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Just when you thought there was NO "new stuff" ...
On Saturday June 3rd, 2023 I went out to OKA and tried to windsurf in what I call "overpowering conditions". Someone said,"Phew!! Je pense qu'il y a 30 noeuds l'autre bord!"
So, I went to La CrĂȘte and practiced water starts all the while trying to stay in the shallows.
When I got off I saw a dude taking this out of his SUV:
It did NOT look like a kite kit, wingfoil or ??? What kinda animal is this ??
Apparently RRD have had this foldable sail out since about three years:
For me it is surprising that this concept has NOT been attempted before. The only thing I noticed was the loose leech is shallow waves at the top.
Dude says VoilOKA sells them & probably are supplied from windspirit. At VoilOka the mast and boom compact kit is $1244 + 15% tax. This does NOT include ANY sails, which are $850 + tax each. Way over $2000 for a 6-oh ?? WoW
How about wind-spirit ?? HD compact kit is $650 + tax and PRO is $1500 + tax. However, these look like sale prices !! and the 5-oh is $570 + tax on sale ..
Once upon a time ... there were these MultiSails where you added pieces to make the sail larger. Obviously that never took off. But reduction of storage and transport space has always been something to consider. However, I will NOT become a fan of inflatables !!!
It is a free-race sail and I did NOT see the air cam system discussed in the slalom sails. I guess racers are not meant to drop their sails and/or be able to waterstart these BIG boyz/sails ?!?
I have not written much about "new stuff" in the windsurf arena cuz for me, it was feeling a little stagnant. Sail (and board) companies are talking about keeping the same product for more than one year now - this is good business (if your product sells).
Okay, there is now windfoiling, which to me seems way too complex (just getting gear is too much work for me lol) and way too expen$ive for an old retired fart like myself. PLUS, two of the local windsurfers that I respect greatly in terms of their windsurf skills (the two Benwahs) have tried windfoiling and sold their stuff.
Based on my observations and discussions on the beach, people are going to wingfoiling. Both from windsurfing/foiling and from kitefoiling. Butt, I digress lol
I saw about this product on youtube, where their AI was kind enuff to suggest that video to me lol
Basically the wide luff of the cambered sails are filled with an air chamber that actually incorporates the cambers.
The initial installation is NOT trivial and I ask myself (and perhaps I will ask NorthSails) WHY they did not send these sails out with the air chamber + cambers installed ?!?!?
and here are some "first impressions" expressed lol
Before I forget... these sails are also made with NO seams using this new 3Di material and technology.
So, what is my take on all this ??
Firstly, I hope it does NOT require a different mast (what is MDM) and that the pump is included with the purchase ..
I do like the idea of the wide luff staying free of water for uphauling, but also feel like NS is adding another feature of complexity... Cambers can be a pain of their own free accord.
I would like to try one, but am NOT in the market for a $2000 sail plus perhaps a $1000 mast !!!
Went up north and tried the wind - marked this as a session, as it has been about three times out without a count on the spreadsheet. Helmut was out at Vaudreuils with his Fanatic Gecko 156 and SailWorks Retro 7-oh. Says he planed and it was too much for that setup later in the afternoon ...
------------- June 3rd Saturday ------------
Wind predictions varied between 20-40kph, 30-50kph and 40-60kph. The ONLY thing they could all agree on was: NE direction. This means Vaudreuils or OKA La Grande Plage.
I knew I was in trouble when NO-ONE was at La CrĂȘte and there was a strong wind outside that arena. So, I went to La Grande Plage at the far end and that's where everyone was.
Sails were from 4.7 to 5.2 for the most part - max 5.8m² Boards were 105 litres to about 115 litres
Sylvain left with an 8m² kite and when he waterstarted, he was foiling IMMEDIATELY; as in UP IN THE AIR & I have NEVER seen that before !?!?
He also left the water sooner than usual
So, as I knew this was gonna be too much for me ... After chatting and taking some pics ...
I went back to La CrĂȘte and practiced my waterstarts and just trying to handle such a wind !! Some others were there doing the same thing !!
Lady was trying to go against the wind and waves with an inflatable SUP = WTF
This was NOT a great session for me, but I feel I did the right thing man !!
