20-25 knots is likely too much!

My first time at Sunset Point since the Ocean Spray Great Canadian windsurf regatta in 1992?

The wind was predicted to be cold and NW. I thought I would be cold. But the sun and 10c water meant the 9c air was ok in my 4/3 wetsuit with gloves and 3 mil booties.

I found it pretty hard to foil into the big waves. And hard to foil down the big waves. I completed ZERO of my jibe attempts. Pretty humbling really. Oh well, lots to learn.

Post session smile

The launch

I got up more than the GPS track below shows. My Garmin Vivoactive crashed during my first swim back to shore. There is a strong rip current on a NW that makes it really hard to get back to the shallow water at the launch. I realized I wasn't getting anywhere and foiled back upwind. Back to shore and again, even when my feet could touch, I couldn't overcome the rip and wound up back in the area where I'd been surfing in January. 3rd time I tried I came in even closer and finally was able to walk up through the shorebreak to the parking lot. I was pretty exhausted.

Next time I’ll know about the rip current

Map showing nearby Northwinds beach and Sunset Point

Luckily the website fitfiletools.com is still running (I used it last September to fix a file and donated to the them!) so I was able to recover 45 minutes of my 75 minute session off my Garmin watch.

Met Ed who was switching his foil from windfoiling to a windsurfing fin and two other regulars who were very good foilers. Tyler from the “spot of the day” chat group showed up as I was packing up.

I’ll note that the new “Anchorman” wing leash that I’ve seen on wing forums doesn't work in large waves and overpowering winds. I helped one of the guys catch his wing as he was struggling to swim downwind towards it.

Felt like 20-25 knots even though the forecast was 14-26…

Predicted

Actual wind was really strong from the NW

Happy that it is just a 12 minute drive back home! Didn’t even take off my wetsuit till I was back.

I’m was definitely going to have some sore thighs - having hiked the Apple Crusher Grind in the morning…

10 Knots is not enough

We got out the Launch Pad around 2:30 and the SW flow had been building a little bit. At 10 knots I knew I’d need big gear - the new 7m Slick wing was already partially inflated. Alas I wasn’t able to get up on the foil. I remembered to take the GoPro for the first time this year so at least I got some pictures while slogging.

Thanks Jen for the photo!

Just a bit of slogging with a few pump attempts

I’m curious if I’d been able to get going with a 7m windsurf sail? Or the newer Fanatic foil? The weather station said it was 7-13 knots, averaging 10.

Some good news - gooses had her chicks!

5 days in a row

Windy.com and iWindsurf were right again with their predictions. 3pm wind shift to the SW. I made it out at 4pm after my (2nd last?) SMCF charity conference call and was tempted to go out on the Skate 108 windsurf board in the 20 knot winds.

With the temperature showing 5c and the windchill at 0c I put on the 6/5/4 wetsuit again and my thick booties and wonderful 3mil Decathalon Triboard Olaian gloves. By the time I got it all on, the wind was down to 16 knots.

So with the wind dropping, I took the 5m Duotone Slick Wing and the Fanatic 140 Stingray with the 99cm Slingshot foil.

Thanks Jen for the photo!

Last run

Nice foil tracks

Great while there was over 14 knots of wind

Coldest day this spring

Just under 10k

The SW wind built quickly but didn’t last 

I managed 20 minutes of foiling without falling and then tried itching my nose and fell! Soon it was hard to get going with the wind dropping. Jen took some photos of me taxiing near the point and my last ride in to the dock.

5 days in a row is pretty nice. Not much wind predicted for tomorrow but we’ll see…

Comfy in my warmest suit

I didn’t expect to wear my 6/5/4 wetsuit this spring but after the cold plunge yesterday and the wind shifting to north I put it on!

The warm suit includes the hood!

The water is 13c now but the air only 10c. I put the deviator on the Fanatic Stingray 140 and kept with the 99cm foil from yesterday. The 5.6 Idol was the already rigged sail choice again.

Comparing 2 days on the exact same foil board; Windfoiling is better when it is gusty on a day like today and a slog upwind  is inevitable. Wingfoiling is way more fun when the wind is steadier like yesterday.

Glad I’ve got complimentary windsports and also then get variety as the wind changes.

I’m wondering about the May wind rose on iWindsurf.com? The data is from my tempest over the 2021 and 2022 months of May. We’ve had a lot of North wind this month. Will it change when a 3rd month of data is added?

Postscript added June 6th… yes, there was a lot of north wind in May 2023. A lot more showing from the NNE on the weather chart when May 2023 was added to the wind rose…

Wingfoiling through the shoals

The SW wind was a solid 12 knots and building. Exactly as iWindsurf and Windy.com had predicted. I pumped up the 5m Duotone Slick wing but didn’t have time to set up my new (last summer) Fanatic foil and board. So I went out on the Fanatic Stingray 140 with the old 99cm Slingshot foil like yesterday. 

