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I guess I better summarize 2023, before I jump the gun on 2024 ! The reason I write about "jumping the gun" is ... every year around this time I "start the shop" ... because I am drooling and dreaming of getting back on the water !! Maybe now I understand better why the folks go south to hit the water in the winter months ...
I was out on the ice and snow eleven times in 2023 (includes DEC 2022) and thirty-eight times out on the water. Both of these numbers are slightly above the annual averages ...
For the winter season I purchased a used MauiSails Global 5-oh.
The winter season was finished up North and Charlie got this amazing shot !!
Since my van died in 2019, I can no longer transport larger boards to the beach. This is a blessing in disguise because after that I was "forced" to concentrate on "short boards". It also forced me to think outside the box:
I was also fortunate this year cuz buddy Hellmoot / Helmut brought my "longboard", the MEQ II, up north to the chalet. That board sat idle for many years and people are offering to buy it !!
I had sold my MauiSails Tr-4 10-oh sail and was wondering if I had made an error because my GA Swift 10m² is starting to show its age ☹️. The good newz is ... some of the larger sails now take a 490cm mast (of which I have plenty). So, I purchased an old 2005 SW Retro 9.5 with no cambers and so far, I am loving it !! Check the video link:
As I feel I have too many boards, I made sure that I at least tried them ALL out to see if they were gonna be SOLD. So far, none are for sale/sail lol I will most probably also keep my MauiSails TR-6 8.4 fully cambered sail too !!
We also got the Montreal windsurf SITES page available again !!
03DEC2024Guess we can say the 2024 summer windsurf sessions are officially OVER = for me in any case = with or without snow !! The current water temp is 4 degrees C and the air is -4°C and feels like -7 = DUNN !! Also, my most used board, the Fanatic Shark 145 HRS is out for repair - it has soft spot(s) and will cost $200-$400 to repair :-( Normally for a board that cost about that much in the first place ... it would go for sale with disclaimer "as is". However, this is my "best board" !! Was thinking about asking the people that I convinced to return to windsurf and both purchased a SHARK LTD 150; then stopped sailing ... if they would wanna sell, but that coulda cost about $1000 and would be worth it too.. (Shit, I feel like I wrote all this already $%^&*)
Anyway, that was NOT why I came here today ... The wife and I are watching a Finnish series called "DEADWIND" (which we both like = has 4.5/5 rating) and I looked up the meaning of the term --> basically it is head-on or dead-on wind, but for me "dead wind" seems to imply NO wind !!! words $%^&*() lol
========================================
01NOV2024It was 15 degrees C, cloudy and windy with BIG gusts and so ... I headed out to OKA with my cameras ...
It was so cold and so windy that I did NOT even take pics !!
The dude with the 5.4 yesterday was there today rigging a 4.2 and he is 180 pounds ...Another 150 pound dude was going out with a 3.7m² sail and seemed to be doing fine. Stephane Giroux or Stephane Rigaud / QuebecWind introduced himself to me - he weighs a little more than I and went out with a 4.2 sail and a Fanatic tri-fin FreeWave 95 liter board. Another dude came off with a 4 point oh sail and said that the wind was 20-25 knots W and best "au large" !! Kiters were out with 10 meter kites and the novice kiter with the Tesla was hesitating !!
FUCK me = this site does NOT like jpg any more - had to put a png !!
I was there from about 10h00-11h00 Winds hit 80 kph which is more than 40 knots man $%^&*()
At 13h30 the winds were 39-76kph from the West !!
Using the James' Sail Calculator for a 200 lb person - like me 39kph = 21.1 knots --> 6.1m² sail 76kph = 41.0 knots --> 3.0m² sail
For that sail range, a 4.2m² sounds just about right and what size board should/would/could a 200 lb person be using ??
For that 4.2m² sail, in 2015 at Cape Hatteras, KingKong was using a Fanatic FSW 86 liter/58.5cm wide board !! My current smallest sails are the MS/MauiSails Global 5.0m² and the old, trusty NS Zeta 3.7m² sails.
Me thinks that the ONLY time I have EVER used those small sails on a windsurf board myself ... was this summer !!! Viktor, our Russian novice, was out on the MEQ2XR at the lake with the MS Global 5-oh ... and was overwhelmed - going downwind ... When I went out to rescue him (after bringing the BIC SL200 back to shore) ... the wind kicked and I was FLYING.
Victor was yelling," I wanna go fast!!" lol
IF I was to downsize from my BEE 124liters/63cm ... I would NOT go smaller than perhaps a 105 liter board ... ..............and which sail size ??
I barely EVER use my 6.2 which will work on the BEE 124
😆STOP SHOPPING JOE WINDSURFER😆
31OCT2024Hallowe'en with NO candies and praying 4 wind !!
07h00 20-56 SW 18-33 WSW 08h00 19-54 SW 20-29 WSW 19°C 09h00 21-52 SW 15-31 WSW was thinking of leaving @ 10h00 and DID !! on the water from about 11h15 - 12h30 (nice bump in the wind) was having muscle cramps - went and got water ... back out 15 minutes later and the wind was ONLY good in the gusts people were out with 100+ liter boards and sails in the 5.x range kiters were out with 11-14m² kites and I saw one foiler on land there were 2 wingfoilers and Marie said she was going to use a 5.5m² wing i was out with my Fanatic Shark 145 steed and solid NS Duke 6.9 sail fellow I chatted with who just bought a used JP 99 liter free-ride board says it manoeuvers well, but maxes out in speed
All the dudes with smaller sails in the 5.x size were cursing that there was not enuff wind. Kiter asked me how it was and then why I was leaving lol ... Told him there were times I wished for a larger sail, sometimes smaller sail and sometimes (in a gust) just right !! Been on the water 40 times this year and 25 in the winter !!
I DID have some issues on this day ... My repaired fin broke at the same spot (with all the times I bottomed out !!) ...and the last joint on my left ring finger got hit or something !! CRACKERS lol
Oktober 23rdThirteen Daze/days until US Election
On this day I was hoping to go windsurfing at OKA. It was supposed to be warm with winds steadily increasing from 20-40kph SW until 30-50kph SW. As I have been down-sizing ... I was actually hoping to go with the Fanatic BEE 124 ... However, there was "my hole" in the ground to contend with.. ........In the end, the day was warm, butt grey lol Also, the winds looked SUPER gusty and inconsistent :-(
20OCT2024The wind looked good on this day four days before and still on this Sunday as well - with HIGH temps around 20 degrees C !! During the day, the wind was going crazy. ALL over the place !! ------------------------------------------------------------------
igetwind says 40kph all morning and more by 16h00 windguru says 18 knots by 14h00 windalert says 35kph by 15h00 ----------------------------------------- Q) do I bring the BEE ?? wind is SW :-)
9h00 W 12-18kph = 15-26 SW predicted igetwind 14-40 SW = NOT windguru 7-15 knots SW NOT
theweather and weather says no more than 20-40 SW !! ===================================================== 10h00 WNW 9-21kph = 17-27 SW predicted igetwind 19-36 SW = NOT theweather 10-29 SW = NOT / stated = 17-26kph W ====================================== 11h00 windguru 10-16 knots SW theweather 15-33kph SW windalert 19-29kph SW actual = 10-13 kph WNW :-( as per windalert 17-26 kph W as per theweather (same as last hour ?) ===================================== 12h00 theweather 19-35kph SW windalert 19-32kph SW igetwind 23-35kph SW short term NAM --> 16-30kph SW actual= ?? ==================================== my guess = pack by 13h00 !! ==================================
When I got there I felt I had forgotten something and I did !! My safety vest (and my long pants in case I was cold after). This did NOT stop me from going lol I started with just the farmer john pants and a T-shirt at 13h00. At 15h00 I took a break and was cold - put the jacket on too and went out until 17h00 !! I was still packing my stuff when it started getting dark at 18h00 = sundown !!