After I got off the water a "young fellow" (probably in his thirties lol) was putting together an RRD freeride 6.0 sail that "folds in half" ?!? https://rrd.com
We had trouble with the downhaul as the dude never rigged it before. He started with zero downhaul and the 370+60/430 mast. The whole mast extension would not go in and so he put 4 cm downhaul. Even that did NOT look like enough and so, he put 6 cm. His downhaul tool sucked, and the sail tension is TIGHT !! Like a Sail Works sail. Too bad it's Euro pin or he could have used my winch !! Lent him my handy downhaul tool :-)
In the end with six cm downhaul, the luff looked right based on the looseness indicators.
And guess what ? that's what the recommended downhaul is in the discussion 436cm luff !?!?! 370+60+6 = 436cm lol I also had to remind him to tighten his vent screw !!
I found these "seed pods" at OKA Parc and took them home to identify them. My son talks about some app that is good for scanning plants and identifying and states "muh bueno" which makes me wanna eat em !!
So, I do a search on the web for hollow green seed pod and this is what I find #$%^&*()
Benwindy was at Vaudreuils early as I knew he would. He started with a 4.7 and went down to a 4.2 !! "Too gusty to have any real fun"
-------------------- May 28th SUNday -----------------------
Called Helmut and he said he could be ready and at Oka Parc in an hour !! He beat me there and was leaving when I arrived. "Too man mosquitoes!!" He was wearing some kinda wrist band that is supposed ta help. NOT !! I asked him what he had for breakfast cuz he was covered in bugs and I had one ... So ... he left and I continued after he told me there was NO WIND and no-one on the water = merde. Met Benwindy at the beach and we chatted - he was covered from head to toe and it seemed NO bugs were bugging him (pun intended). Wind is supposed to pick up in the p.m. and slated more for my 10-oh in the morning ... As Ben kept talking about rigging his 7-oh and this was my first outing on the water here this season, I opted for the GAastra GTX 8.2 + Shark 145 using a 47cm slalom fin. I got out at about eleven and the wind actually felt like it kept going down and I got off the water around 13h00. Seems wind picked up around 14h00 again. Sylvain musta bin happy!
Went up North to the chalet(s). When I arrived around 10h00 the water was like a mirror and I did NOT even bother setting up !! Chatted with the outlaws until it looked like perhaps there was some action on the water ... I had brought the GA GTX 8.5 with MS 490 and Chinook aluminum boom. Which I put on the BIC SL200. As was expected (after observing earlier), it was VERY difficult to determine where the wind was coming from (and how strong it was). Wind came from South, North, NW, West and SW. There were 30 kph gusts and at times NO WIND. This CANNOT count as a session. Lost the nut from the BIC mast base (seems to be 3/8 inches). Put in a 1/4 inch nut and bolt for now ... Also, the top camber popped off its batten while I was de-rigging. NOT a good day :-( Good thing the weather was SO nice - sat in my wetsuit in a chair - in the water :-) LOVELY !! and I had my medicine roflmao
Obviously up north with the BIC SL200 and GA Flow-3 seven-oh on a beautiful sunny May day. Wind was light from the north and really gusty - with wind shifts. Fell on the sail once or twice, butt never in the water LoL. In terms of windsurfing, it was NOT a great session. AND there were lotsa black flies when I got off. Water was not cold in the shallows - even with the cold nights they have been having. This was NOT good enough to count as a session and Saturday may be the next retry lol ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 20th Saturday Went to OKA and renewed my passes - $57+$53.76= $110.76 At the entrance the lady had issues with the card reader and I was there for a while lol. When I arrived at the main beach, I laughed cuz this is what I saw đ
There were lifeguards setting up and also people in dry suits installing the demarcation. There was NO reason for La CrĂȘte to not be accessible !! Wrote about it on the WindsurfQuebec forum: QuebecWindForum --> with more pics đ Went to TheGreenRoom and LeS'Pot after, butt didn't get anything lol Bouncer at The Green Room did not seem happy with us, butt in the end lol ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 19th FryDay Went up north and played with the Mistral SLE 303 -----------------> QuebecWindReport<----------- this session counts as an outing !! and I have this in a google doc
When I started with the Mistral 42 cm fin on the SLE, I had issues getting long enough screws. The first session was comfortable and the 2nd was a blast. I planed in the harness, but the wind was very abrupt. I fell on the sail as I could not get out of the harness when the wind stopped !! They truly were fun sessions !!
