My morning kinda fell apart and I didn't get out the driveway 'til just after 10:30. OK though, because I don't have any business at all being out on Superior in 3.0 wind especially with my smallest sail being a 3.7.
It started to snow as i was getting close and i was thinking that it could be tough to sail if snow was pelting me in the eyes. Like mother Superior doing the three stooges eye poke then a blindside with a breaking 8 footer. Not real comforting after 2 hours on the road.
I pulled in to tot lot expecting to see dripping wet chilly smiles but there was only Eric huddled in his van trying to convince himself to go out.
We were both dupped into rigging too small. Eric went 5.2 and I went with a 4.2 after my last time getting overpowered heading toward the airport.
We were out for awhile getting planed up now and then and catching a few waves but it dropped even more and I went in for my 5.1 which got me some more rides and some more vertical faces to smack. Also, the opportunity to extend the test of the Pro-Limit 5/3 steamer which passes my test with flying colors.
It was snowing when I came off the water and it was sticking to my sail as I de-rigged but I was still nice and happy (must be all the conditioning from sailing among ice chunks in a 3/2 wetsuit with extra leaks).
It was worth the trip and I'm glad I went but I shoulda been there 3 hours earlier and if I had known what the wind would be by 1:30, I might have stayed home.
When I was done, there was a Coast Guard boat out doing big water training and those guys were getting tossed all over SS Minnow style.
I took a few bad pics that don't begin to show what it was like at tot lot but I could post them anyway if someone would let me know the proceedure.
Missed the biggest but Superior still rocks
Moderator: MK
yeah, that was OK up there. I got a speeding ticket on the way up. The police officer told me "Have a BETTER day" as he left me with a 105 dollar fine.
I got up there about 11:30 and it was rocking. No one else so I checked down be the airport. No one. I was going to go out but thought there should be aleast one person that could tell you guys how good it was before they found me in wisconsin (there was a nice side shore current running away from the jetty).
I was thinking 5.2 early and would have been nicely powered in the mushers. Wind kept dropping and the waves kept jacking on the outside. It was all messed up in the surf zone. A couple of surfers gave it a shot but it was just too dam confused.
I had my best rides like Chip said staying just a few tens of yards off the beach in the lanes. It's a totally different kind of sailing if you haven't done it.
I'm glad I went up and got wet. You need that experince. Now I'll feel even better about going out when things are on the big side.
Always Rig BIG in the surf zone, it's forsure a meter larger in there than outside or what it seems like on the beach. Don't wuss out!!!!
Vojta said he was headed up to Lester and Stoney to score on some surf. It should be glassy today? The surfer doods up there are all stoked when it starts firing. I should have brought my surfboard cause I wouldn't have been too scared messing around near shore but it would have been impossible to get out to the break for anyone less than expert.
It would have taught you some good lessons though about life.
Later,
I got up there about 11:30 and it was rocking. No one else so I checked down be the airport. No one. I was going to go out but thought there should be aleast one person that could tell you guys how good it was before they found me in wisconsin (there was a nice side shore current running away from the jetty).
I was thinking 5.2 early and would have been nicely powered in the mushers. Wind kept dropping and the waves kept jacking on the outside. It was all messed up in the surf zone. A couple of surfers gave it a shot but it was just too dam confused.
I had my best rides like Chip said staying just a few tens of yards off the beach in the lanes. It's a totally different kind of sailing if you haven't done it.
I'm glad I went up and got wet. You need that experince. Now I'll feel even better about going out when things are on the big side.
Always Rig BIG in the surf zone, it's forsure a meter larger in there than outside or what it seems like on the beach. Don't wuss out!!!!
Vojta said he was headed up to Lester and Stoney to score on some surf. It should be glassy today? The surfer doods up there are all stoked when it starts firing. I should have brought my surfboard cause I wouldn't have been too scared messing around near shore but it would have been impossible to get out to the break for anyone less than expert.
It would have taught you some good lessons though about life.
Later,
Last edited by Eric S on Wed Nov 05, 2003 8:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Saw Dave and Eric out there - by they time they hit the water the wind was dropping fast. Eric, you're right. Always rig bigger than you expect if you are sticking to the inside. The air flow tends to rise up and over park point just outside of the shore break. I almost always use a 5.2 even to about 40 mph by an onshore anemometer - because of the lift in surf. There are times, when the air is morel stable and doesn't lift so much - you can read this from shore by looking at the wind lines in the surf..
If you had gotten out earlier, you probably would have gotten some big rides. Next time, I'll joint you. You can sail in the shore break up to about 70 mph on shore. We may still get another NE'r before Thanksgiving which is when it usually gets too cold to sail in the water rather than on top of it.
Dave, Eric - hard to believe, but the waves are gone, the lake is completely flat today..
If you had gotten out earlier, you probably would have gotten some big rides. Next time, I'll joint you. You can sail in the shore break up to about 70 mph on shore. We may still get another NE'r before Thanksgiving which is when it usually gets too cold to sail in the water rather than on top of it.
Dave, Eric - hard to believe, but the waves are gone, the lake is completely flat today..
Thanks Chip. I'm going to make a big effort to get up there and sail more. Last time I was out on a 7.5 and GO and still had a blast lakeside. It's worth the trip in these conditions especially if you have not sailed there before. You wil become familiar with the landmarks and the bottom.
I just wish it wasn't so cold all the time up there but hey, that's life.
I just wish it wasn't so cold all the time up there but hey, that's life.
I was shocked at the price but that's as cheap as they come in Millaca. I radared at 67 in a 55. He was a little bit wound up becuase I didn't stop for a long time after I passed him. I didn't even know he was a cop on the side of the road. After he calmed down and was wondering what all that "stuff" was in my van blocking my view, he said to take it easy because it was 'trecherous' on the road. I think the cops were out making examples cause it was the first day of snow.
Pffft, little did he know that I was on my way to REALLY risk my life in Duluth. The roads were cake.
Pffft, little did he know that I was on my way to REALLY risk my life in Duluth. The roads were cake.