Sat. Nov. 2 the Trials and Trails of Stony Get Tested

Brent and I hit the new bike trials course at Stony Creek before hitting the MTB trails yesterday. Got in 11.55 miles in 1:33 mostly dry and cold. Lots of leaves on the trails and ground though as the woods start to thin out the foliage. The Roller Coaster was fun and very fast - lots of hikers on the MTB runs though, not smart and there's plenty of other places there to hike. The season is getting colder and winding down ...fast.

Big Tuesday, Oct. 21, Gales and Living Large at KP

8:30AM - Good Tuesday morning 4.2M sailing a gale

Brent making the 4.4 North take flight

Plenty of kites playing in the wavers too

The inside was flat between sets but the winds were ripping

Brent heading out through the impact zone

Believe it - Brent's mast is 15' - Waves 10-16+ feet outside all day

Big KP day was worth the drive and skipping work - I sailed a 3.7M NP Jet powered all day on a the 85ltr. JP FSW. I could have used a 77liter for most of the morning as the speeds going out through waves were hitting hyper-drive. I think for the morning session I had the largest hull on the water (2 guys on JP 68 liters). Temps were cold but the sun came out numerous times and the water was still near 60. Equipment wise I had to lengthen out my harness lines the furthest ever just to control the rig and have some working room when dealing with the gusts and the waves. Lots of great jumping runs but the wave riding was the real rush with steep faces and long sets. The winds were 30+ knots NNW most all day so you could still go straight out and the dead north direction showing at the buoys never materialized at the beach.

Finally! a great fall sailing day and a classic KP day at that.

Sponsor of the day: Red Bull and Alleve

Sat., Oct. 18, A Perfect Day for Poto

Awesome fall morning for a 19 mile ride in 2:10 with JB at Potowatomi in Pickney. Epic trail conditions and lots of hikers on this near perfect single track. Sun and 60 degrees gave us an average 8.7 speed and a 22.6 mph top speed. To cap it off a swim in the lake with atemp in the upper 50's.

Saturday Oct. 11 Gruber's Grinds the Gears

A great day for a ride 70 degrees and sunny with no winds to distract. JB and I got 15.5 miles in 2:16 on a Holly's Holdridge trail that is tight twisty and pretty technical. Sand abounds everywhere here too so its not your typical hard pack single track trail. The payoff downhill sections are really nice and there are 5-6 rock gardens you need to have speed to clear. The final 1/3 of the the trail is really overgrown so a long sleeve shirt is a must. Overall a great trail that rivals Highland in difficulty.

Tunes: Pillar - For The Love of the Game

Sat, Oct. 4, Highland Conquered - Amen!

JB joined me for my annual Highland MTB ride where I build up all season to ride this monster trail maze. Its a great ride when you've done it and accomplished something that's a really tough ride. 17.01 miles in 2:23 to be exact with a couple of stops to catch my breath. Weather couldn't have been better 60 degrees cool, sun and with the recent rain very little dust. This trial is the duke of all MI MTB rides - a masterpiece of singletrack.

Thursday, Oct. 2 Metro Weeds and all Rips!

LSCM4 Bouy

Armed with the 6.1 NP expression and the 105 XCite I got over 4 hours of sailing in before the rain ended the day. WNW, W and SW all over but solid 15-20+++ once you sailed out through the weed farm. Great day to just sail until my arms gave out even with lack of sun and all the debis in the water. Check the chart above - west and steady - finally a day worth posting.

There: Brent, Tom, Millard (? - missed you on water), Jeff and Tom

Eats: Tim Hortons!

Wednesday Oct. 1, a short sesh at Blue Lagoon

Busy schedule but I got in about 3 hours of WNW 15-20 sailing at the Blue Lagoon on the 85ltr. and the 5.7 NP Xpression. Quick session as I couldn't make the long trip to KP for the real wind and the boys riding the real waves... We need a good full day of sailing up there soon.

Saturday Sept. 27, at Stony - MTB not sailing

Nice ride at Stony Creek this weekend and had a nice ride 20.1 miles in 2 hours with 2 loops of the "roller coaster". I'm pissed though, as I forgot they just opened a new skills park there across from Eastwood beach and I totally forgot it was open now and missed hitting it. Check out link with video the park looks awesome. I'm going back this weekend.