There were about 20 kiters (some like Martial and Sylvain foiling), about 10 windsurfers (one foiling - Guillaime) and about 5 wingers (all foiling). That's 35 people on the water in the middle of October !!
The wind was up and down like earlier in the day and as seen on the graph. With my Shark 145 and NS Duke 6.9 I felt it was the perfect "safe combo". I was over, under and just right!
Martial was out with an 18m² foil kite that is NOT inflated. Kiters sometimes blow air in the cells to help it launch. Martial says he was "over" the entire session lol
October 11 10/11/2024 Why do I think this date has some particular meaning ? Wind was supposed to start at 20-40 kph and reach 30-50kph later in the day ... So, I brought the Shark + 460 PX RDM + NS Duke 6.9 + HSM Fire 6.3 + 40 and 34 cm fins. Forgot my phone and video camera(s) . 😢 It looked OK when I got there and thus I went with the 6.9m² sail ... Wind was more WNW when I got there and I chatted with Philippe who was also on a 145 liter board and a 7.5 MauiSails Scream. JP and Christophe (two light weights were flying all over the place). I went out "au large" and got "overwhelmed". I was considering getting OFF and Philippe came FLYING/planing towards me parallel to the beach = wind was getting more SW !! He also suggested I move my front footstrap out one set of holes !! So, I kinda chugged across parallel to the beach and when I turned around, Philippe was gone !! And then the wind kicked !! I got off around 15h15 when that last BLAST of wind hit !! At 16h15 I checked the wind and the water - there seemed to be less wind, with about 10 windsurfers, 10 kiters (all twin tip) and one wing foiler. Two kite foilers arrived as I was leaving (Sylvain and the ex-colleague who called 911 when I was strande in the water and almost got hypothermia). Think I was out about 3.5 hours - in my wetsuit. BEST OKA session in 2024 so far, man !!
One thing I forgot to mention ... as the winds got stronger n stronger, it was REALLY important to adjust the harness line postions and to lengthen them as well !!
October 6th Had some things to do in the country - wife visited daughter in Rawdon. It was lighter wind than I expected and from the SE = NOT my fave direction ... I made a video of the session which I had to save with chkdsk /f :-( If it was not for the Pink Floyd music this would NOT be a very good video lol
September 24thWe are back from PEI where I found NO place to rent windsurf gear %^& Today and the next few days is SE winds which are ONLY great on Lake Champlain, butt I ain't goin there $%^&*() I still had my 30 day trial on windalert and the winds looked good. I packed ONLY the GA Swift 10-oh, 66 cm fin and the JP SLW92. When I got there, Daniel, Bert's friend, scared me cuz he was surprised at my gear AND told me JP was out with a 5-oh instead of his regular 6.x sails. Well, that was all I had and I went in my bathing suit with a cotton shirt. The wind was actually fine for the kit and was missing those two knots to plane lol. I enjoyed myself and was glad I went :-)
Twice I had to "get out of the way"/change my path because of kiters and both times my right hand was in front - did I not have the right of way ? I looked up kiters ROW/Right of Way and now I am even more confused - asked about this on QuebecWind
September 8th I REALLY wanted to go windsurf at OKA, but the winds announced looked crazy and swinging from SW to W. If they stayed SW, I could try the BEE 124 !! Then the wife asked if I wanted to windsurf up north? Yes, it looked crazy up there too SW 20-50kph. So, I brought the NS Duke 6.9 and HSM Fire 6.3 which both go on the 460 cm PowerEx RDM mast. At first I was considering my GA GTX 8.5 !! CRAZEE !!
When I got there, it was WSW and GUSTY. That means I take NO chances and put the HotSailsMaui Fire 6.3 rigged medium on the MEQ II with the mast rack back a little bit more. When the wind did hit, it was crazy and I tried it with and without waist harness. It was a gas, gas, gas. Made some adjustments to the harness lines and after a couple of runs called it a day. On a small lake with such gusty winds CAN become labourious !!
September 5thToday I was up north and YES, I did bring the GA GTX 8.5 back home. I was out the lake for about 1.5 hours and loving. I did some semi-planing without the harness and also tried to see how far back on the board I could go with the sail completely "closed". It was a beautiful lake sailing day and I was in my bathing suit, T-shirt and bear / bare feet lol. This brings my windsurf sessions for the year to 59, which is more than any of the last ten years!! However, this is due to the fact that the winter was incredible. It is NOT the most summer sessions ...
September 4th,2024Today I tried to rig my 2010 MauiSails TR-6 8.4m² race sail that has four cambers ... (in the backyard). I put 15cm on the extension where it asks for 14 and 238 on the outhaul where it asks for 237 ...
The process I used to follow was:
1) downhaul the sail fully ... 2) outhaul fully 3) release 10+ cm downhaul 4) pop the cambers on starting with #2 or 3 5) readjust the downhaul 6) check the outhaul
When it came time to put on the cambers... there was NO way this was gonna work - without FORCE
Thus it was either lack of downhaul (as I did not go full) or did not release enough of that there downhaul
As I was loath to try either ... I put the sail away
Am considering bringing the GA GTX 8.5 down here at least for the rest of this season and perhaps even back up north for on the ice in light winds
01Sept. Well, today I am able tu update this post using FireFox lol Windsurfed in the morning @ OKA cuz rain and BIG winds to start in the p.m. The parking area was crowded and the beach was full of kites … The Turk rigged 10-oh, 12-oh and 15-oh and left ALL on the beach ^&* Fanatic Shark 145 with the NS Duke 6.9 + RDM 460 and Select 40 cm fin. I spent time adjusting equipment - mast base back to 140 from 135 Harness lines moved back about three times !! Just when all seemed to be set up just right .. Some dick windsurfer kept getting in my way and the wind dropped I knew it was gonna pick up and assumed this was the calm before the storm I watched people on the water until the wind pumped & clouds threatened Drove home in pouring rain & people do NOT know how to drive in this shit $%&^*P(
Marc went out with a 2011 Naish 6.4 3 cam sail and 2011/12 Fanatic Ray 110 or 115 no cut-outs and went when the wind kicked Dude who parked beside me was lighter than me - his kit is 5.3 & 90 liter board Another dude had a GA GTX 6.5 in much better shape than my 8.5 He was on an AHD FF/FastForward 117 - he got off when I did JF got off when we did - he was with his new loved Ezzy 5-oh Zeta Oh yeah = I had cramps in my left thigh and drank some of the water … My retired CEGEP prof who I met on the train to MTL says The Indians have been dumping in the lake and the water is polluted lol
My link for MTL water quality is NO GOOD any more :-( Checked a bunch of others and there were NO reports of BAD water. However, at the OKA monastery/Cheese factory, there was a sign about the water NOT being good !!