May 14th Mother's Day We were up north with soma da fam damily and so, I went on the water after lunch. Wind was from the NNW and was VERY finicky. Shifted direction and speed constantly which obviously meant I fell in once and dropped the sail MANY times. It was NOT very enjoyable and on top o' all that, it took me three tries to mount the sail. As such, this will NOT be counted as a session ... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 10th WednesdayI was repeating the same scenario as on Monday and Sunday. Work on roof and windsurf whenever I can. Pretty much about an hour a day. Now normally i would NOT call these sessions, but that's three hours in the last 3 days ... As such, I will count that as a session :-) Was out yesterday too ... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 8th Monday Up north playin on a chalet roof and did a quick session at lunch. As it was less than 1/2 an hour and wife would not let me go later ... This will NOT count as a session. I used the NP/NielPryde CC/ConstantCurve 490 mast and old boom. I actually think this mast goes better with this sail !! The look and cambers flip is sooo much better. Wind was North and NW (my least favourite directions on the lake) and 20-40 kph :-) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 7th Sunday What was all that StarWars crap this year with "May the fourth be with you" on the 4th of May $%^&*(
Wind was West and NW at 20-45kph and VERY gusty. I was on the BIC SL200 with the GA Flow-3 (MS 490 mast and the Chinook boom, which I brought). Bro-in-law suggested wetsuit and glad he did cuz I went in !! NOT a great session and a decent workout, but a session none the less ... -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 30th Sunday They were announcing heavy rains and cold temps all weekend. My eldest son went up north yesterday and so, I asked him about the state of the ice ... "Not frozen any more, mostly water." After I had packed my car with the Shark 145 and GA GTX 8.5 ... "If you're serious, idk, it might be too much ice / resistance" $%^&*() FUCK IT --> I went anyway and this is what I saw:
There were "ice patches" only in the Italian bay where the wind had blown them The wind was not bad, but < 35 kph --> SHARK + GTX 8.5 with the 50cm fin
In the afternoon the wind shifted and got lighter as in < 30 kph NE now So, I went out with the BIC SL200 + GA Flow 7-oh With that direction of wind.. the ice went in the "French bay" lol
It was 8 degrees C (<50F) and in the p.m. I wore NO gloves and yes, I fell in once in the morning !! Lotsa people freaked but QuebecWind folks loved it :-) QuebecWind Entry
April 28th Fryday Was watching the wind forecasts this week and hoping to go out today as the rest of the weekend is rain with potential of stronger winds ... Wind was shown as 12-23kph SE for most of the afternoon and the hi-way turned red with traffic. Took a nap instead !! Some people are lucky and are in Hatteras !! By 16h00 it was 18 degrees C with 11-17kph SE winds = SAD Sounds like the "dome effect" to me ...
April 22nd (Saturday) I have been SO busy that I did NOT even consider the possibility of windsurfing today. Picked up Propolis at Intermiel, stopped in at the Kanesatake Green Room and stopped by @ OKA Parc...
The regular entrance to the camping and LaCrĂȘte was blocked due to water inundation ... So, I drove to the far end of "The Beach" and took a look around... Water was HIGH and NOT from the Green Room lol
There was no-one on the water nor along the shoreline.
Wait a second .. I see something through the trees = 2 WindWingers, but they did NOT stay on the water long !! Wind measured at 8 to 9 knots ,,,
Clique the pic to see the Wingers
when I got to the beach ...
The kite in the foreground belongs to the Indian fellow, who is often there ... Yesterday he spent an hour swimming in with flippers that he carries on his back. He told me he had an equipment failure and the kite lost its air. Today he did NOT launch right away with the side wind and drifted over 200 yards towards La CrĂȘte !! Once he got going, he went WAY upwind. Another kiter explained that large wide boards can carve further upwind ...
I watched one fellow inflate his inflatable Wingfoil board to ONLY 21 PSI and his Wing to 9 PSI. Another Wingers' only needed 8 PSI = WoW !!
Why do people bring battery operated pumps then ??
Everyone kept speaking about the "dome effect".
At this time of year the water is cold and the air can get hot. This pushes the wind up (or keeps it there - depending on your perspective). This has no effect on the kiters. People lower to the water with their sail devices - like windsurfers and wingers - lose out...
