Friday at The Mother

[Geo]

Who's gonna join me? Looks like it should be good by mid-morning even.

THURSDAY NIGHT
W WIND AROUND 5 KT VEERING NE 10 TO 15 KT
AFTER MIDNIGHT. PARTLY CLOUDY. WAVES 2 FT OR LESS BUILDING TO 2 TO
4 FT.

FRIDAY
NE WIND 15 TO 20 KT. PARTLY CLOUDY. WAVES BUILDING TO 3
TO 5 FT. A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY MAY BE NEEDED.
also:
Friday: ENE wind 13 to 17 kt. Mostly sunny (63º). Waves 1 ft building to 4 ft.

[Randy]

I'll be there, but looks like it could be another afternoon blow. May have to clean my garage for a bit first.

[Tighe]

working on it. Hopefully I can make it happen.

[Reds]

I am interested...checking arrangements...

[tom_latcham]

I am not going to let this one slip away. Not many warm days left this year to ride the mothers waves.

[Kevinousdigian]

Exp looks poor but NOAA is stoked. Remember they need to be conservative when it comes to small craft warnings.
I'm in if looks good in the morning.

http://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.p ... t+Advisory

[MK]

I'm in.

Carpool for the city slickers?

I have all day and all day to do it, can't think of a better way to spend it. I'm available to leave from Maple Grove around 9:30am and will need to be home sometime after dark.

Mike

Let's ride!

IMAG0050.jpg (17.16 KiB) Viewed 8245 times

[Reds]

See you there!

[Tighe]

leaving 8:30a on the East side party train. See you up there.

[Geo]

Leaving about 9:15 from The House if anyone wants to hook up with us.

[Kevinousdigian]

Still looks like wind up there today and I don't think we'll have to work on tans in the late morning as the best wind may be then. I'm excited for the day and look forward to seeing a big crowd up there!

[Kevinousdigian]

Waves building to 4-6'. Let's hope they are right!
TWO HARBORS TO DULUTH MN-DULUTH MN TO PORT WING WI-
334 AM CDT FRI SEP 18 2009

...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING...

.TODAY...NE WIND INCREASING TO 15 TO 20 KT. PATCHY FOG EARLY IN
THE MORNING. WAVES 3 TO 5 FT BUILDING TO 4 TO 6 FT IN THE
AFTERNOON.

[MK]

packing a couple of sandwiches, some chips, sipping coffee, doing a gear check and thinking of Tobey's caramel roles...

Mike

[dtownkiter]

i am jealous. make sure you all get some photos so i can at least see what i missed out on. i will be stuck in the office all day wishing i could come out and play.

enjoy!

[scottchapman]

heading out now...

[dtownkiter]

looks like they got their wind/waves.

http://www.solglimt.com/webcam/webcam.html

[Tighe]

oh yeah, it was grand.

some photos in gallary

[Randy]

What a posse! Arrived at Tot Lot to greet Phil and find Chris on the water, only his third time of the season. As an ER doc, he points out how the ER room has become our inefficient universal health care system. Damn, it's fun to ride with him...I swear his smile extends past his face. It was fully powered 6M on the outside, even though Sky Harbor seemed pegged at 17 the whole day. Andrew showed up and was ready to head out when Chris and I were tearing down. He's a good looking Coast Guard kid in his early twenties. As he was rigging some UMD surfers were getting ready with all the grace, style and enthusiasm to suggest to Andrew that he may want to engage a conversation with one of them, since he's currently a single guy. Something about feminine energy, wind, and surf....ummmm...so beautiful...the stuff of nature's harmony and rhythm at its most graceful.

Off to 22nd street for some kiting...no less than 20 kites in the sky. Grabbing a snack, the old master, Chip, pulls in and tells me he's even going out (in less than 30 knots). Warm water, blue sky, great community...irresistable.

Hats off to the tremendous talent on the water. Some pretty incredible maneuvers, with a lot of "push it" energy...some with penalty, but oh so fun to watch. The wave speed in 17mph is about as good as it gets. The slow just enough to make them very playable, with a lot of riders pulling many turns on a single wave, ocean style. It was a trip to actually share a couple waves...on a lake! Felt like Maui.

Tighe and Squirrel, thanks for the photos. It really was one of those rare, warm water, clear sky coloring the water every shade of blue and green you could think of days.

Just a side note on landing and launching close to sand dunes. There's a reason they call it "ridge soaring". Even a small 20-30' dune can double the lift power of your kite when you hit the updraft window. There seemed to be some pretty casual kite handling close to that lift window. Not trying to be preachy here, but sure seems best to launch and land as far from the dune as you comfortably can. Even the most experienced kiter has a potential of rapid lift in a split second.

[Stroh]

Good stuff out there yesterday... any day I can ride a 10m in board shorts on a NE is a Great day.

It was nice to see all the familiar faces out here... it was like being back at Waconia. I wish I could have stayed longer but I had prior engagements that I couldn't break off.

[Tighe]

Great to see you Stroh. It's been far too long. Thank Squirrel for the great shots. What a day.