August 31st Was NOT even outta bed and already the day was going downhill. Daughter still has migraine and wife wants to help ... I checked the wind and said I would drop the wife off and continue
Brought the NS Duke 6.9 with 460 RDM = does not rig for FULL power …
Wanted a lake windsurf day and that’s what I got
Too bad the wind was from the SW (not the usual wind direction on this lake) and narrow stripe of wind on top of it all :-(
August 27th went up north - wife to bring daughter her car and I went windsurfing on the lake :-) It was a regular lake windsurf day. Light winds out of the SW (that part was unusual), butt winds stayed steady in the light range. Did NOT have time to stay longer when the winds picked up a bit. Yes, it was the MEQ with the GTX :-) Counting 56 times windsurfing this year including winter and summer - max is 58 = let's hope we can beat it !! On average I go ten times in the next few months ...
August 24th = the very next day :-) aujourd'hui sur le Lac des Deux avec la même stock :-) et la session a été mieux ... et plus de monde (trop de monde proche de bord et sur la plage :-( ) j'ai trouvé plus de vent proche de Vaudreuils et coté SSW du lac quand j'ai été "over" et en feu j'ai passé entre deux voiliers qui roulés à planche dans l'autre direction (et je n'avais pas le GoPro sur moi = merde) ... Sylvain et Martin en kite caisons de 21m² !!! et il pousse l'aire dedans avant partir = WTF man ?? j'ai aidé Florence avec sa MauiSails Aloha 6.0m² (la voile et boom semblait neuvent mais elle ne savait pas comment le monter) et moi j'ai vu une "loop n go" outhaul "first time" lol fun, fun, FUN in da sun :-) (je ne compte PAS des journée avant ...je cherche "the next time" déjà :-) bon vent tout le monde !! joe windsurfer ah oui ... il y avait un (ou deux ?) windfoil avec des voiles Severne = Vincent ??
I was using my waist harness cuz I forgot my seat harness up north at the chalet. I needed to shorten the harness lines on the fly and I did not find that easy. Next time I would like to try the boom even higher on the mast !!
I was going to use my Fanatic Shark 145 with the BIG sail just fo da fun ... BUT where or where is my Fanatic 50cm fin that goes with the board ? HAFTA find that fin $%^&*( NOT sure I would have made it in that MAD gust on this day with the Shark 145 !!!
My forearms hurt the next day and my thighs for more than 2 days afterwards !!
Another subject I would like to discuss is: how to put your board on your car:
That was how I was putting my JP SLW92 on top of my 2017 Toyota Prius C. This car does NOT have any roof-rack nor trailer hitch options .. There ARE roof-racks, but they are in the $500 range and up !! Bert from Lac Muskinonge showed me this trick. He puts Chinook roof rack pads directly on his Jeep, his Formula board on top of that and straps it down through the interior of the vehicle. The above worked for me, but I found it a little shaky as in the straps seemed to vibrate even inside my car. One day on the way back from the beach I noticed there was NO shake nor vibration. I had seen others put the front of the board to the car. As straps are involved here, the board was loaded as if the car was going windsurfing. The thought behind this is ... The wind will push air against and under the board = thereby holding the straps tight !! I was able to go 90kph to and from OKA with that setup and no issues ...
August 23rd ... like I said on QuebecWind 😀
OSO/WSW à OKA 20-30 kph prevu mais il y avait un peu moins ... avec ma JP SLW92 et GA Swift 10m² + aileron Select 66cm UltraRace :-) les kites caisons 15m² avec les foils ont gagnés aujourd'hui pour moi ? comme on dit toujours = "il m'a manqué juste 2 noeuds!!" lol Marie sur le windfoil et voile Ezzy Hydra un autre monsieur sur windfoil aussi = JF ?? vu un canoe pliable ?!? il y avait 2 ou 3 wings mais "was not good" l'eau est encore "chaud" mais c'était seulement moi en costume de bain :-)
When I got off, there was a lady (in her 40's) who looked at me and grinned ear to ear... and she did that more than once. I almost asked her if I did something wrong or was looking funny lol
Forgot to mention: I had issues getting the mast into the mast cap of the sail, the mast is starting to look "suspect"and one outhaul line came off the adjustable outhaul set while rigging up. Good thing that last one did NOT happen on the water ... Also, when I tied the sail to the car to pull the mast out more "easily", the fucking string came off !! Yes, I cursed out loud in French - at the Catholic Church = those swear words and that type of establishment mean NOTHING (to me lol). May the god(s) bless us all !!
August 10th Some kinda storm is brewing or rolling out = BRENDA/Debbie ?? yeah, blame it on some lady please lol Wind was SW and quite up n down + wind shifts Went out with the NS Duke 6.9 and cranked the downhaul With the harness and it was GREAT !! Fell in twice = once after I adjusted the harness line length …and another when the wind suddenly shifted $%^&*( It was fun, fun, FUN :-)
August 6th I tried the EPOXY 488cm mast on the HSM SPF 8.5 with the
extension set to MAX. This pushed the cap that I had inserted back to the top
of the mast luff. However, the sail looks like it has seen better days L
Then I tried the usual NP mast and decided “it was time”. There was just too
much damage to make it worthwhile to even try the sail …
I took out the battens, the downhaul pulley and the cap. The cap went in the
garbage too …
Then I tried the epoxy mast on the NS Duke 6.9 = NO GO …
I still need to try the SW SDM 490 CC mast on the Duke and maybe the NP CC mast
– as I am NEVER completely happy with the sail setup…
For today it was enough and I took a 1.5 hour napJ
August 4thThe wind picked up a bit while I was chatting with Guy n Toni Had GR8 fun with the MEQ n GTX in the harness with WSW winds
July 29th ... NO entry since the 18th ? hmmm NOT much activity in my daily journals either !! NO WONDER I am drooling for an OKA session !! Yesterday on the 28th (a Sunday in Québec construction holiday season) I went out with the MEQ and the NS Duke 6.9 on the PX RDM mast. It seemed like I could NOT get a deep pocket with that mast :-( Time to play ?? 490 masts fit on there and I have about 4 different combos, one MauiSails hard top, one SailWorks constant curve and two NielPryde combos (one flex top and the other CC?) This is the kind of experimentation that I just LOVE ta do !! Will count that outing as a session = wind from the South (and sometimes West) and sometimes semi-planing ...
Oh yeah, on the 23rd ... Jayroll was out on the MEQ with a MauiSails Gloabl 5.0 and his GF on the WindGlider. The sun/son had to be rescued as he went WAaaay downwind. However, he did NOT fall in. The GF did NOT wanna stop and was hoping for more wind and more sessions !!
Clique the pic :-)
July 18th Victor was rescued lol Wind was a little stronger than he was used to andstarted from the the West. I went out on the BIC SL200 with the NS Duke 6.9 on the NP CC SDM mast. The wind shifted almost immediately to a North wind which means Victor had a good start, butt was now full on downwind lol. I returned to home-base and picked up the pedalo. When I went on the MEQ II XR with the MS Global 5-oh wave sail, wind was picking up !! Eventually there were whitecaps and I was FLYING man !! I have now been out 25 times on the ice and 25 times on the water this year !! Feels like I am not even registering all my outings these days lol
July12th .... Finally another day worth recording lol
It was the typical setup MEQ II XR and GA GTX 8.5... Wind from the South and probably hitting 25-30kph. Was actually in the harness a few times (with a smile on my face). I actually moved the mast track one notch :-)
July 4th = Happy USA day We have St-Jean, Canada Day and USA day all close together. Yesterday was a windsurf day. Out with the MEQ II XR and NS Duke 6.9 on the RDM. Was in the harness MANY times and said that I was going faster than I ever have on the lake (in the summer). Wind was from the South and for one session I barely made it upwind lol. It was LOVELY !!
701=Canada Day July 1st, 2024 Wind was from the North, intermittent, etc and thus will only count this as a half.