A little sailing history here - this is a the site at Stony Creek that I first learned to windsurf at about 30 years ago... good old Great Lakes Sailboards (696/Woodward in Royal Oak - believe it on not) gave lessons on weekends while selling Dufour, Pacific and HiFly back in the day.

Saturday Sept. 20, Pontiac and thankfully dry

After a wet washout weekend last week - JAB and I got sun, humidity and 75 degrees at Pontiac Lake State Park. Good pace: 10.77 miles in 1:07 were the numbers and it was pretty fast and mud free. Ironman JAB ran it twice!

Ok already - this is supposed to be a windsurfing blog right? its been over a month since we had a good blow around here...where's the wind? Hello fall and we got maybe 2 1/2 months before its over and we start to snowboard.

Sat. Sept. 6th Island Lake MTB riding

Beautiful day 75 and pure sun for a 15.88 mile ride in 1:28 with Brent. Top it all off with a RC Waterplane show at Kent Lake there.... Great park and easy ride.

Friday Sept. 5th, Metro fails to hold up

Not even worth a post today at Metro - 4.5M until about 10am but it never lasted - SW winds 25-35+ died to W15 after noon...sailed a 5.7M and the JP 85 FSW until it switched to full west. Damn I wanted a full day...

Thursday, Aug. 14, Back in the Saddle at Tree Farm

Back on the bike at Tree Farm in Novi for 14.02 miles in 1:15 time. Good ride, bone dry and fast except that I bent the derailleur on the bike pretty bad. The Specialized Enduro SL suspension is still running awesome soaking up everything you hit.

Sunday Aug. 10, Welcome to the Blue Lagoon

Dark skies but loaded with W-WNW wind...

Tom getting the most out of his 5M edge

Flatwater jibes on the inside all day long

Watch for boaters to the west of the launch

Brent on JB's gear making it work

Gear ready to go...

First time to the Blue Lagoon this past Sunday for 20+ winds and its a great site for W to NW winds on Anchor Bay. Site has $25 pass to buy but Dave (owner) says the gate will be open in to the late fall. Some grass areas to rig, alot of parking, and a nice ramp to the water for launching. Winds were 5.5m most of the day and at 3pm hit the 25+ 4.5M range for awhile. Plenty of room to sail and kite but watchout for power boaters racing into the nearby marina bouy channel.

Winds: W-WNW 20-30 all afternoon

Gear: JP 85 FSW, 104 Fanatic FreeMove, 86 Fanatic FreeMove, 103 RRD FSW (thanks Brent for the test hulls). Sails: NP 5.7M Expression and 5M NP Search

There: Everyone!

Friday Aug. 8, A great day of playing in the waves at KP!

Lets get out there!

Millard - the cameraman and ace forecaster

Bridge view heading back over Blue Water

KP - Afternoon rush hour

HD Video of the highlights...

Great day of sailing with about 30 kiters and boarders at Kettle Point this Friday. I made the 6AM drive commitment and had the waves and wind to myself for the first 40 minutes after hitting the water at 8:30AM sailing into the early afternoon. Solid 5M all day and sun with nice 3-8 ft. swell - even bigger way on the outside bowl. Couldn't have been better: about 70 degrees and NW 20k+ and enough sun to light up the aqua blue waves. Check out the video - this place usually only goes off in the spring and fall.

Gear: JP 85 FSW and 5M NP search.

Thanks: Millard (great call on the wind early on and HD video)

Eats: Tim Hortons

Sat, Aug. 2nd, All Hail Two Sport Day !

Escoda Bouy says it all: steady North

Great Saturday for those who got out to chase it. Sport 1: It started at 11AM with JB at Pontiac Lake for a 10.54 MTB mile ride we cruised in 1:02. Beautiful day and dry fast riding as the wind was noticeably picking up...

Sport 2: Flash forward to 1 PM - ride over and winds are blowing at Lexington N 15-20+ and lifting. Two hour drive later (well worth it) at 3PM we're smiling and sailing 5.5-6.1 powered on the small 85ltr hulls. Great North coast breeze blew with some good 3-5' swell until just about 7pm peak winds actually hitting 20K at times. Some jumps, lots of jibes and waves to ride and the water temps were perfect 70-71 degrees - shorts and a rash guard we're all the were needed. Apres': smiles beer, alleve and my thanks since I hadn't sailed since 7/1!