When I left ... the wind seemed to have picked up and there were four WindWingers on the water (including the two from the morning), 2 kiters with 12 meter kites and 2 windsurfers (poppa and son). Poppa had a large iSonic with a large GA sail - probably around 8 meters. The kid had a smaller board - probably under 100 liters and a NP race sail with at least 3 cambers. Kid said the water was "fraite" and poppa took off very impatiently not even checking on the kid. The kid had issues and even tried to uphaul at one point - just when I was thinking ... water start skills will be tested today !!
Sylvain was there, butt had not gone on the water yet ... and was heading out with a 12 meter also (would have gone with a 15 if he had brought it).
Based on forecast ... I wonder what I would have brought and what rigged ??
As I saw the lack of wind in the morning and a Winger told me,"Ya gotta have patience.", I guess I would have started with my 8.5 sail and the FanaticShark 145. As it started to "pick up", I woulda hadto switch down to the NS Duke 6.9. With a sideshore up n down SE wind and the possibility of 40-60 kph winds... at some point I would have had to get off !!
NOT so sure this woulda bin a good windsurf day for me !!
Now at 15h30 I am hearing BIG gusts out there and this is what windalert is showing for OKA:
We are takin bout 15 to 30 mph winds (rounded up)
Fuck man, I hope no-one gets hurt - wind dropped and then gusted like shit man !!
The next day I sanded seven of my 13 fins to be ready for the water ... Did not see the need to apply epoxy MarineTEX as it would only require a fine layer = not coarse ...
April 7th (Good FryDay) There really was NO need ta wax those skis yesterday cuz it got cold in the morning (below freezing) and a solid crust developed on the snow... It was like "pure ice" and wind was howling in the chimneys (30-40kph WNW). However, as you may know, on a lake and this lake in particular, there are "wind shadows" and the wind may even drop to zero. In the morning I decided it was too dangerous without my safety equipment that was back home !! We went back and got it and were back by 13h30. I jumped on the ice model with the MS GLobal 5.0 m² sail - still strong winds, butt crusty now rather than solid ice. The sled stayed on top, butt sank if I stood on it. It was "fucking incredible" !! I even rode sitting on my harness and even tried it with a crazy carpet, butt did not work đ
Somehow I managed to NOT fall and it was quite the "wilde ride".
Instead of fixing the blue in the pic from yesterday, took one with my DSLR Nikon D200 using the zoom:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TurdsDay April 6th: Yesterday we had a freezing rain storm and lost power at about 16h30. As the power was NOT back the next morning, all schools were closed AND there was power up north at the chalet(s), that's where we headed... Most of my stuff was now back home (like the PX 460 RDM mast, the Chinook boom and my harness) and thus, only the MauiSails Global 5-oh was available.
The snow was "wet" and winds were less than 30 kph. It was fun, but also HARD WORK. Tomorrow morning it is supposed to be -3Âș C with winds from the West 30-40 kph = WooHoo.
The second pic shows the tracks in the snow. Will need to try and remove the blue on that one. I forgot my damn power supply for the PC ,my HDMI adapter. $%^&*
Again the ice sled "worked" better than the snow model !! I was upset that I could not find my ski wax - to at least try that option. On the other hand ... I was glad that the wax was not found until later in my "tool bag" becuz I was considering putting on the sticky wax (for warm temps) !! In the evening I waxed the ice sled and the snowboard model that I forgot to test yesterday !! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 2nd a Sunny Sunday: It was a cold night up north and even colder in the morning = -13 degrees Celsius. Winds were predicted to be from the NW 20-40kph. By the time I got there it was more like -5 degrees and winds NNW 30+ kph. At first I was planning to use the Global 5-oh in the "ice sled" but wind predictions were slumping. I tried and tried to rig that SW Hucker 6.6 without swearing. Everything was telling me to either NOT rig this sail inside or rig it outside on the ice. First started with wrong mast - I had left the 400 Chinook mast for the Global... Then I just could not get the downhaul on. First I had put it too high and then the string just felt too short. Even as I was taking the sail outside I kept saying to myself," It's gonna rip = watch out." Well, when I was out on the ice I saw that the sail was torn in the main panel. I kept sailing as it did not seem to hinder performance nor want to tear more ... Once I was back, I decided no more videoing and switched to the HotSailsMaui Fire 6.3 m² sail. That used to be my fave winter sail - especially on ice.