630=30JUN2024 MEQ n GTX with winds over 25kph As usual the wind was gusty with stripes of strong wind or NO wind, which meant I had to fall in @ least once lol Also, I took a chance at THE Point and then had to dive in - in order to NOT twist my ankle on the rocks $%^&* Looks like I scraped the bottom of the board based on the White Stripes on the rocks lol Also, once again the wind was from the North AND the West lol I had GR8 runs in and out of the harness ... When I was kinda stuck on the East side of the lake near some rocks ... some ladies on a pedalo asked if I needed Help... Told 'em "Don't worry I'll git outta here eventually" 😄 ==================================
628MEQ n GTX with winds approaching
25kph In
the morning the winds were from ALL directions, but East !!
Did some runs with the harness just the same.
In the afternoon the winds were a little more steady and SW
…and sometimes feeling South and WestL
625 ........Windsurfed
at OKA with the JP SLW92 & SW 9.5
I went home and cut the lawn in the
front yard. As winds were now supposed to pick up around 14h00 … I went at
around 11h30.
The wind dropped when I got there and then
steadily picked up…
I had a faux pas during the rigging … I
thought the mast was inside the cap holder, but it was NOT. The mast popped
through and I thought my day was dunn $%^&*( I was NOT a happy camper …
Both Marc and Richard/Force5 told me I was on too big a kit.
I left around 15h00-15h30 when I got overwhelmed …
The problem today was … I left all my gear up north …
You can also see on the graph that the wind direction shifted OFTEN !!
When I got home I ate and finished the
lawn =================================
624....................Windsurfed
with a North wind
It was a fairly strong and as usual
intermittent with stripes of wind like we often see at OKA. My usual kit with
my usual fun factor, but I was wishing I was at OKA !! ==================================
618It was a really HOT day and we were lucky cuz we got the A/C working ... Wind was from the South and gusty and I had fun on my regular combo - even some in the harness :-) ==================================== 616Father's Day which means I get to windsurf and eat pizza NO matter what. Ironically today I was alone lol. Wife was with the daughter and her new daughter and we had just seen the rest of the family for the granddaughter's fourth birthday. Thought wind was gonna be good from the south, butt was just okay (pun intended). Started with the NS Duke 6.9 and moved up to the GA GTX 8.5 - where I lubricated the cambers with McLube and put good downhaul which all seemed to help the cambers. I was NOT gonna count this day as a session, butt was good @ 16h00 :-)
====================================
613Finally, a FULL point day lol ... Ten degrees this a.m. and took the BIC SL200 + NS Duke 6.9 out for an early morning ride. Yesterday I measured 0-10kph winds and today 10-20kph S … I do NOT understand how I was sailing the Duke FULL BLAST in those winds today?!? Theweathernetwork was calling for up to 30 kph winds…
I liked the MEQ II combo with the Duke on the RDM mast MUCH more than … The SL200 with the Duke on the SDM mast !?! As usual intermittent wind speeds, butt stayed from the South lol ==================================== 602This was a ½ a point day. Wind was from the south off and on. Took me 45 minutes to go upwind to the “yellow house” and then 5 minutes to come back downwind … ==================================== 601This was a PERFECT lake day = wind from the S-SW and definitely hit about 25-30kph. As usual MEQ II XR with GA GTX 8.5 free-race sail. Tried different fins = 32cm, 40 and 50 cm. The 32 cm fin wins .. Temps went up to about 26C and I got sunburnt. Could have used my harness, but muscled through it (and then did exercises after !!). ==================================== 530Wind was from the North and VERY fickle - often wondered if I wood hafta swim back in. Went out a coupla times and will count this as a 1/2 session - GA GTX still going strong even with the luff "holes" taped. ==================================== 526Wind was from the SW and gusty. Put the Duke and at first tight outhaul, butt did NOT like the sail. Slacked it one cm and moved boom up mast past 191cm. In the afternoon the wind gusted so hard that I gave up. Had to crawl out the water two doors down !! I am NOT ready to put a smaller sail on that giant board !! ==================================== 524 Was
up north with winds from the NW and W and it was colder. Wore my shirt
with the phone in the pocket and fell in %^&*() Was using the NS
Duke 6.9 and it was the correct sail to use. Winds changed direction and
speed, but it was much better than at OKA cuz there were NO waves !! Just flat water ... ==================================================== 523So, I drove from up north (after dropping the wife off in Rawdon) and went to OKA/La Crête with my GA GTX 8.5 and Shark 145 with the 50 cm fin ... I punched a hole in the luff of the sail and covered it with Tuck Tape. We teased George who told me 7.5 was the maximum sail for today at OKA. As far as I was concerned, there was NO perfect sail for today !! Winds were from the WSW, slightly changing direction and often changing in strength. After a couple of runs, I practised water-starts and then the wind got strong versus weak too often for my liking and I went home ...
My consolation prize was the special Fruit Loopz I picked up on the way home ================================================ 522 Wind was from the SSW and 0-18kph. Played with the 32cm fin versus 47cm. The 47 does wide tacks - with or without dagger !! Another 1/2 session :-) ================================================ 518Wind was from the SSE and 10-22kph. Did NOT make it to the magic 25kph mark. In the morning there was little wind and LOTSA black flies. I almost cancelled the day, butt wind turned up lol. Sticking with that 32cm fin man !! Only counting this as a 1/2 session. ====================================
517It was fairly light south wind, butt had fun and went out for about 2 hours total in two sessions where the latter session was better = had a nice nap after. Am counting this as a windsurf session, butt barely made it lol
I am somewhat confused about the Makani SurfRider 32 cm fin !?! The graffiti type writing seems to say KAUILA, but the KAUILA V2 is slalom and 38cm minimum. Let me check my e-mails = kinda remember ordering this one online. In my notes ... It is a Kohola V2 32cm purchased in 2017. NOPE, in my e-mails, the Kohola V2 is 37cm !! and that was in the year mentioned above. Updated my notes lol Fuck ... the Kohola is mentioned twice - in 2017 and 2018 !! Under my post on fins, I found this pic and it was discussed as a Kauila 32cm fin for 1/2 price as they were stopping making them. and the order confirmation states that it is a slalom fin !!
As I was having trouble doing tight/fast tacks, I removed the dagger and changed the fin down from the Fanatic free-race 50cm to Makani SurfRider 32cm fin. I remembered the BIC Dufour Wing used to turn on a dime and it was a BIG sluggish board ... with a VERY small wave type fin !! It worked so well on the MEQ with the shorter fin ... that when I pushed the first tack, I almost fell in ... cuz it turned much quicker than I expected !!
=============================
513This time I am gonna make a short story long It started as a fairly cold and cloudy day with about 10°C ... Was supposed ta git warmer with temps around sixteen and winds from the South 15-25kph... for USA that's light wind in cold temps lol
As usual ... I set up the MEQ II and the GAastra GTX 8.5 with 2 cambers up earlier ==> around 9 o'clock in the morning ... (Also, it was supposed to "drizzle" in the pm = 1-2 mm) I debated back ... and ... forth and finally decided to go NOW/early This was the 3rd time that I tried to zip that wetsuit ... and this was the first time I managed to zip it all the way !!This meant that I did NOT put the knapsack with the gloves on !!
The wind kicked and I managed to scrape my Fanatic 50cm freeride fin on the first run = took too much of a chance !!