Those lucky few: Millard (great forecasting call!), Craig, Brent, John

Gear: 85 JP FSW, 105 XCite (for 1 run), and NP 6.1 Expression

Tunes: Mae - Singularity, The Send - Cosmos, Dizmas - Tension

Saturday July 26, Tree Farm Ride and no rain!

Finally, a whole ride without a downpour at Tree Farm in Novi. 14.36 Miles in 1:25 on a beautiful Saturday morning and all without a drop falling from the sky.

Sat. July 20 Island Lake'n it

Yes, back on the bike for a nice ride at Island Lake for 11.36 miles in 1:03. Of course it had to rain on the whole second half of the ride just like at Poto a month ago (see prior post). Yeah, more mud and water. Next ride had better be dry....I'm getting tired of all the cleaning.

The Princess is Here!

Avery Christine born 7/7/08 7lbs. 15oz. Current sail size .008M
paired with 11ltr. diva wave hull.

Wednesday, July 3 - Chasing the Forecast

Hardly worth the post - supposed 20-30 South winds never really arrived but I got an hour in up at Marysville on the big 6.9 Expression and the 105 Xcite while others tried to make it work down at Metro. A dud for wind and no more for the next week... Happy 4th. C-

Gear quiver used today...

Make your choice....RRD, Fanatic, JP....

FGCP-Great beach and launch here.

Took a chance (and it paid off!) on the weather and made the drive up to Pt. Huron for a try at the newly opened Ft. Gratiot County Park. Winds were right on the edge blowing 14-17G20 North but apparent winds were more NE and stronger way on the outside. Thanks to Craig, the Silver Fox, who picked up the winds northerly flow early at 11am when gusts were hitting 20K++ all along the southern St. Clair County coastline. Got about 3 hours in with some decent waves and the sun in 70 degree temps. Thanks to Brent loaning me the RRD 101 FSW which worked paired on a 6.1 NP expression with the new Powerex Wave 60 mast and the new HPL one-piece wave booms. Man, this place would rock on a 5M day even with NW in it. After 3 weeks of no wind here this was a worthwhile drive to get some.

Tunes: Mae - Singularity

June 21, Potowatomi Hail and Rain Ride

No wind for the last week or so and its time to ride again. Johnny B and I did 21.16 miles in 2:35 at Poto this Saturday. It started all sun and 80 degrees but by 15 miles in it downpoured in buckets and the temps dropped 20+ degrees with small hail. Total washout on the trails and mud city in a matter of minutes. One long unforgettable ride.

Jnue 14, Muddy and Rutty Pontiac

Time to ride after 2 weeks off - after the big storms and rain, Pontiac Lake was mostly dry but had even more rocks and mud holes on trials exposed. Did 10.60 miles in 1:10. Good times as the Enduro SL soaked up everything the place had.

Tunes: Our Hearts Hero

Sunday, June 8 Metro Hot winds in front of big Stroms

JB jamming on the 4.6M

Whitecaps all day long...

Jet skis and kiters all fighting for the same space...

Metro on a 90+ degree Sunday - crazy winds 20+ WSW that came out of nowhere and pretty much lasted all day. Good group about 20-30 sailors out for an early start and winds that were holey and gusty (like Friday at M-ville). Day started bad with my first run on the 5.7 Expression and snapping a NP 430 X7 Wave mast 5 minutes into the session on the outside point. Thanks to Tom who stopped and dragged me into the beach for 30+ minutes - much appreciated! After the 1/4 mile walk back to the launch the other 430 worked well with the 5M search. Most everyone all off the water by 4 pm - storms were on the horizon and we were beat...

There: Everyone - even the boys from returning DR for a final sailing day of their trip.

Winds: 10-35mph WSW, SW etc.

Gear: 85 JP FSW, 4.5 Search, 5M search, 5.7 Expression

Demo'd: 101 RRD FSW = Thanks Brent

Ordering: new NP Combat RDM

Friday June 6, Gorge of the Great Lakes

Keith in the groove...

Beach day....

The Silver Fox ducking it...

Solid south 180° winds

Brent making it look easy

A good looking chart...