I had a riot !! The faster I went, the faster I wanted to go ... Oh yeah, I did not leave the harbour until I had my helmet and harness on at the very least ...
I repaired the torn SW Hucker 6.6 and brought some stuff back home. I was surprised the GA Flow-3 and the SW Retro 8-oh were still at home - those are also my larger winter sails !! AND I forgot to bring even smaller sails for windski $%^&*()
This video shows that the boom PointOfView is NOT the best with an all white background: https://youtu.be/qOSW_rTVNaoNext year I will try the video cam on a tripod as I sail bye ... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 25th Last Sunday I thought "that was it" as in NO MORE sailing on the ice n snow ... Well, guess again brothers n sisters !!
Me bro-in-law was enjoying my Nikon D200 with the 70-210mm zoom ... and he caught these amazing pics - love them for the contrast !!
Clique the pic
The winds were from the ENE, becoming Easterly and finally SE --> from very light to about 40kph were predicted and felt like less than 40. The setup was the same as last Sunday i.e. my ice sled with the SailWorkers Hucker 6.6 sail. Think I love that sail, you can pump it pretty easily - gives instant power !! It was about -4 Celsius and I was sweating !! Wore safety gear, but omitted the knee and elbow pads - did not feel that dangerous ...
Because the snow gave such a nice wash-out in the pictures, it also means that videos will look like one is just floating over some clouds.
Here is one me bro-in-law took from his phone :-) slammed against the window so that it would not shake = genius !!
BGood on the QuebecWind forum saw my post and videos and gave me some great SW Hucker advice: MORE downhaul and much less outhaul !! Check his pic !!
March 22nd I have officially declared my winter sailing over, butt can always dream. lol. Now I keep looking at Levitator 160s with Slingshot I84 foils, but even on sale they are still about $2100 + taxes. The wife just got some estimates on hearing aids and now no-one will hear any more about that foil setup = sad pun indeed ...đą
Now I need to determine what my summer kit will be at the out-law's chalet!! As the MEQ II was NOT utilized at all last year, I was contemplating somehow getting it there as well. Obviously it will NOT fit into my Toyota Prius C without a major portion sticking out $%^&*(
AND then there is the issue of the sail(s) up north ... The HotSailsMaui SpeedFreak has seen better days and now the mast pops out the top of the sleeve (need a coffee thermos cap to block?). The Gaastra Flow-3 7-oh was the last sail used there with the BIC SL200. It was okay with the NP 490 ConstantCurve mast. For the MEQ II the SW Retro 8.0 would also work, but if it dies, there will be NO more BIG winter sail ... Does the boom I purchased in September 2017 function with the SW Retro ?? It should be okay cuz that's the one I used with the SPF ... SPF outhaul is 230 cm and the Retro is 225. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 19th So... I did go to Vaudreuils after a colder night. The ice was hard and the snow was crusty. However, as one can see in the photo from yesterday, it was rough and was NOT better further out !! from the previous traffic. Kept debating with myself whether to try it or not ... Since I was there, I set up my snow sled version with my MauiSails Global 5-oh. I tried to stay close to shore to keep in a wind shadow, but the wind changed to a NW and powder snow fell to the point that I could barely see the shore = NOT fun. So ... after a shower and warming up @ home, I headed north lol ...
Wind was from the West and NW from light wind to blowing wind (15-40kph?). I started with the snow sled, but the ice sled was MUCH better and I had a riot !! I was flying and pushing for MORE - with the SailWorks Hucker 6.6 m² sail. This may have been the first time I used this sail !! It needs some tape on the Hucker window !!! There is a decent dent.
oh yeah ... I was out on this day with NO safety equipment at all - NO helmet, NO knee or elbow pads and even my gloves were summer work gloves đ There was NO danger cuz if I fell, I would simply go through the snow lol ...
March 18th Not even a week later and the river is finished ... đą The wind was decent and from the West about 20-40kph... Am considering going to Vaudreuils to check it out there - even if offshore ... Would be going tomorrow - colder night and morning mean "better ice".
Went to Vaudreuils - water in my tracks, saw car drive in 6 to 8 inches of water. Which means it is safe, BUT ... Need the night ta bee cold !! Let's see what happens !!!