After a few decent runs = in the harness and planing ...I came in to git my hair out my face & file that fin !!Had some more fun and came in when the wind dropped and the rain started ... The second portion was done in bare bear feet lolol
Was out for over 2 hours in 15-30kphS ... and when I was taking the wetsuit off .... I had trouble with the damn zipper lol
Now I feel like I am ready for some BIGger winds on a larger body of water ==> Oka Parc :-) ======================================
511Up north still MEQ + GA GTX 8.5 + 50cm Fanatic fin
Yes, I went with my bathing suit and fell in lol
510Up North on the MEQ + NS Duke 6.9 in light winds
Tried the helitack, but cannot seem to get it to back-wind
...and why call it a heli-tack ? Starts as a tack then a jibe should be called a helluva tack lol
Winds were from the East and South = semi-planed a couple of times ================================================= 506Up North on the MEQ + GA GTX 8.5 in light winds
504Brought my GA GTX 8.5, mast and boom up north as I was anticipating at least 20 kph winds ... Wind never made it past 13kph E and I never even unloaded my car !!
502"Back to the Good Old Daze" / Stroll in the Park
I tried the NS Duke 6.9 with the NP 490 mast - CC top and flex top bottom lol. It seemed loose on top, but I liked the overall look and feeling ... and that was when I decided to GO !! with a 1995 MEQ II and a 2008 NS Duke 6.9 in really light winds ===================================
501I tried the NorthSails Duke 6.9 with the MauiSails 490/75 hard top mast. It seemed to allow more downhaul and the mast seemed to suit the sail more than the SailWorks 490/75 constant curve mast. Let's hope one of the Niel Pryde combinations are better !! Or I will ride the BIC SL200 with an 8-oh and Victor the MEQ with the Duke on the PowerEx RDM mast !! What was I thinking ??
Should start Victor on the MEQ with a small sail - like the MS Global 5-oh or the HSM Fire 6.3... I can be on the BIC with an 8.x sail ...
========================
428As I need a backup plan for when I go on the MEQ II and Victor will be on the BIC SL200 up north ... I was looking at some Ezzy 8.5's, butt they are near Quebec City and ... remembering that the HSM SPF 8.5 is NOT working out well L
When someone is using the BIC, the mast needs to be SDM/Standard Diameter. I am NOT sure I would like someone learning to try my GAastra GTX 8.5 freerace on that board. I am unsure whether I have even tried that !?!
Thus ... I tried mounting the NS Duke 6.9 on the SailWorks 490/75 SDM. The sail and mast are supposed to be CC/ConstantCurve. Even when I put more than 493 cm for the luff and downhauled as far as I could (which was difficult = thanks SailWorks), the batten above the boom did not flip to other side easily. That sail was so much better with the PX 460 RDM mast !!
Perhaps I will try the MauiSails hard top 490 and/or the NielPryde soft top 490!
=======================================
4242024When I was "up north", I investigated whether the HSM SPF 8.5 was "good ta go". Well, I tried rigging it and putting the mast inside the cup at the cap... butt ...
That did NOT go well and so ... I tried to remove the cup and again ☹
I left the cup where it is and we will try to rig when it is time to use it !!
However, this requires a backup plan --> 10-oh, 8.x, 7.0 and 6.3. The HSM Fire 6.3 ONLY fits on the PX RDM 460 and RDM cannot go on the BIC ... So, Victor can use the 6.3, 7.0, 8.x ? on the MEQ II. When I am using the MEQ with the 10-oh, Victor needs to be on the BIC SL200 with an SDM mast. The NS Duke 6.9 is currently rigged with the PX 460 also and thus, will NOT go on the BIC either ...
So, I brought the SW 490/75 CC mast home to see how it works with the Duke.
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4202024 backwards lol is a palindrome theweathernetwork 10°C 28-42W mainly sunny igetwind 10°C PM 25-42 WSW in the morning windalert 10°C 28-43 WSW windguru 10°C 28-42 WSW
6h00 8°C 17-26SW theweather ... 6h30 7°C 21-35WSW windalert 7h10 7°C 17-29WSW windalert 7h17 7°C 15-23W theweather ... 7h30 sun is coming out !! 7h37 7°C 18-35W windalert sunny 8h07 7°C 21-34W windalert sunny 8h07 7°C 15-23W theweather ... ................water temps are 7 degrees too !! 8h37 7°C 20-38WSW windalert sunny 8h37 7°C 15-23W theweather ...
Left the house at around 9h30 ... The water is even higher than on the 15th and one has to drive through some !!!
Chatted with Martin the kitefoiler. The "Egyptian" and Jean-Sebastien arrived later ... I rigged the GAastra GTX 8.5 free-race sail with 2 cambers and put it on the Fanatic Shark 145 HRS with the 50 cm Fanatic free-ride fin.
I was so anxious to get out there that when I went to hook in, I realized the hook was not hooked lol... Once I got going, I was planing, but going across the chop !! This means I was "slapping" the water constantly and going for a bronco ride. This was NOT pleasant. So, I came back in and d-rigged ...
Fellow came to chat with me as I was putting things away. He was hoping for more wind and was on a 5.7 at Venise en Québec yesterday !! When I told him about the angle of the wind and waves, he said ... oh, it's more westerly then and he was CORRECT !!
Thus, for me westerlies need to be light wind ONLY !! 9°C 24-43kph W
======================================
15APR2024 theweathernetwork 14 degrees 21-33kph W --> 13° 20-40kph W windalert 15 degreess around noon 24-35kph @ 17h00 ->18°noon windguru 11 degrees around 14h00 23-34kph @ 17h00 ->12°@14h00 windyTV 13 degrees around 14h00 16-39kph @ 17h00 ->14°@14h00
get there at 14h00 and take my time ?? ------------------------------------------ igetwind added next day 13°C@14h00 & 20-26kph @ 14h00 =============================== 6h30 7° & 7-11kph W 7h30 same thing ... 9h30 8° & 7-11kph W has to be warmer by noon with more wind !! 10h45 9° & 9-14kph W no-one has answered my question about going there with a westerly (NOT even George's cell phone lol !!)
the wind-alert map has winds from the West, North and East with speeds from 8 to 19 !!
this does NOT look good
11h15 10° & 9-14kph SW = better than W ......when I look at wind maps ......the wind seems to be NW ......which is off-shore :-( ......okay, the temp is "acceptable" ......now we just need MORE wind !! 12h00 talked to wife about alternate plans 12h45 loaded the car ... La Crête was open and the "Egyptian" fellow was there Says he has been kite surfing since 15MAR2024 !! When I saw him on the water, he was kite-foiling now !! Martin was there with Marie chatting & I went to setup !! There was a dude who was trying to kitefoil with a 4 m² kite #$%^&*( Later when they were out in bigger winds, they had 12m² kites ... George and another went out on the water @ about 16h00 The clouds were threatening when I left !!
This is a photo George took that shows high water
On this day it was a good thing I verified my checklist before leaving ... I had forgotten my life-vest/safety-vest. Also, when I got to Oka, I realized that I had forgotten my waterproof key pack and my bag o' strings. All those issues were "rectified" !!
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12APR2024The ice is still there and I did NOT go through ! Wind is from the East 22-34kph, butt feels gusty lol
People on "MTL Kite Conditions" Facebook groupare "talking" about going kitesurfing at OKA main beach today !! It is now 13h30 and 20°C @ OKA with RAIN and 24-37kphSE. SE is NOT a good direction at that beach !!
Here is the wind map from Vaudreuils and should be similiar to OKA main beach !!
