I come from the water…

  Another spring, another start of a new water season. Damn, they sure seem to come & go too fast. I started thinking about my “highlights”, not from this season but from all the seasons past. In no particular order here is my top 10-I know I’m leaving a lot out but these I readily remember. If you notice most of them involved an “event” more than the classic “dude, it was blowing 40 & I was going off”  stuff. Here they are:  1- the first Hatteras trip, so big & cold, Pete ended up ditching his rig in the shore crunch as the rip had him.  2-the fat guy clutching onto the beer cooler in the middle of Erie after his boat sank, yep, Don & myself saved him…CRAZY! 3- a fin in the butt-as it sounds. Quite painful, Don doctored me up 4- Don & myself in the gorge, snowboarding in the morn, catching 45 mph winds on the Columbia river in the afternoon. Priceless. 5- Don, Gary Cook, Tom & myself niteriding & hiding from the rangers special forces like after GC got busted! More funny than I can explain. 6- My 911 winter ice rescue, I still to this day blame my 911 rescue on Don. 7- Ryans 911 spring rescue. Damn, it sure is funny when its not you being rescued! 8- Ryan bass fishing incident! As funny as it was, I knew right then he was gonna be something special. 9-Climbing the Valley of Death cliffs, it really sucked getting washed into them, sucked even more leaving my gear & climbing 3 stories out. 10 Pulling the “dead” guy out of the ocean in Hatteras, pretty F ed up!  The common factor to all this is Don,  Ryan or both were there for all of these. Moral of the story, for me at least, riding with your friends is were its at. I’ve been lucky to always have had a solid crew……if you don’t, you can’t even imagine what your missing!

407 thoughts on “I come from the water…”

  1. Wild PP day… sat in the rain for 1/2 hr… ready to call it quits… only carried my 12m down so not a lot of wet gear…. then some teaser wind….. got us out there… then blasted hard to hold down the 12… the swell was from all directions….very strange and fun got beat like a dog….oh well it was nice to get out on the water (which is still warm at this end )

  2. Jon and I had an under powered session at boobs today…Nothing special…I called it quits when my kite fell from the sky.

    Anyhow…looking forward to Friday

    Mark

  3. thursday did deliver, maumee came alive 7 until dark, under a dry storm line, perfect 6.5 NW wind . I had been slogging around on 8-0, then was holding on at full speed in a wonderful steady wind, and this michigander went home happy. Hope y’all had good excuse

    1. Almost came out. Figured I’d be riding solo again and couldn’t get motivated. So just lazy…no excuse

      1. I saw it at 7 and was also to lazy & not motivated…….I think I was also disappointed from the near gale they were forecasting earlier never showing.

    1. Ryan report from Maumee Bay, he thinks its coming up & is going out on 13 kite, Steve & Traveler overpowered on 7 sails…..I am not biting!

  4. I had a very early morning session before class. Kinda the same. Good gusts but kinda flaky. On a 14m

          1. Come to Maumee Bay SP. Straight up 75 is faster! Sorry I thought you were the Luke from Sandusky.

  5. John report from Maumee Bay, he is on a 13 kite and its pretty light. In the gusts he is good, then at times its so light hes worried about getting back in. Ryan L on a 5.8 another brother on a 6.5 and one on a 7 sail the windsurf group is good in the gusts then slogging. A lot of W still…..

  6. Was at Boobs with Jon…

    First time ever used all my kites in one session! By the end we were both overpowered on our 7s.

    Nothing like the Death Valley….but still a good session.

    1. LOL you guys saw “Pleasant Valley” not Death Valley. Friday was the best day there in YEARS. Today the backwash from the pier was running the length of the beach….no kidding. Today was fun but scary!

      1. For sure, as good as it was last Friday, today was classic kick your ass Death Valley, I was happy I didn’t drown, no joke! I got worked more than I have in a while. I never was right……never. Nasty, ugly swell & the backwash was evil. At one time I was just hoping to get deposited on top of the pier instead of into the side of it.

  7. That’s the Catawba I remember. Mean, nasty washing machine inside and WAY overpowered on 4.5 sail, 6, 7, 8m kites. Huge air and a double kiteloop. I’m gonna hurt tomorrow

      1. I will be at MB around 5:30 for those of you who are working for the man and cannot get out early!

          1. Solo session at MB for me after work.
            4.5 to 7.5 conditions, plenty of water though

    1. I have relatives in for the weekend and a house showing today.
      Definitely tom’w for me, missed the whole weekend!
      You’re welcome.

    2. watching too. I could always use a S in the backyard or maybe a downwinder to the pier. Not looking very windy now.

  8. John report from Maumee Bay, W ish, he is gonna put up an 11, windsurfers on 5s…….it seems pretty mild compared to yesterday at Death Valley 😉

          1. you didn’t miss anything. Typical MB on a W, 0-30, I’m not kidding! If you rode the Valley of Death yesterday this was quite a let down! 12 windsurfers out & after John put his Slingy 11 away & left.

    1. sorry guys PP rocked…. 6m…. 4-7ft mean ass swell…..put my 9m for one ses……ouch! hanging on for dear life…went back to the 6m….( by the way my 9m survived unscathed from yesterday’s carnage)
      got good pics and vid from both days……will get them to mark in the next few…..

  9. Best CI day for me in a long time. 258-268 degrees the perfect direction. Need to remember that. We might have the first photo update for the site in a long time.

  10. Hunting for swell in the hollowed Valley of Death out east, leaving at 12:30ish……any takers????

  11. All together now, everyone take a deep breath & un-pucker. All ya all that were moaning about crappy winds all summer long and talking about all the cool stuff that ya would do if it ever blew here better be riding somewhere, anywhere this Saturday! Exemptions are given to the injured & the poor souls that are stuck at work.

      1. My system has a high tolerance for poo! Remember those furry dried apricots I had camping in Hatteras & the Froggy Dog morn???? Nothing can stop me!!!!! The so called killer “Toxic Algae”, nothing but right wing facist propaganda! Ride on!

          1. they maybe slowed me down for a short time & cramped my style, but I still rode (with clenched cheeks)

    1. almost ready to roll……..soon I think. Just a little warm up for Fri/Sat big (on the forecast) winds!

  12. I’m out for the next couple of weeks. Enjoy the wind. When her insurance company says the words “Pain and suffering”, I’m going to remember this suffering and think “cha-ching.”

  13. Glad I went. Didn’t look like much wind…i even brought the 15! Turned out to be a nice 13 sesh. Got to see some kite carnage, and then pete killed the wind with his 17.

    1. I brought an incredible sunset and some full-moon kiting with me, though. Not a fair trade, but at least I didn’t show up empty handed.

      I hope tomorrow’s wind comes later.

      1. Class until 7:30ish. Will stop home ans load up before class and that’ll get me to the water at 8pm. With an 8:18 sunset, that should get me… an hour on the water?

    1. I’m planning on a 6:45 get-wet time. Should be building through sunset if the forecast is right.

        1. The dileo- got to LP & hit the water at 4:15 alone, 6.5 pretty stoked up with a nice little swell out south & deep. Rode for 3 hours, it was good for 2 1/2 hrs. Vic put in around 6:30, Pete a little after Vic on his 12 and then it crapped out….a nice warm up for a Sunday.

          1. Couldn’t stop watching the cam…looked like better swell than the last 3 finger day. I just hope there’s something left for me after work Sunday/Monday

  14. Johns latest update, fluky, up & down winds (typical MB west), good wind at the wind line but its waaaaay out there.

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