Saturday rides

[MK]

Report on your rides today!

[Pete]

Aside from what seemed like the occasional railroad tie lurking between the swell Pepin was a blast. Geo did put up his kite with minimal real estate (hairiest launch I've ever helped with) and was out there tearing it up! As far as sailboard gear, I was on a 5.2 and 85 ltr glass board fully juiced. No fin boxes were torn out but a couple guys got slammed by large debris.

[Professor Robae']

Pics or it did not happen Pete!

Kidding. I'm sure old man river was a rolling!!!

[JRN]

EAST-SIDE RIDERS lit up WildWood Bay! The usual suspects were involved. I got to trial my "new" aquisitions: a 9m Caution, & a Mako.
Shoulda rigged a bigger kite for the Mako, but the 9 worked fine with the Jumbo Underground. My O-Neil semi-dry kept it comfy with long johns beneath, but I lost my helmet. How windy was it? So, windy that my helmet blew right off my head, and was I glad I wore a hoody.
Later, Terry spotted an eagle that dove for the helmet, and quipped, "It must have thought a body was still attached below!" I had thought of training a fish to retrieve gear, or a toothless dog to fetch kites, but never considered a bird.

[Randy]

Had a great 5M windsurf opener on Forest Lake. Pepin rollers sounded tempting, but something about 'home' felt right. The winds varied 30 degrees at any given time, so the chop was often very confused. The 10-40mph wind range required a 5M to keep my 90L board going in the lulls. Needless to say, there were a lot of sheet out moments. After wintering the central coast of California and pretty much having kiting conditions out there, it was fun to get back on the windsurf equipment after such a long break from it. Looking forward to the upcoming season.
Jim, I've had eagles dive my hang glider and my kite, but never my head. What color helmet was it? My son Ryan told me a story about an electrical lineman who had to fetch a baby deer from electrical wires. Amazing creatures.

[Bill S.]

A great season opener at Pepin with with sun shimmering through clouds and large rolling swells!

[Geo]

Thx to Pete and bill for launch assist. If it was hairy, I felt like I was in fine hands.

First time at lake city. I'll be down again if it lines up right. I only had minimal time window sat, but looked like it was filling in nicely later on and the waves were setting up. Beautiful scenery, even if some if the trees were IN the water rather than on shore.

Look forward to sailing there again!