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10APR2024 So, I finally went to visit the WindSpirit Boutique since they moved. They are on the South Shore of Montreal @ 3050 Boulevard Choquette, Saint-Hyacinthe J2S 1H1 and online at https://www.windspirit.ca/ ... It was a 1.5 hour drive drive and just a little bit less coming back via a different route...
and that's 1/2 the shop
I hate to say this, but it was a disappointment. I was ready for the road-trip and the traffic, but had high hopes for the shop and was excited to see Bruno (have not seen him since he closed 2-rad).
On the way I made a mistake with the address/fat-fingered it and put 5050 rather than 3050 into WAZE lol Then it was in the back of the factory type building, with not much of a store-front and only two cars in front. One was Bruno's and the other the customer I am guessing.
There was ONLY Bruno working there and he was busy. The last time I was at Windspirit, there was Benoit Gauthier and a bunch of other people AND the repair shop right beside .
In the "store" were all the small parts/accessories and clothing. Few boards in the front and NO sails nor foils displayed. It is a small shop and even Bruno said," We are a shipping depot."
Since Bruno was busy and I was basically "window shopping", I left without even purchasing the 2 bolt mast plate I had intended to buy; since I did NOT find one.
I thought perhaps I should buy an RDM extension, but did NOT find any for US base !!
The shop is now an online shop, which means we might as well use any other windsurf shop that ships !! SAD indeed --> Did Bruno buy off Benoit ??
Also, Bruno said that I need to downsize and stop using BIG boards. The irony in that is ... that is what I was planning for this year --> just felt bad to hear it as a "criticism". Perhaps I should stop being so sensitive and consider it as a recommendation lolol
Last year/2023 Bruno did NOT sail because he broke his ankle and ripped the muscle in his right forearm = OUCH !! He told me Vincent is foiling at Parc Cartier and anticipates reaching 40 knots ... using F4 foil kit (over $3000) and Fanatic StingRay ... They come in 115l and 140 liter and none @ Windspirit !!
Ironically ... on the same day I saw this video where "Cookie" states what I believe also ... i.e. get comfortable in bigger winds on the semi-big stuff before jumping down 20 liters in conditions you're not used to !! Thanks Cookie lol
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09APR2024OKAY, now we had solar eclipse and it is getting HOT The wind was supposed to be E/NE and 15-30kph. OKA was less and I am not ready to go putt, putt. Was about 15°C and sunny = got a sunburn !! The wind never got over 15kph and the ice was finished by noon !! Sank into 3 inches of slush ... Here is a pic from Sunday.
In the clip the wind is more like 20-30kph ENE, intermittent and gusty. Then the wind picked up a notch and so did the GUSTS = over 40 kph and ice getting soft which is all not ideal lol
I was thinking of going back to scoring sessions, where I rate the ice/snow/water conditions and the wind/sail/board match, etc ... Like the ice on this day was NOT ideal, but it was GREAT for my ice sled and would give it a 9/10 until it started to get soft. Then it dropped to a six or seven !! The wind was from the East, which is a narrow corridor and it was VERY gusty. The sail suited those conditions until it went up a notch. So, wind/board/sail was only a 7/10. This still means the session was about an 8 outta 10 man lol
After that session I was so tired that I went to bed at 20h00 and had two thigh cramps and toe cramp all at the same time @ 23h00 $%^&*(
02APR2024 =I was REALLY hoping to go to OKA main beach !!
Basically until about 15h00 it was too "cold" @ Oka and lacking wind, while up north was too "warm" and lacking wind. Add on top of that that my wife was asking me to perhaps pick her up up north. (that that & up up in the same sentence lol) ...
So... I canned the idea and drooled between 15h00 and 17h00 !!
30MAR2024 =WHAT ? STILL going out on the ICE n snow ??
The day before, Charlie = me bro-in-law, kept sending me pics o' da ice !?! So, how could I NOT go out on the ice ?!? Wind was from the NW 0-35 kph with 20-50kph announced. As you can see, it was with the infamous ice sled and the 2013 MauiSails Global Wave sail with a decent downhaul. Where the surface looks grey in the distance, the ice is perfect, but the rest of the lake is what I would call crunchy smooth lol. It is perfect for the sled, yet I would not take my iceskate out onto that surface. Would have loved ta try the windskate on the "grey section" only !?! .........This makes 24 outings on the ice n snow this winter = six per month average, which is EXCELLENT !!
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21MAR2024 = ONE LAST TIME OUT on the ICE n SNOW !!
Up North with WNW winds 20-40kph. As is the case with small lakes, the winds were more like 0-50kph !! There are wind shadows, wind changes direction AND strong gusts. It had snowed and froze, with some soft snow 6 cm / 2.5" in some areas ... which made it feel like waves (analogy was suggested by 90 year old Uncle Sylvio).
It was a bit cold as it was -10°C with those strong gusts of cold air !!
It was NOT a great session, butt loved it lol MauiSails Global 5.0m² wave sail was the right call !! On the water it would have been 8.5m² !! Plus ... on the ice n snow when one is overwhelmed by the gusts, it does not seem to catapult the rider over the handlebars !! Captain Charlie feels this may be due to less inertia/friction than on the water AND makes sense !! Today many people exclaimed," Holy Shit, you were going FAST !!" However, I was NOT measuring speed nor filming ... (had to format the SD card for the video camera/GoProCopy today btw) ... hmmmm
This was my 23rd session on ice n snow this year = World Record !!
clique the pics :-)
On QuebecWind they are calling me Montreal's "Windsurf Grizzly"lol
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20MAR2024Am fixing my fins to be READY for the WATER !!!
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Watched some youtube windsurf videos and became interested in the INSTA360 camera and INSTAMIC microphone. Well, it seems the full insta360 camera kit can run you around $750. Commented on one video asking why recommend such expensive video cameras to us mere mortals lol.
The wireless instamic is less than $200 and is NOT available from the producer. Oh well ... Cookie says he used to run a wired mic to a GoPro that was in his pocket lol.
Are there wireless mics for GoPros (or copies thereof) ?? ...................Seems you need a GoPro V10 and up !!
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The funniest question I get asked about winter windsurfing is Do I ever wear a life jacket !?! Whenever I think there is ANY danger of going through the ice, I just DO NOT GO !! It's as simple as that .... "How fast are you going?" I have shown with the speedometer app on my phone that I can go faster than the wind. Other wingskier showed me his 40kph. WE GO FAST !! Does my equipment float? The skis distribute my weight and with the sail on the ground, there is quite a large surface area. Whenever I think there is ANY danger of going through the ice, I just DO NOT GO !!
For now I am hoping to go one more time !! Have been out on the ice and snow 22 times this winter !!
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12MAR2024
It has been a little colder and rather than rain they got a little bit o' snow up north. It was -8°C when I left home and about +4 when I got off the ice at 13h30. They were announcing decent winds up to 30kph, but I measured 5 knots NW when I got there. As better winds were anticipated, I stayed with the SW Hucker 6.6m² sail.
I started with a jacket, gloves and shoes, but got rid of the jacket n gloves and put boots.
Since I had put a mount on the front of the sled, I tried it, but busted the hinges on the video casing :-( No biggie --> one hinge was already busted
and this is what Brian Foster sent me of his last session
and in case anyone wondered about the ice that I was sailing on !!
The ice was more than 8 inches thick and water filled up to the 6 inch mark while I went to get the straight edge ... This was done the next day and it was still good to sail on. Was just lacking wind and the stuff I brought home lol
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07MAR2024
Well, it looks like Pte-Claire is wide open water !!