I was already foiling just a few metres from the dock. The wind made it easy to get upwind and I managed to stay on the foil for most of the first 1/2 hour. I fell once, man was that a cold surprise. The air was around 12c and the water too.

The good surprise was how comfortable I’m getting jibing. Last fall I had some good sessions and was really getting the rhythm. I did a dozen jibes just in the last few minutes coming back to the dock. Not switching my feet mid jibe certainly helps. And running straight downwind at 11 knots in 15 knot winds is so quiet and cool. I’m really liking the Duotone Slick wing - super stable and very easy to use with the 36cm Dakine harness line on the boom.

This was the first time with my new very simple Mystic Wingman foiling harness. I used the back handle to secure my auto recoil leash, it is pretty sweet not having a leash flapping in the water!

I was thinking of going out for a windsurf session as the wind had built to 18 knots by the time my session     was over.

Total fun weaving in around the shoals

A bit surprised how much I stayed on the foil!

16.9 km in almost an hour

Time to update my size chart with
a 3rd column: wing and foil sizes

That might be it for good wind for the next few days. Super stoked by this wingfoil session. An evening sauna and swim at the neighbours capped off a great day.

Trying out the big wing foil

The wind made a remarkable shift from strangely warm and north at 4pm too much cooler but southwesterly around 5pm. (The sw wind picking up the coolness from the Bay.)

Quite the mid day temperature drop!

As the wind shifted to SW from North

I headed out to the Launch Pad and rigged up my new 7m Duotone wing and had a quick 5km / 30 minute session on the 99cm slingshot foil on the Fanatic Stingray 140 board.

Around 6:20 I slogged out past the wind shadow to where the 12 knot wind was just enough to pump up onto a foil. My skill in that department still lacking but looking forward to a lot more practice. I can tell that the 7m wing is going to be a game changer for the number of days that I get out on the water. The wind was not quite making white caps but there were some dark gusty spots.

View from the west

Water temperature had also dropped back to 10c - this due to the north wind over the last 2 days blowing all the warm water out into the bay. But at least the water is super clear!

I headed back in and enjoyed the hot shower and a shave. Back to the cottage for a lovely Mother’s Day dinner - first time this year in the screened in porch.

It’s getting warmer for windfoiling

Despite the north wind, it was 16c and the water is up to 14c. So the 3/2 suit was the right call for a late day quick windfoil.

I was again on the Techno with the 76cm foil and 5.6 Idol sail. The gusty wind allowed me to get on the foil around 5 times. There was a pretty long lull after my first two times on the foil, and just two decent jibes.

The water is already nice and clear. Hoping for some SW and some wing foiling tomorrow….

The goose’s eggs are still developing…
Daddy goose was pretty protective! 

Wing foiling in Craigleith

This is the first time I’ve had my wing gear in Collingwood since learning to wing ski here in early 2021. I’d brought my gear to Northwinds beach last week but wound up not having the hose for my pump!

A quick visit over the weekend to Northline sports for a very nice new Duotone wing pump and I was ready. Today was sunny with 9-15 knot NW winds. I loaded up and headed to Northwinds beach again and this time I was pretty much all set. Well, I realized my wetsuit was only a 3/2 - and the water and air were still chilly. My wind meter said it was averaging around 11 knots so I had to go!

Selfie before the session

I pumped up the 5m Duotone Slick wing and got the Fanatic 2000 foil connected to the 125 litre Fanatic Skywing board. I was a bit nervous about the limestone ledges and rocks with my nice foil gear so I just walked out until I was pretty sure there were no more underwater obstructions. I could feel a trickle of cold water through my gloves and booties and wondered if I’d made a mistake - how cold would it be when I wiped out?

Whooo whooo, there was enough wind. I got going easily and made a bunch of jibes in a row. I didn’t try the footstraps. I did try one tack and a few low speed jibes where I inevitably fell off the plane and sometimes off the board. The water was indeed cold and I decided to head in after only 5km. I felt like it was a bit to short a session, but to be fair, I did hike up the escarpment in the morning. Or maybe it was because I didn’t have a harness?

The 3/2 wasn’t quite enough to keep my torso warm, but glad I had the gloves and good booties. I did a little self rescue practice back to shore. I wanted to see if I could lay on the board and paddle with my feet dragging the wing behind me. Next time I try that I’ll need to get the leashes untangled first.

It was very nice to meet my sister and her friends on the beach. We had an impromptu wing flying lesson! Lots of interest in this new winging sport - good news for my Launch Pad Windsurf Academy.

Thanks Debra for the photos!

Looking at the GPS trail of where I was foiling overlaid on the satellite image, I was well upwind of the big shoal that usually has a flag flying on it in front of Craigleith in the summer. And it stays deep for a long way out. I suspect I’m going to be headed there on a lot of East and NW wind days.

Pretty slow 12 knot (22 km/h) max speed

Nice chart from Windy.com

Legs are going to be tired tomorrow… having done this morning hike up the Grind at Blue Mountain…

Oh, and this was my heading to the beach selfie and wind report the week before when I tried going for my session without my pump hose…