Rigged the MS Global 5.0 in the garage with 14 cm downhaul instead of 16 and 166cm outhaul instead of 171.. and has to be rigged fully down and outhauled ...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 12th Went to the local river and there is about 1-2cm softer crunchy snow before you sink any more, which means "it is doable" !! There was "water under the bridge" and fairly fresh snowmobile tracks = okay to go ...
Just lacking wind taday.
As usual in the next few days there will be rain and snow ... Plus when the wind does show up on Tuesday with all that crap, wind is from the NE, which means I would need to go to the local park, which is not where I tested today, am less familiar with the ice conditions there and there is NO parking except for maybe one or two spots !!! shit .. shIT .. SHIT $%^&*() Don't know what happened Tuesday, but know I did NOT go đą
March 11th Am up north and temps are under the freezing point. However, the snow has been keeping the top layer over the ice as water đą
tried some photo editting
The next day that water was frozen enough that I could stand on it and shovel it out further - with water on top still ... It seemed to support me more than yesterday - did NOT go down 12 inches ... just two
again tried some photo editing
Spoke to Christiane who has been going to the lake since she was ten and she is not much younger than I. So, for the sake of argument, let's say in the last fifty years ... she has NOT seen a winter like this !! Where they were ONLY able to skate on the lake ONCE in the whole winter !! She described going on the lake with snowshoes just recently where she went from going through three feet of powder to going through one foot of snow to water to staying on top of the crusty where someone had passed previously = NO constancy, which is a perfect reflection of the weather around the world = GLOBAL WARNING !! Deep snow in California and drought in Europe ... me bro, who is also a Canadian Trumpster and Free Dumb fighter, feels there is NO global warming - calls it "just more government manipulation of the people" đĄ to get us to do what "they" want
March 8thWhen is the Ides of March anyway ?? Tonight we have a Waning Gibbous - whatever the hell that means lol ...
I went down to the local river for a CSA/CurrentSituationAnalysis. There was one other car in the parking with someone in it when I arrived and when I left. Snow on the way out was fairly crusty and the ice under the bridge was SOLID.
Further out I could see tracks and what looked like ice at the bottom of them ... My foot went through the snow and the first layer under that was water - before the ice. My "snowsled" could probably "float" over this snow/water/ice, but for sure there would be times it might be "uncomfortable". đĄ Better HOLD OFF for now ... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 01MAR2023Well, it feels like not much of a winter so far - not enough ice and when it snowed, man, did it snow !! Have only been out five times and the average winter outage is nine.
Let's hope March and April make up for it..
I was looking over last year's summer journal... It looks like the Mistral EQ II was NOT used nor was the Fanatic Bee 124 LTD. The Equipe is gonna hafta git up north and the Bee is gonna hafta git on the water.
Started looking at getting in the footstrap videos again and I think I am gonna hafta perfect the hang down like a T-Rex squirrel technique !!
21FEB2023It was a cold night and there were winds from the NE. Went down to the local river and it looked doable. It was a bit rough, was quite cold and the wind was fairly strong. I was actually shivering when I went in the car and I cancelled it. If I really wanted to go, Vaudreuils would be the call, but there were family obligations today :-( and wind dropped later too - not going with a BIG sail on that ice ...
20FEB2021I cannot believe that I was considering goin on the local river today. Temps up north were six degrees C and it was raining. There was wind from the WSW under 20 kph. Thought it was going to go to thirty. Everywhere you went it was slushy with the high temperature. The ice is gonna be shit and the wind ain't great either. Fuck that man !! Took a nap at 15h00 instead - when making dinner at 17h00 it was 2 degrees and winds 10-15 SW. A little colder and it might have been do-able - what's in the forecast ?? Cold tonight with a NE tomorrow. Do I swallow my pride and go to Ste-Rose ?? Wednesday back to Westerlies with some snow. Thursday - blizzard :-(
18FEB2023Yesterday we got another 10 cm of snow. With the wind yesterday and today I was hoping the river would NOT have that much snow. We had the sons drop bye with the two granddaughters and so, I did not get ta check it out until about 15h00. There was NO more water - just slush under the snow near shore. Further out there were ice patches and snow from 2 to about 6 cm. Wind was decent from the West - steady 15-25 kph. If I rode it as is; it would be with the snow sled and the SailWorks Retro 8-oh. Ideally I would like to have shovelled a runway of ice and done some speed runs with the ice sled. It is now 4 p.m. and by the time I get the car loaded, equipment rigged and on the snow, it will be 17h00 !! Winds are supposed to stay that way until late - do I venture out ?? Sunset is 17h30 = oh well. Don't feel like going in the "dark" - will be partly cloudy & yes, there is always the danger of snow mobiles in the evenings !! By 18h00 it was too dark to really see - I would have been windsurfing blindly and not too much fun taking things apart in the dark ..
