www.just-be-it.com
www.just-be-it.com
Dam, I hate when Randy beats us locals out on the water!
Just drove by the Tot Lot and Randy was just getting rigged. Judging from the size of his smile, the wind was at least what he expected. At my house, the wind was 28 to 33 mph out of the NE and it had increased while I was there over lunch. The forecast does not look stellar but with the isobars laid out the way they are and sunshine here, I would expect the wind to be steady and probably increase slightly.
I hope to sneak out and join randy this afternoon sometime.
Just drove by the Tot Lot and Randy was just getting rigged. Judging from the size of his smile, the wind was at least what he expected. At my house, the wind was 28 to 33 mph out of the NE and it had increased while I was there over lunch. The forecast does not look stellar but with the isobars laid out the way they are and sunshine here, I would expect the wind to be steady and probably increase slightly.
I hope to sneak out and join randy this afternoon sometime.
Have fun guys.Learnings.
Written Immediately After Derigging
Great learning session. It’s now 2pm and I’ve had my thrashing. I’ve found that given the feminine power of Mother Superior, my best sessions up here come with my wife’s blessings. Well, today I didn’t get that and I have to report that conditions, while appearing perfect, turned out to be quite brutal.
When I arrived it seemed to be solid 5M with a wind reading of 25mph. By the time I hit the water it was dead onshore and somewhat diminished. I pinched south and then had a good starboard run to the canal wall where the water was as disorganized as the Maui northshore on a Kona wind. I blew my jibe and quickly realized that if I didn’t get a quick waterstart I could be spending the afternoon here. Now on my port return, things were going well until I simply couldn’t hold my point, faced the wave headon three times to finally be swallowed.
I share my learnings with you for a variety of reasons. First, those of you who couldn’t get off work today must feel a sense of relief that conditions simply weren’t what we thought they’d be, and that you didn’t have to endure Mother’s whipping. I’ve learned that while 25mph sideshore is ok for 5M, 25mph onshore commands 6M. I think a 6M would have given me the power to eventually break through. Also, with a wind switching NE to E, the water texture was almost impossible to work with.
As to the temperature and sun, it was really quite comfortable with my Bare Polar. Rigging behind the sand mound, out of the wind, was great.
Written Thursday morning.
Well, after looking at the posts I could leave the image that I had an awesome sailing session. While the session has me humbled and pretty stiff this morning, the drive was well worth it. I had the pleasure of a sunny afternoon with air clarity that really showcased the beauty of the Twin Ports. I had an awesome visit with Chip who’s probably got as much wisdom about Superior as anyone, and the drive home was nothing short of spectacular as I went through every color of green you could imagine. The buds are just starting to come out. This was one of the big bonuses of my recent New Orleans trip, the traveling through winter to spring to summer, and the return…all in a couple days.
Summary Moral of the Story: If going to a lake of the feminine persuasion, and if a man, be sure to have the blessings (at least not the anger) of your feminine partner. If winds are clocking, be aware the water will still be confused and challenging. If the wind is directly onshore, rig one meter bigger than you’d expect to allow the power necessary to break through. If you bought something at the swap, be sure to assemble it all ‘before’ you’re at the beach to be sure it all fits. If you’re sailing near the canal wall and the winds onshore or slightly from the south, beware of some incredibly strong rip currents. Never question the possibility of an epic day before you drive to Superior. While I’ve been skunked with the sailing, I’ve never been disappointed with the trip…either running into great music, great friends, great scenery…and yes, a great learning experience.
Finally, I’ve got mobile internet through Verizon ($14 for the cable to my phone and the software and my regular minute calculation). It’s a dial up that connects at 115kps and has been great on the road. In this case, it helps me hold my honesty, since by the time I get home I will have transformed this humiliating session into a great waveriding day. Ps. This last paragraph was written just after coming off the water and then discovering that my mobile internet failed. Oh well….