It was 10 degrees outside - offshore winds at 20-30kph
But the water temp is only supposed to be one degree C !!
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06MAR2024
It has been a little warm lately; like +2 and +10 !?! and people are going through the ice on Lake Simcoe with their jeep (in Ontario at the same parallel) ... At 6h00 I checked the ice and contemplated using the SW Hucker 6.6 on the slush in 20-30kph North winds, but the wife said,"NON !?!"
Oh well ... Too bad I am not here alone ... lol
05MAR2024
People have been freaking out about the dangers of the ice and yet ...
In Oka there are still fishermen on the ice
02MAR2024
Yes, we made it out yet once again !! This time wind was from the S-SE below 20kph and I was using the SailWorks Hucker 6.6m² sail. This sail has so much more pumping power and power in general. I find it easier to handle than the small NS Zeta 3.7m² !! Forgot to put the electric tape on top of the mast before inserting into the luff sleeve .. I also started putting something like a hammer or axe into the top section - to try and help the mast get past that part %^&*()_
Unfortunately the winds were from the S-SE which means I had like a 1/4 mile run and needed to stop before hitting the other side. Also, it was a bit warm, but cannot take off protection = ice is HARD !! I got off around noon, the clouds are coming in and the prediction is for mixed precipitation.
Will go take my stuff in NOW !?! btw that's 21 times on the ice n snow this winter !?! in the last few days the ice made lotsa noise really WARM weather on the horizon :-(
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01MAR2024
Same conditions as yesterday, except it felt a little bit lighter and not so gusty... Made a coupla runs just before lunch ... Feels like the CoE on the Zeta is up high !! Does this mean it needs more downhaul ?? Based on my "notes" under the sails category ... The leech lowers the CoE = yes, more downhaul lowers it !!
So... after some re-heated fries ... I added 2 cm of downhaul and a little more outhaul Wind supposed to be 15-23kph SW butt felt more like SSW lol Sail felt better, yet there is NOT a lotta counterweight i.e. 3.7m² is VERY small for a guy of my stature !! =============================================== 29FEB2024 last night rained, got really windy, lost power & then froze
20-30kphW and gusty = too dangerous for me !!
I was NOT taking the full force of the wind and when I lay the sail down,
I slid for another 100 meters before stopping !!
===========================
26FEB2024 thought I was gonna git 4 in a row!!
clique the pic :-)
8h00 10-23kphW -3°C predicted
8h06 13-20kphW -2°C & flag is still
8h45 13-20kphW -2°C & flag is still
9h00 13-26kphW 0°C predicted
9h15 moved flag & trial run = need more !!
9h45 17-25kphW +1°C
10h00 16-29kphW +2°C predicted
11h15 did couple of trial runs - wind W or NW ??
11h25 14-21kphW +2°C
12h00 19-32kphW +3°C predicted
12h30 snow is getting soft and wind changes speed/direction
14h00 snow is too wet/drags + winds STRONG n gusty NW
25FEB2024 Special BeeDay for the wife and I still managed to go out !! that makes 3 DAYS in a ROW in the Winter !!
In 15-22kph winds from the south I managed a max speed of 29kph !!
In my discussions on reddit about the above statistics I realized that in those winds I would probably NOT even go out on the water ... and when I go out in 20-30kph winds it is with a longboard or JP SLW92 and large 9-10m² sail !!
Here I am going out in less winds than that and using a sail 2/3 the size ...
The sail is small enough that I do not even use a harness...
I realized afterwards that perhaps I could have used one of those runways, but then again, that would have been REALLY dangerous with the hard snow castles on the sides !!
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24FEB2024 WOW = 2 daze in a row !!
It is @ this time that I will write about the SailWorks Hucker 6.6. I was told I did not have enough downhaul and too much outhaul ... This time I went with 12 cm extension on the PowerEx 460cm/90% RDM mast and there are 4 cm at the top of the mast to the cap which equals 176 cm and the specs call for 175 !! The battens popped to the other side when I downhauled and that's how I like it !!
The outhaul was at 180+20 cm and was still 4 cm of outhaul extra. I put it to 180+17.5 and there still was some slack. As the sail calls for 200-204, I AM giving the sail less outhaul than specified ...
In any case, I enjoyed the ride man !!!
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23FEB2024 FryDay can it really be 9 daze since last time ??
10h00 +3C 11-18SW predicted 10h30 +2C 11-16SW 11h00 +3C 12-20SW predicted --------------------------- tried to go and it was kinda okay one way runway was not at the correct angle !! ---------------------------- 2h00 +4 15-23W predicted 2h47 +4 11-16W 3h00 +3 15-23W predicted ========================== made a runway for NW using a GPS app !! ========================= 4h00 +3 15-23NW predicted 4h17 +3 9-14W 4h47 +3 7-11W 5h00 +1 18-27NW predicted 5h30 this is where I went on the ice !! 6h00 -2 20-30NW predicted 6h00 -2 16-30NW corrected
In the picture one can the tracks I made in the snow and in the distance is the runway that goes NE to cover the NW winds ... It was worth the wait. Now all the slushy stuff is starting to freeze man !!
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14FEB2024 💘 HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY LADIES 💘
7h15 -15C 09-14kph W 7h45 -15C 08-12kph W 8h00 -14C 14-32kph NW predicted 8h30 -15C 09-14kph W 09h00 -13C 17-35kph NW predicted 08h57 -15C 10-14kph W 10h00 -12C 18-38kph NW predicted actual-12C 17-26kph NW 11h00 -10C 18-39kph NW 12h00 -10C 20-39kph NW 13h00 -09C 23-41kph NW 14h00 -09C 23-41kph NW This is when I "hit the ice" :-)
I had NO idea what the lake conditions were like when I left my house !! The wind was LESS than predicted, butt was picking up lol. As I was bringing my wife up to take care of our granddaughter, I did NOT have a lotta room in the Prius for "my stuff"!!
Based on the wind predictions and some past sessions on the ice n snow, I brought ONLY the MauiSails Global 5-oh with the Chinook 400cm CC mast and the small blue boom which has NO harness lines. If the wind was to pick up ... somewhere up north I also have the NorthSails Zeta 3.7m² sail which goes with the 400cm mast and the smaller yellow boom.
becuz the wind was strong, I tightened the outhaul and then the wind dropped & I also realized that I liked that sail MORE bagged out a little !!
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13FEB2024
This morning I wanted to test setup my MauiSails Global 5-oh wave sail, but ... I could NOT find my RDM mast extension - no matter where I looked $%^&*
I started freaking out cuz I have NO backup for that and it was gonna cost me at least $100 with four hours on the road (ONLY WindSpirit remains). I have extra SDM extensions up north, but this is my ONLY RDM !!! I double checked and found nothing ...
So, I took a drive back to the Parc from Sunday (even tho I had been there just yesterday checking the ice). And lo and behold:
After that I was so grateful / thankful that I tried to go with the HSM Fire 6.3 in what was supposed to be 11-17kph NE and mounting. Feel like I got 10-15kph and descending ☹️ Later put some TuckTape on the MS Global - that tape actually looks more clear than the monfilm repair tape !! Consolation Prize = Looks like there will be wind tomorrow !!
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12FEB2024
Checked the local river and it is NOT safe at the Rosemere/Ste-Rose 117 crossing !! It is much better at Parc Charbonneau AND the ice is better than it was yesterday (we had a colder night) ... so ... tomorrow morning with 20-30kph NE, what sails am I supposedto use ?? gonna haf a colder night again ... (should be the MauiSails Global 5-oh as per spreadsheet !!)
