Skiing and Wing Skating

I only did a half dozen ski runs in the morning at Blue Mountain and then was keen to return to Whites Bay to see if the ice had firmed up overnight. Yesterday's wing skiing session was fun but I recall being even more excited the few times I've actually had flat enough ice for wing skating.

Wing skating in Collingwood

With my skates in my backpack I walked out from the Whites Bay parking lot to the larger expanse of ice I'd found yesterday. I pumped up the 5m Duotone Slick wing and put on my skates. My first runs were very slow. I could see that the ice was around 10cm thick and I was worried about the higher pressure of my skates breaking through the ice. But it had been really cold overnight so the ice was quite firm.

Decent forecast

10cm of ice?

Cool chunks!

A few obstacles 

Some bumpy areas

As I ventured farther each run and then faster I was feeling pretty comfortable. Enough so that I could wing with one hand while filming with the other. However, the ice had so many little mounds on the surface that the vibrations were intense the faster I went. I did find one nice line of smoother ice either side of some snow that had been packed down by a cross country skier during the last snow then melt cycle.

I have never skated on ice where you could see the bottom clearly. I could see the sand, twigs, logs and boulders. That was very cool. I think I even saw a fish. 

My wing skating video on Vimeo

My top speed was 15 knots or 27 km/h. After a while I got a bit sloppy and wasn't watching where my skates were going as closely. One of my skates got stuck in a crack in the ice and I nearly stumbled. I was having so much fun going faster I overshot my turn at one point and nearly went into a metre wide pile of rocks. And then I nearly stumbled again in a softer white patch of ice. I did one final run ending with a nice by upwind 360 and wondered why I hadn’t tried more tricks like that during my session. But it was time to call it a day. More to try next time!

I got faster later in the session

A good sheltered and shallow bay

So close to the Collingwood terminals and Millennium Park

With the warm weather next week I'm guessing that is it for wing skiing or skating this year. But I'm so grateful to the Sunset Point Foilers group for helping me find this spot!

Skiing and Wing Skiing

I was having a great morning skiing. While it was +3c, the colder wind was building from the north and the waves were starting to build on Georgian Bay. I was thinking maybe I'd try foiling at Sunset Point? Then I saw the What'sAPP note: "Whites Bay wing ski session imminent." Hmm.. where is White's Bay?

Thanks to Ed for the location suggestion and video!

Turns out it is the little bay just NW of Collingwood Harbour by Hen and Chicken Island. I took some photos of it from the top of Blue Mountain. After finishing my 21st run on my 55th day of skiing this season I put my pump and wings in the car and drove the 12 minutes to the foot of Balsam St.

A good orchard to North and back morning

21 runs on day 55 of the season

Scoping out White’s bay from Blue Mountain

Free parking!

I found Ed

It took a little walking around to figure out how to access the ice. I could see Ed from the Sunset Point Foilers chat group out winging back and forth. I went back to the car and pumped up the 5m wing and put on my ski boots. I walked out and Ed came to introduce himself and nicely gave me some information on the spot.

The bay is sheltered on 3 sides and the north wind funnels in nicely. The ice was sketchy but Ed noted that where we would be skiing it was only waist deep at most. The biggest risk were the areas where the rocks below the water were making holes in the ice. On skates it would be possible to break through and then tumble onto the ice on the other side of the hole. Not as much of a risk on skis though.

I put on my skis and worked my way upwind and then over to the more expansive area with better ice. The soft top surface of the ice made it easy to grip with skis. We were jibing and tacking and having a great time.

My sister found the spot and took a few photos and video. While I was sweltering under my FXR snowmobile suit, she was freezing in the 0c wind.

My video edit of the day on Vimeo

Ed took a great video of me, I got a few shots of him. After 30 minutes of winging my arms were tired and I quit when he was done. I wasn't too excited about being out there alone. Indeed on my last run back to the parking spot I had one "puddle jump" where I was glad to be leaning back on my skis.

My gear

Post session selfie with Ed!

That gets the heart racing!
Max speed 18.5 knots - 34 km/h

Location of the only stable sheet of ice in Collingwood

My GPS track. Definitely better to approach via the curved trail
7.8 km total distancing including the walk to the parking lot

It was really nice to discover this spot. I started winging 3 years ago in Collingwood - using skis at Sunset Beach. Wing skiing has been a great addition to my winter recreation - I always love getting in two or more sports a day!

February Surf and Ski

Len was excited by the surf forecast and it was supposed to be above zero for a little bit in the afternoon. I was ready to watch or even give it a try. Phillip was in Collingwood with us and decided to give his surfboard and new 4/3 wetsuit from @northline sports a first outing.

We suited up at home and did the 13 minute drive to Sunset Point Beach. Len was there and was convinced we would get going in the little waves. Phillip and I pulled our wetsuits over our heads and Phillip put some Vasoline on his face to protect from the 0c air. I had brought my wing foil gear and the wind looked nice at 15 knots - but it was due west and too offshore for my liking. So I decided to surf as well.

Pre-session selfie

Just the 3 of us out! (View from the North)

View from the west

Best photo of my session

All smiles!

Len styling

Phillip was rocking it!

Phillip in the snow!

I was out for over an hour and stood up on around a dozen waves. Nothing too long and I couldn’t steer around the icebergs. My fin hit a fair number but since they were slushy I only slowed down a little when I  did hit them.

One fun moment was when I lifted a slush pile and put it on the surfboard. Then I lined the board to the beach and sent the slush off to shore. Like those “we can teach a dog to surf” places in Maui, I taught an iceberg to surf!

Getting ready to send an iceberg surfing!

Once I was done I walked out with the GoPro to get some video of the boys in the water. The GoPro Hero8 worked for just a few videos until it said “battery discharged”. A bit disappointing as it still had 63% charge when it warmed back up. But I did manage to record the gale force winds that blinded us for a few minutes as the wind shifted from W to NW. Glad I wasn’t on the foilboard during that!

Happy back in the car after an hour

The boys coming back in

Challenging walk back through the shore ice / slush

Packing up the car - foilboard wasn’t used!

Nice clear view over across Georgian Bay
at the end of our session

Starbucks on the way home

I waited in the car for another 30 minutes while Len and Phillip finished their session. We drove home getting a Starbucks on the way which was entertaining for the drive-through staff.

Later that evening the 3 of us headed out to go skiing at Blue Mountain. Len’s first time on the snowboard in 6 years and Phillips 2nd time back on skis in the last 13 years!

Surf boys

Ski boys