Great learning session. It’s now 2pm and I’ve had my thrashing. I’ve found that given the feminine power of Mother Superior, my best sessions up here come with my wife’s blessings. Well, today I didn’t get that and I have to report that conditions, while appearing perfect, turned out to be quite brutal.
When I arrived it seemed to be solid 5M with a wind reading of 25mph. By the time I hit the water it was dead onshore and somewhat diminished. I pinched south and then had a good starboard run to the canal wall where the water was as disorganized as the Maui northshore on a Kona wind. I blew my jibe and quickly realized that if I didn’t get a quick waterstart I could be spending the afternoon here. Now on my port return, things were going well until I simply couldn’t hold my point, faced the wave headon three times to finally be swallowed.
I share my learnings with you for a variety of reasons. First, those of you who couldn’t get off work today must feel a sense of relief that conditions simply weren’t what we thought they’d be, and that you didn’t have to endure Mother’s whipping. I’ve learned that while 25mph sideshore is ok for 5M, 25mph onshore commands 6M. I think a 6M would have given me the power to eventually break through. Also, with a wind switching NE to E, the water texture was almost impossible to work with.
As to the temperature and sun, it was really quite comfortable with my Bare Polar. Rigging behind the sand mound, out of the wind, was great.
Written Thursday morning.
Well, after looking at the posts I could leave the image that I had an awesome sailing session. While the session has me humbled and pretty stiff this morning, the drive was well worth it. I had the pleasure of a sunny afternoon with air clarity that really showcased the beauty of the Twin Ports. I had an awesome visit with Chip who’s probably got as much wisdom about Superior as anyone, and the drive home was nothing short of spectacular as I went through every color of green you could imagine. The buds are just starting to come out. This was one of the big bonuses of my recent New Orleans trip, the traveling through winter to spring to summer, and the return…all in a couple days.
Summary Moral of the Story: If going to a lake of the feminine persuasion, and if a man, be sure to have the blessings (at least not the anger) of your feminine partner. If winds are clocking, be aware the water will still be confused and challenging. If the wind is directly onshore, rig one meter bigger than you’d expect to allow the power necessary to break through. If you bought something at the swap, be sure to assemble it all ‘before’ you’re at the beach to be sure it all fits. If you’re sailing near the canal wall and the winds onshore or slightly from the south, beware of some incredibly strong rip currents. Never question the possibility of an epic day before you drive to Superior. While I’ve been skunked with the sailing, I’ve never been disappointed with the trip…either running into great music, great friends, great scenery…and yes, a great learning experience.
Finally, I’ve got mobile internet through Verizon ($14 for the cable to my phone and the software and my regular minute calculation). It’s a dial up that connects at 115kps and has been great on the road. In this case, it helps me hold my honesty, since by the time I get home I will have transformed this humiliating session into a great waveriding day. Ps. This last paragraph was written just after coming off the water and then discovering that my mobile internet failed. Oh well….
Ride...just be it!
www.just-be-it.com
www.just-be-it.com
Randy –
Looks like you were just a day early, today is already setting up to be much better wind. Although Sky Harbor is not registering it, I am guessing (have not consulted with my neighbors anemometer) that the wind is in the mid 30’s. Unfortunately, it feels like the wind has surpassed the temperature. If the wind and sun hold out, I’ll get that ride today. First time in over a month! That’s way to dry for this time of year.
If anyone feels especially light headed today and decides to come up, set your watch back about two months. That’s the kind of weather we’ve got; 40 degrees, high humidity, strong winds, perfect sailing weather. Bring more than one board, bring sails from 4.0 to 6.0. Bring long jons and your dry suit. Bring humility and smile.
Looks like you were just a day early, today is already setting up to be much better wind. Although Sky Harbor is not registering it, I am guessing (have not consulted with my neighbors anemometer) that the wind is in the mid 30’s. Unfortunately, it feels like the wind has surpassed the temperature. If the wind and sun hold out, I’ll get that ride today. First time in over a month! That’s way to dry for this time of year.