16FEB2023My knee was feeling better, but we had some rain, which could change conditions considerably. There was wind and so, I went down to the local river to see the conditions ...
clique the pics
There was water under the bridge, but it WAS frozen just two days ago - this is a warning, but does not mean danger to me ... yet ...
clique the pics
One can see that there are puddles of water on the ice - it did NOT all harden ... yet
clique the pics
Here we can also see that there are snow patches on the ice. Under them it was like slush. Thus we had verying conditions with a potential of a bumpy ride in winds over 20 kph with gusts near thirty ...
As my right knee was not completely healed yet ... I put this one on PASS ... and decided to go check OKA Parc...
This is what I saw from the second floor ...
As you can see ... there is NO-ONE on the ice... Do I venture out or not ?? Well, if you know me even a little bit ... here is a little video to summarize it up...
On this day I feel like I saw more cops between my house, the local river and Oka Parc than I have EVER seen !! There were at least six. The one that scared me was in Oka just after the school with the 50 kph zone --> I started accelerating when I saw the 80 kph sign while in the 50 zone, butt was well past school area with no-one there...
In Rosemere I chatted with some "InfoPolice" who asked me if the ice was safe. I asked if InfoPolice survey the river ... "No, we are here on coffee break" LoL What do InfoPolice do anyway ?? The Laval Police website states that is a line used "to provide confidential (I assume anonymous too) information about an investigation or file (open case I presume)". Sounds almost like detectives in uniform đ I have NOTHING against the concept of Police, butt has encountered some BAD apples - sadly ...
Well, I am happy to say that I was able to handle my aches and pains in the last few days with legal/over the counter medicine. Ironically, a drug that was once only considered recreational by the youth in North America in the 60's and 70's, only NOW is being accepted internationally as medicine. This applies to yours truly as well. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14FEB2023Happy Valentine's Day đ On the weakened I went up Norf wiff da famillee
As you can see, I tried to go out on the snow and ice.
There is a set of footprints going out and another pair coming in. At the end of that runway, I went down about two feet through snow, ice and water. As I was unsure of what was gonna happen next, I lay down and rolled onshore about six feet before even attempting to stand up!
Yesterday I went up there again and brought all my winter windsurf stuff back home. In my February 8th entry you can see that the local river was found to be solid !! with ice and snow patches. The ice was over 2 inches thick = good enuff fo me !!
my sleds
Today I brought both my ice and snow sleds with the SW Retro 8-oh and SW Hucker 6.6 sails to the local river. Winds were from the West and under 20kph. Thus I rigged the 8-oh. When I was preparing myself to go with cleats, harness and helmet, there was NO helmet. Oh well, it is light winds. The ice sled seemed to have issues with the snow patches and so ... I tried my snow sled. This was much better ... and actually faster. Winds started picking up a bit and my right forearm was sore. It was warm and so, I took the gloves off first. When it was found the gloves were needed, I started working on getting the harness and lines set up.
Then I made a grave error --> I tried making adjustments while moving; like I do on the water = NOT recommended on ice !! I fell towards my right knee, which had no protection, but instead just folded the right leg completely and kinda bounced off the ice under the knee.
I was able to get up right away and bend the knee. But for me, the session was over !!
The knee seemed to have a section underneath that was swelling and since there is ice and snow everywhere, I kept putting ice on it. Managed to put away my stuff with no issue. Am able to go up and down stairs no problem.
How many daze do I need ta wait b4 I can venture out again ?? LđL Ironically my left knee and neck hurt more than the right leg !!
In terms of weather,we are supposed to get even warmer temps than the +3 degrees C today with rain and snow in the forecast. Thursday and FryDay look like candidates for more experimentation - in terms of Westerlies !!
