The Gathering

[RandyL]

Another great event was had and a wedding to boot. I was happy to see NormaNN didn’t find it necessary to add a few pointers to their vows or have a kitemare in their backdrop.
It was fun to see everyone having a good time and catching up with people who you only get a chance to see a couple times a year. Gary you are really looking dialed in out there and now you have to get Sue on the water to enjoy this sport. I’m still smiling over the last session of the day; you really had to take a leap of faith to get out a ¼ mile or so to the good wind. The wind wasn’t great all day, but enough to have fun and an occasional hour or so of fully powered riding. Thank you to Chris Schey with Slingshot, along with Mike K for supplying the burgers & brats, also to Tighe for grilling.

[Lee_Uptown]

You 3 stooges missed out on the downwinder to Reddy creek! Leave my 'dad' alone, he's just a little cursed with kitemares. The gathering was really fun and I wish this takes place more frequently. See you folks soon and thanks for the food Mike K.

[JRN]

You didn't know? I did offer to go along on the Honeymoon to give any advice, coaching, tips & pointers (so to speak). But, when the Groom saw the spreader bar on my new Nitrous shorts, I think he was intimidated. The Bride, however, did seem somewhat interested.

[Tighe]

yeah it was a great time. The weather was so vivid throughout the day with massive thunderheads rolling through to the north and the south. The sky created some amazing visuals on the water. Nothing like riding a mile or two out onto Mille.

Great to see everyone.

[MK]

I had lots-o-fun.

I'd like to take credit for the food and was prepared with fat burgers and brauts but know SS and Tighe are deserving.

After my lesson I dissappeared for 2 hrs and played in the swell, ramped off a couple of waves, murdered my back rolls, practiced board retrieval, and worked through some lulls. Preserved a great memory of me down-wind kiting of Andreas windsurfing. We both were port-side tacking out and in good wind; exchanging smiles and stoke. Nice boosts on the 13M.

At one point in my last session I shared a few steps in the walk of shame with Gary then played the mystery game of trying to get back home on light wind. I was eyeing Randy & Eu Han, watching them figure eight a bit further out. They were succeeding so I stayed at it, kept loosing ground and hope, then got out further and discovered where the wind was.

Props to:

John (of Eu Han and Justin's gang) for getting a good strongside ride. With all the peeps I don't think we had any injuries and only one kite died. Hope it is as simple of a fix as it sounds Mark R. The Fox started to put a race course together but then the wind came down a little - thanks for giving it a go Mike. Fun to see Bryce, Dennis, Votja, and Peter on the water around the same time. Mike and Jenny kept the feeling alive with a quick skateboard session on the road. Good to see Jay representing Alexandria area. I missed Rezba's ride! Were Deb and Jenn the only females representing? Kari, we know you would have joined us but your marathon through the forest took you out of the wind. Hope you got a ride in Sunday. Aaron, Justin, Ken, Adam, Paul and Adam, Keith, Scott, Jerry, Rick, Chad, Leo, Dr. Mark, the Wainman kite dude who shared the barrel of Oberon (drawing a name blank!), and of course Jim all represented. Chime in with your stories and whomever didn't get mentioned for the roster, I know I'm missing a few.

Looking forward to the next time. Can we count on interest in a fall crossing?

[JRN]

THANKS TO SLINGSHOT & TIGHE FOR THE YUMMY BRATS! Nice grill, BeldenN. I thought it was remarkable that there were actually more kiters on the previous weekend (we counted 30) than there were at this scheduled non-event. It is so kool that we can have a non-event without even announcing it. I'm hoping next weekend follows the pattern.

[shera]

Good times! I had a blast even though the wind was like a roller coaster. Thanks Mike for letting me borrow your 13M Key, it is amazing how fast the memory goes at your age. Also thanks to all those that entertained my friend Kim that I dragged along to the event so I could get my fix. She had a great time and really enjoyed meeting everyone.

May the weekend kiting streak continue!

Leah

[Denis]

Yeah, it was pretty fun. For a grim looking forecast a couple of days before the gathering, I think that we got plenty of power. The downwinder to Reddy was fun, except for a drop in wind at the end. Great to be hanging out with a large crew this weekend.