Wow, Marysville delivered this Friday with south winds ranging from nuking near gales to 7M wind holes a mere 10 feet away. We were sailing from 2-8pm and it was sunny hot (88°), humid and infested with millions of fishflys. Crazy that in 40+ winds these little pests were in the middle of the river as you ripped on the water they hit and would sting your face? The wind and the made it a wave riding day more than jumps since there was nothing to hit without going upwind. All in all though a very memorable day and alot of Aleve on Saturday morning. Very Gorge-like sailing here in Michigan, could of fooled me.

Gear: 85 JP FSW, 5M NP Search, then 105 XCite last hour

There: Millard, Brent, Keith, Craig...

Tunes: Article One

Saturday at Metro, May 31...Suprise 4.5!

Spectator viewing was excellent...

Better than Red Bull Air Races....

Sun and upper 70's....

Good unplanned day...

Time to move up a sail and board size

LSCM4 says be here at 2pm...

Out of nowhere and without warning a strong West wind 20+ gusting to 30's with alot patches came through to make a nice Saturday afternoon sail. Got to sail my 4.5M Search and the FSW for about an hour then moved up to the 5M Search and the 105 XCite for the rest of the evening sail until 7:30pm.

There: Millard, Brent, Craig, Jeff...

Tunes: John Foreman - Fall and Winter

Tuesday, Lexington- Sun, Cold and NORTH WIND

The boys getting to business...

Sun helped with 50 degree temps

Just past the breakwall the fun begins

Powered up inside

Don't forget your Drysuit...

Good Lex Day!

Big Day at Lexington yesterday - awesome North steady 20-25K all day 4.5M to 5M solid with nice waves and sun during a very cold session on the water. Keith started the day up and sailing by noon and the session lasted until late with Brent, Craig and Millard. I caught the mid-day for a few hours and was pretty overpowered by the likes of my now thrubbing forearms from a 5M. Waves on the inside of the breakwall were great fun (riding and jumping) and the outside was scattered and messy but still a couple of clean 8+ footers in the near gale gusts. Classic day worthy of a the 150 mile $40+ roundtrip. Best day of 2008 some far by my count. Lets hope for more!

Gear: 85 JP FSW and 5M Search

Winds: N-NNE-NE 20-25K Steady from 5AM - 7PM on S. Lake Huron

Mem Weekend 2008 - Chasing Puffs

Not really worth the RAM to take any digital pix this weekend. On Saturday 5/24 morning JB and I caught an hour or two up at Lexington in 5.5-5.7M conditions, solid 18+ with caps - but in the 50's for temps. Was looking really good until about 1:30 when the wind dropped and more people showed up.

On Monday 5/26 the waiting game was the story at Metro - got barely an hour of chasing fingers of wind in the gusts...sunny and 80+...alot of people got tricked in to the whole day there but it was really a bust. 6.1M Expression and 105 XCite were the choices for gear but alot larger stuff would have worked for WSW 10-20.

Tunes: The Glorious Unseen - Tonight The Stars Speak, MAE - Sigularity, Our Hearts Hero

Wednesday, May 21, Cold day at Tree Farm

Stunts near ride end...

Not alot to say about upper 50's, cloudy and not enough wind to sail....again. So lets ride: good temps to stay cool for a ride at Lakeshore Park getting in 14.86 miles in 1:25. Fast and dry and some new log pile fun with more trees down throughout trail.

Listening to: Anberlin - Lost Songs, This Beautiful Republic - Even A Hero Needs A Parachute, Fall Out Boy - From Under The Cork Tree.

Saturday, May 17, Metro Crazy SW-NW Winds

Started all sunny and 5.5 early on....

By the afternoon...

Well, no forecast out there agreed beforehand and for good reason, Metro started good out of the west 15-20+ then was all over the place with 10-20 SW and NW and N and plenty of holes. I got a half hour in at 10AM on the 85ltr. and the 5.7 Expression but then have to move up to the 105 XCite. The rains came through at 2pm and the winds cranked 30+ for awhile from the North so Brent could get some rides and come in - not that great Saturday we wanted.

There: Brent, Craig, Larry, Jeff, Millard, Keith...

Ear candy being enjoyed: The Classic Crime - the Seattle Sessions, The Almost - Southern Weather