Comic Relief - How Bad was it? DCBB 24 Oct

[ChrisPSherwin]

I saw slightcaps at 1:20 or so and decided to make the 10 minute drive to DCBB. When I got there resident wind ninja John Guay was whipping his 13m kite and Captain Don Losee was doing the same on his 15m. Our strapless surf and skim board master with Missus was just coming in. It even LOOKED crappy. You could see wind lines starting and stopping everywhere. I don't remember the exact order of things, but here's what happened next...

John and Don came in and and verified that the wind "pretty much sucked." Kenny launched his 19m Speed 3 and Giganto Dooresque Board. I was dumb enough to pull my kite out of the bag. The wind picked up. John went back out. John and Kenny rallied and made the best of wind line after wind line. There was some jumping, but it didn't look real fun. Still in his wetsuit, the Captain decided to go back out. As I grabbed the leading edge, I heard a leak. I figured it was the main chamber valve, so I took a look. It looked like a blowfish. Then came the popcorn sound, which later I figured out was the sound of seams bursting. I motioned for Don to come and take a look at this posessed kite of his and BOOM! Total seam and bladder failure. Kite was toast. Don's reaction put the weather into perspective. "Good. I'm glad I don't have to go back out."

So Don left. Good call. I hung out and put my kite back in the bag. Meantime John and Kenny dropped their kites at the same time. Kenny fought to get his kite to shore, and then it dropped onto land. John packed up his lines on the water and then was treated to wind FROM THE EAST, which made carrying his kite to the grass a little easier. Then the wind died. Shortly afterward, while John was getting his board, his fully secured kite tried to run away as the wind had changed direction again. As we were all leaving the whitecaps returned. This time from the North.

Sometimes you just have to laugh.

[JimSouthwick]

Pretty similar up at DCIB for our small crew of die-hard poleboarders (John Dubock, Linda, Sarah, Steve and me). Actually, from about 12:45 to 1:30, the wind wasn't too bad, but after that sailing became kind of an exercise in frustration. At least we didn't have to deal with any urologic problems (e.g. ruptured bladders) - sorry, blame Jon Manwaring for that one.

http://gallery.me.com/jsouthwick#100031 ... &view=grid

[Carl Christensen]

yeah, but, on some level I was impressed by all you guys. i'd be lying if i said i didn't think about coming up too. not much left of this season so you gotta get what you can, and sometimes it's worth it. cowboy up!

[JimSouthwick]

We missed ya Carl!

[Kenny]

Storm clouds to the north shut the wind down early and kept things gusty and intermittent while it lasted. Not the best day that I have had on the water, but not the worst either.

[Sarah Ranes]

It was a challenging day for sure. I think I sailed in every direction possible. It was a little tough making it back to shore, cause the direction kept changing, along with the wind strength. I did get some fun fast rides though.