Cannon--shred alert!

[Bill S.]

If it goes off tomorrow bring the wave board and 4m sails (or smaller). It would be great to share the water with many old and new faces!

Bill

[Amaury]

Hi Bill, I'll be part of the new faces. It's gona be my first time on Cannon, can't wait to see that. Guess the fishing dock on the North part of the lake is the place to be?

Amaury (the Swiss man)

[Mike W]

I may have to show up with my 7m kite so that someone is there to represent the kite contingent.

[RobH]

Hey Mike,

Im thinking about heading down to Clear Lake this afternoon - I have never been to Cannon - how would you comapre that to Clear Lake for a big day like tomorrow with South winds ? Ill know which way Im heading in a couple hours - these are the tough choices I like in my life - which lake to hit on a big day

[dave t]

I plan to catch the firing of the Cannon but if it goes too far off the charts I might just hit the Wac instead.

Bill, did you find if you had the extra slingshot pump?

[Tighe]

someone bring a camera. Those forecasts look insane.

tighe

[Geo]

8 am arrival: Mike and I will be there for the early session.
Looking forward to seeing some pole boards disappear behind the waves.

[Dave Z]

Will be there for the afternoon shift...then hafta be back home by 6 (soccer, soccer, soccer). Really been looking forward to classic Cannon!!!


...VERY WINDY FOR WEDNESDAY...

.GUSTY SOUTH WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE EVENING ACROSS
SOUTHERN AND PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MINNESOTA AS THE WARM FRONT MOVES
NORTHWARD. THIS FRONT WILL EVENTUALLY LIFT INTO NORTHERN MINNESOTA
BY MORNING. SOUTH WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WILL SPREAD EVEN FURTHER
NORTHWARD OVERNIGHT IN THE WAKE THIS FRONT. DURING THE MORNING ON
WEDNESDAY EVEN STRONGER WINDS ARE EXPECTED IN MUCH OF SOUTHERN AND
ACROSS EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA. WIND GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 MPH ARE
POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY MORNING AND INTO THE AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY
ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA.

[scottchapman]

I need a Chinook base for my board....I need the plate for the board...anyone at Cannon at 11 am gonna have one I can borrow?

[BSMITH]

yes

[scottchapman]

thanks bud see you about 11 or so. I found another back up if needed. Hard to find all the pole boarding stuff...

[dave t]

Yikes!!
Anyone down there to report?
3.7 small enough to stay alive?

Waconia looks a little more... sane.

Ready to bust out of the shackles soon.

[DavidKnight]

I got in early to leave early. Should be there around 4 to snap a few pics before joining in on the fray. Just in the last hour or so, the St. Paul skyline went hazy with all the pollen and dust being picked up. I think it's gonna be a little furry out there today.

[Geo]

at noon it was full on 3.5 slacking off to 3.7.

It was even too much for Mike's 7m TD2, although 6 second airtime was fun to see.

[Tighe]

boom

[BSMITH]

It was BIG. 3.0 at times. I was just called into work because power poles blew over earlier. Friggin wind!

[Geo]

MIke and I got to Cannon at 8 am. By 10:00 the waves were starting to even out at the edges and create some great swell. Big ramps in the middle that you couldn't take unless the wind slacked off for a bit. Mike had some ridiculous 5/6 seconds of hangtime on his 7m. It was so windy at times that he would get a double boost, soft landings even on the small kite. I was wound on a 4.0 but got some decent airtime, surfy wavesailing even so.

We launched from the East, but by 11 am, visited the north side parking lot: full of flying detritus. All the old men (ourselves included) came out to rig their old gorge sails for the once-every-year Minnesota event. It was maybe good to have an excuse to leave "early", happy that we got the best Cannon had to offer.

[DavidKnight]

I took a few pics down at Cannon before foolishly rigging a 5.0 thinking it would drop as forecasted. It didn't. I got worked. Lesson learned... don't just bring your sails per the forecast. Finally, around 7, it dropped and I sailed 5.0 powered up til sunset. A few more pics on the gallery page... http://www.lakawa.com/phpBB/lakawaphoto/?show=250

[Pete]

What a day that was! I arrived at 9:30 and left at 6:30. My strongest session was at the end of the day. Finally got the balls to pull the trigger on the jumps which ended up being the highest ones to date for me. Was surprised there we not more sailors at Cannon on this huge day. The dust in the air was not that big of a deal aside from the constant feeling of grit in the eyes. Looking forward to the next big one.

[Bill S.]

Pete, way to send it! It took me all day, too, to find the cojones to really hit the ramp and soar. In the fifth of five hour-long sessions on Wednesday I finally got catapulted and back-spanked soundly in a 50+ mph gust. I tried to hang on in mid-flight but felt shoulder muscles pulled like taffy and while inverted I let go. Crash, boom, limped to shore, called it a day.

Thanks, Sid, for loaning me your helmet. I'm not leaving home any more without one.

In the end, a few days of soreness is a small price to pay for such sessions. I've been windsurfing and kiting Cannon for 15 years and have never seen it go off like that for as long as that. That one truly deserves the title of "epic."

Bill