Dead Island Windfoil Circumnavigation

I think I'm the first person to ever circumnavigate around Dead Island on a foil windsurf board. I'm pretty sure of it in fact, as I'm the only wind foiler I've ever seen in this area in the 3.5 years since foiling really started. I did do a loop around the island 6 years and 2 days ago on my BIC Techno windsurfer and 9 metre sail though.

What is even neater is the history and recent news about Dead Island. For centuries it was used by First Nations peoples as a burial ground. My parents told me the story handed down to them from their fishing guides in the 1950s and 60s, that the skeltons resting there were taken to Chicago for display at a world fair and then discarded. A sad but typical example of mistreatment by colonists. But in better news, recently those artifacts have been located and a plan is in place to repatriate the remains to the Dokis Band.

My route around Dead Island

Getting the right consistent wind without any risk of storms is a precondition for me to think about that trip far from shore. I also like to have a (working) SPOT GPS with me in case of any trouble. 

The wind was 15-20 knots from the SE. I took the 4.8m Idol on my Stingray 140 board and Slingshot 76 cm foil. I wasn't really thinking of doing the circumnavigation, as my first few runs in more wind than I normally foil in was a big nerve wracking. I could have been out windsurfing on a shortboard, the gusts were pretty solid.

After seeing my sister and niece enjoying the wind in their little sailboat, I started heading upwind on the foil. I actually completed my first 4 jibes perfectly, staying up on the foil the whole way round - a first to have a few back to back. After 25 minutes I hadn't even fallen in.

Nice conditions for sailing!

I headed up to buddy Scott's place and didn't see him. I did see a sailboat way upwind (south) of me, so I figured that was him and continued tacking upwind. By the time I got to the sailboat on the small craft route, I realized it was a pretty large tri-hull. I went past the boat in the small craft route and even said hi to the captain as I glided past silently.

Now I was pretty far upwind and a quick slog through the wind shadow and shoals at Keefer Island got me out to the DK4 marker. I was back up on the foil and I was on my way for a 3 km run to the south shore of Dead Island. Out there, the wind swells were and ocean like 1 to even 2 metres.

For the first time in my life I started feeling like Kai Lenny on that epic first video I saw 4 years ago. The swells out past Dead Island are like those I experienced during the HIHO events a dozen years ago. But when windsurfing downwind in those big swells it is always scary worrying about stuffing the nose of the board into the back of a wave. On the foil, you just ride the wave with the sail becoming fairly neutral. EPIC.

I considered going all the way out to the Bustards but one lull got me wondering if the wind would die. I didn't see DK2 and then decided to turn at the sight line turning buoy D62 and head back to the Dead Island channel. I stopped for a minute and sent a 2nd SPOT message saying I was OK and having fun, but it was the only one that was received.

That was a sweet bit of downwind. At the D57 marker a nice powerboat was coming out of Dores Run and slowed down to check out the guy on the foil.

I did the last 5 km run with just one drop off the foil during the Mann Island wind shadow. Overall 29.4 km in just under 2 hours. Max speed was a comfortable 28.4 km/h. Air was 22c, just wearing my old shorty and really comfortable. Nice way to end August.

Happy about getting back to the Launch Pad after going around Dead Island

Nice warm conditions and 20 knot max wind