08FEB2023Today I was in for another disappointment !! When I went to the local river, there was only about 1.5 inches of crusty snow on pretty decent ice !! AND there was wind from the West $%^&*( Even wurst, temps are to go UP and we're ta git RAIN and SNOW #$%^&*() That sounds good, right ? Well, ALL my winter stock is now UP NORTH $%^&*()
04FEB2023I was VERY disappointed after we had -40 degrees where it can be Celsius or Fahrenheit. At that temperature it does not matter which scale one is on !! And this is what I saw !! :-( Two inches of WATER under the snow !!
22JAN2023It is supposed to stay below zero up north with potential 10-20kph winds from the SW before noon. Monsieur Desjardins as of the last notice had plowed "The Path" and even the East-West lane !! When I got there, I finished patching up my "new" 2013 MauiSails Global 5.0 m² wave sail from 2-rad with Chinook tape. Bruno had labelled it as in A+ condition and I give it no more than a B+ rating ... Rigged it up in the basement with the Chinook 400/40% cm RDM and the old boom I was using with the HSM SpeedFreak - that is dead now ... Luff is 416 and boom is 171 cm. This is what it all looked like:
It looks like I could put 2.5 cm less downhaul ..
And it looks like the sail could use about 5 cm less outhaul ...
All in all, I feel the sail does NOT look that bad with this setup
The wind NEVER made it to SW while I was there and the forecast flipped to all South. So, I went over to the East-West lane and did a couple of runs with my ice sled and the SW Retro 8-oh. It was okay in terms of angle to the wind and width of the track. All that was missing was the wind ... Was supposed to pick up around 13h00 and by 12h30 I had given up. Checking back later and the wind was SW and under 10kph $%^&*()
15JAN2023Checked the local Milles Isles River - still has a waze ta go ... Before it is ice-covered and is perhaps safe lol
13JAN2023 Fuck Me --Another dump of snow - about one foot Was fish-tailing on the 15 south ramp to the 640 !! and that was in my car - not windsurf sleds lol
09JAN2023We are having a strange winter so far. No snow, then snowstorms followed by rain and then back to snow ... It was a Sunday with SW winds promised up to 30 kph. Like that was ever gonna happen !! I shovelled some snow on my "runway" and Monsieur Desjardins came out with his chainsaw to check the ice ... It was at least four inches then water, then ice, then water, then ... SAFE... He plowed a path around the entire lake and I took out my sleds and the GA Flow-3 seven-oh. I practised using the blue skateboard sled. At the end I discovered that I could perhaps go on top of the snow, but had NO wax. I did the last run with my ice sled and it actually seemed "better" on that ice than the skateboard sled !! Surprise, surprise.
Chas got some pics of that last run ... Chas?!? Ah, here it is ...
03JAN2023Yvente was kind enuff to pass me an old BOOM for my NorthSails Zeta 3.7 m² winter sail ... Picked it up from Laval ...
That was the pic I sent him to show that I had picked it up sucessfully :-) It came with an uphaul line and some harness lines !! I drilled out the holes on the boom to make sure all was cliqued in and solid ... Also loosened and moved the harness lines to allow easier attachment of the downhaul line AND I NEVER would use lines that wide and short. I measured 58 inches with another 1/2 inch taken up by the mast leaves 57.5 inches of outhaul. Multiply by 2.5 and we get 143.75 cm -> the boom max as per specifications is 143 cm. Man, we are in business !! Cannot wait to try it out !! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
02JAN2023 As noted at the start of this post ... The year had a very strange start. First we were inundated with two major snowstorms and then things just started to melt. In Toronto they hit 10 degrees C. We had a cold night on the first and I headed up north to check out the ice ... Me bro-in-law had sent me some pics on JAN one of the situation and I had high hopes ...
No, I was not high lol
Clique the pic
The good news is the only water in that pic is at the bottom right and it was ice covered by the next day i.e. today. One can see the snow drifts where snow had been pushed about and the rest looked like it could ALL turn into ice !!
However, the ice varied in thickness from a mere inch to 2.5 inches to probably more than four. My runway and Monsieur Desjardin's path were both solid. I swept the runway hoping for those promised SW winds. The wind did swing from S to SW, butt never amounted to more than about 6 kph, which is imperceptible. By 16h00 I gave up and went back home :-(
Let's hope the next few days does NOT dump snow on the picture = more rain and freezing please ... oh yeah - and some Westerly winds :-) actually E or NE could work also !! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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