Tuck Tape = I found some "Duck Tape"andI was confused as to whether or not this was the tape I was suggested to replace the expensive mono-film tape ! Well, it is NOT ... and then I searched for my "Tuck Tape" which I did NOT find in my "tool-bag" $%^&
As I was putting away my tool-bag, I noticed my "string bag" had extra stuff in it ... In there were two rolls of Tuck Tape and one roll of mono-film tape = TABARNAK !! lol Pardon my French he he he
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11FEB2024 Sunday
Madhav wanted to see what it was like to sail on the ice and wanted some pics.. NOT the best conditions, but all he really wanted was a pic 🤙
7h00 -1 4-6kph E 7h47 -2 6-9kph N 9h37 -1 11-17kph E 9h57 0 11-17kph E 10h05 1 8-12kph E 11h07 1 9-13kph E 11h27 3 11-17kph E 11h47 3 11-17kph E 12h17 3 11-17kph E 12h30 pack the car n go
I was hoping to bring the HSM Fire 6.3, SW Hucker 6.6 and NS Duke 6.9 since they all fit on the same mast and boom, but I cannot find my NS Duke = it must be up north $%^&*. So, off we go with just the two smaller sails ... Video summarizes the afternoon fine !!
Met a dude on a fat bike who windsurfs freestyle and kites in the winter. he has only been out once !! He also goes to Cape Hatteras four months of the year !! Two in the spring and 2 in the fall. He has been obliged to leave when there are serious storms !! Once time he waited in a nearby town for it to clear and clean up, butt gave up :-(
7h45 +2 13-20kph SW & no traffic 8h00 +2 12-27kph SW PREDICTED 9h00-12h00 predict about the same
As you can see... it was a bit warm and the winds were not only less than predicted, but also NOT the ideal direction for the main beach at Parc OKA. When I got off, it felt like the warmth was making the snow softer, but I just like to get out of the house and did make a little video:
In that video, it is the music that saved the day lolol
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2024030 Tuesday
04h30 -7 degrees 15-23kph NE 07h00 -10 degrees 14-21kph NE 07h20 sunrise and not long after I am gone !!
It has been "warmer" lately - sometimes even melting. Yesterday, I went to the local park to check about sailing there with the NE today ... It looked like someone tried to go on the ice with their car and had issues.
Tried to take a pic of that today ...
Clique the pic :-)
When I walked on the snow yesterday, I went through wet yucky snow of about two inches and then there was water on top of the ice... Today most of the water was gone and the snow seemed crusty. Wind seemed decent enough and I rigged the HSM Fire 6.3
First I put the mast bottom section on backwards, my hands got COLD, the snow was "sticky" and it felt like the wind was lacking #$%^&*I almost called it QUITS !!
Then I remembered my runway trick !!I made ten foot runways which got the sled going. and just when I thought the wind had died, it picked up and I had some really decent runs !! Only saw one man walk bye with a cane and he did not seem interested in what i was doing lol There were animal tracks on the ice -- fox, coyote, wolf or stray dogs
Oh yeah, because I was floating on two to three inches of snow, it felt like I was sailing on water with a manoeuvrable wave setup lol
2024026
Rawdon
2024023 Two's Day
I went to Parc Charbaneau to check out the conditions --> for my ENE sessions and it was over 4" thick with pressed powder snow 1-3" meaning boots are NOT even required !! The gate was open and there are two parking spots !!
I should be using my 6.3/6.6 on ice and hard snow in those winds and my 8.5 in snow. There was some ice and some decent gusts and thus, I picked the 6.3 !!
One time the gust blew the sail right out of my hands when I was starting a run !!
Now, I do not know if it was the fresh paraffin, the medium packed powder or the combo thereof, but I FLEW man !! I kind of suspected that I needed the WW 4.6, yet I would prefer a decent sail in those snow/ice conditions !! Found one for $200, but I really only wanna spend $100 for a sail that's better than my current WindWing 4.6 !! Asked on QuebecWind 🤙
btw when I got there, I got the 2nd last parking spot due to the Finlandais SPA. and when I got off there was a retired gentleman from St-Jerome smokin. He has been retired since 36 due to construction accident. Cut his leg in the woods 200 km away from civilization in a snowstorm ☹️
I forgot to mention: It was only -5°C; we have been having closer to -15°C. Also, I was wearing ALL my safety equipment. Was gonna look up the proper way to wear elbow pads lol
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202418 Turdsday
Wind was WSW 10-20kph, some snow on the ice = out with the ice sled that was waxed with paraffin (from old candles) and my GA GTX 8.5m² freerace sail which has 2 cambers. It was a test run and at times better than expected and others wurst lol
January 17th Wednesday Brought my Winter Stuff Home
January 16th Tuesday
Since the lake up north will NOT be sail-able for quite some time - due to the deep snow and water on top of the ice ... I went and checked out the local river !! There was still water under the bridge (always freezes last) and the ice was six inches thick at the side before I hit some water and under that, it seemed to be more ice !!
As I kept walking though, I found water under the snow ☹️
Thank Goodness - The cold weather is coming !! Let's GO check OKA !!
Yes, ladies n gents there IS water under the snow
and beautiful scenery
Just need soma that COLD weather there too !!
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January 14th Sunday
This is what greeted us up north today
Took three people two hours to get it out !!
... and even wurst ?!? now there is water on the ice $%^&*
This usually happens later in the winter season !!
When it is actually warm, now = -3 degrees C
which is still fairly "warm" !!
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12JAN2024
I asked on QuebecWind if a SlingShot Wizard 125with a SlingShot I76 foil would do it for someone of my weight ? https://QuebecWind.ca
Force10 suggested NON to the Wizard and OUI to the JP SLW92 as a starter!!
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10JAN2024
Welcome Back to School kids !!
AND
How the fuck do people get to this level of riding in the snow ?!?
06JAN2024 Saturday
I made this spreadsheet to compare water versus ice versus snow:
... and today we are supposed to have winds ENE 10-15kph !! By 11h00 the winds were 11-16NE and I was packing my stuff to go north !!
As winds were light, I rigged the GA GTX 8.5m² sail that has 2 cambers ...
This video gives you an idea how much work it was today !!!
04JAN2024 THURSDAY
Would you believe that I was back on the ice two daze later ?!? There had been some snow, butt got blown away lol (pun intended) The wind was supposed to be best in the morning NW 20-40kph ! Now that is A LOT OF WIND for good ice conditions. Normally in that wind (on water) I would use an 8.5m² sail. Today I put away the MauiSails GlobalWave 5-oh and took out the WW4.6 That WindWing is an old sail with full battens. I rigged it with 32cm on the extension and little cap extension... Based on my notes luff = 427-34 where I assume 34 is extension ! The blue boom was fine at the setting it was at ... As usual, the wind was intermittent, gusty and changing direction !!
Everyone keeps asking how fast I am going and "Is the ice safe?" I started going on this ice December 13th, 2023 when I measured 4" thickness. Since that date, it went to 8-10" thickness and then there was rain + melting!! The ice went down to 5-6" and then it got colder = NO DANGER For me, the only dangers are face-plant and broken bones !?!? Now, as to how fast I am going (and Jacques does NOT like the music in vid) Everyone keeps suggesting the phone... hmmm There is an app called SpeedTracker that I may try 😄
On January 2nd I managed to get out on the ice and snow up north ... It was 10-25kph WSW on semi-rough ice. I think the video and the comments on youtube say it all !!