If anyone feels especially light headed today and decides to come up, set your watch back about two months. That’s the kind of weather we’ve got; 40 degrees, high humidity, strong winds, perfect sailing weather. Bring more than one board, bring sails from 4.0 to 6.0. Bring long jons and your dry suit. Bring humility and smile.
Looking Good....and COLD:
http://134.156.98.1/lakecam/
Randy, Chip - I've gotten "trapped" (aka pummeled) down by the Canal wall. That seems to be the spot to avoid as far as nasty currents.
Nice to hear your story - the risk/reward is high but some days up there come with a large serving of humble pie from the Mother.
http://134.156.98.1/lakecam/
Randy, Chip - I've gotten "trapped" (aka pummeled) down by the Canal wall. That seems to be the spot to avoid as far as nasty currents.
Nice to hear your story - the risk/reward is high but some days up there come with a large serving of humble pie from the Mother.
For those of you that saw our post about sailing yesterday - I don't think we had it as bad up here as you did in the cities.. The lake actually kept us a bit warmer, at least when you were in it, and it was half sunny most of the day.
When Chris and I finally pulled the plug, just cus we're old guys and it was time for our nap, I saw a gust of 58 on my neigborhood anemometer... probably too much windl for our 4.2 and 5.2 sails.
I still have a smile on my face from the "nice pain" I still have. I had forgotten how uplifting geting out on the water can be. I've been talking to folks, and there's a lot of negative out there - from world news, politics, work, now the weather. It nice to feel good, really good about what your doing. I think this "high" I have will last a couple days more...
I hope the wind blows again soon.
When Chris and I finally pulled the plug, just cus we're old guys and it was time for our nap, I saw a gust of 58 on my neigborhood anemometer... probably too much windl for our 4.2 and 5.2 sails.
I still have a smile on my face from the "nice pain" I still have. I had forgotten how uplifting geting out on the water can be. I've been talking to folks, and there's a lot of negative out there - from world news, politics, work, now the weather. It nice to feel good, really good about what your doing. I think this "high" I have will last a couple days more...
I hope the wind blows again soon.
GREAT DAY, though the "Getting Old" part is getting old. Chip was in the air more than the water, but for me it was the excitement of the "Season Opener".
Top REAL things I'd like the editors of Windsurfing Magazine to address:
1. How to coax male parts back down out of the abdominal cavity after a sesson on lake superior
2. To hell with "Which board is a little turnier?" review, I wanna know which board is better in sleet. Or snow.
3. Advice on how to fend off all the beautiful UMD coeds that come down to the beach to relax and watch the windsurfing hunks sail. Oops, sorry the neck of my drysuit must have been a little too tight.
Hope to see the rest of you guys next time
Chris
Top REAL things I'd like the editors of Windsurfing Magazine to address:
1. How to coax male parts back down out of the abdominal cavity after a sesson on lake superior
2. To hell with "Which board is a little turnier?" review, I wanna know which board is better in sleet. Or snow.
3. Advice on how to fend off all the beautiful UMD coeds that come down to the beach to relax and watch the windsurfing hunks sail. Oops, sorry the neck of my drysuit must have been a little too tight.
Hope to see the rest of you guys next time
Chris
Great stuff!
Wish I could have stuck it out another day. Definitely sounds like it was worth the wait. Nothing like a 4M Superior day to get one out of the head and fully into the momentary experience of the body and spirit. For sure, there's a lot of junk going down in the world today that's hard to take, but I keep coming back to the wisdom in the phrase, "You can't stop the wave, but you can learn to Ride It!". Again, glad you guys had such a great opener..Hmmm...sorry to say I've never had that coed observational experience....
See you up there next time..
See you up there next time..
Ride...just be it!
www.just-be-it.com
www.just-be-it.com