6-6-08 Epic Grants/UL Saratoga day

[kenonstott]

Emanuel and Tom logged the sesh’s at Grants and UL. I usually have 1 epic day a year and yesterday was it. Normally when I burn a day of vacation for a blowout it rains all day or never blows. I figured I would get skunked at Grants and head to Sulphur. But Grants was ripping and I had a great 2 hours on the small gear and another hour on the 7.0 catching the last windlines after Mike, Josh and Pons left. It was cool and overcast when we started and I wondered when summer is going to arrive. Still with the wild sailing keeping the blood pumping at full speed, it was quite tolerable in a wetsuit without a hood. I thought I would catch some west screamers after lunch but I had given up and derigged by the time they showed up. I decided to take Craig’s advice and try UL. SLC was dark and overcast and I could see blue sky in Utah valley. I was hoping for a Gunnar’s clouds-in-the-hole session. I got there at 3:00 thinking there were enough whitecaps for 5.5. But the waves breaking on the dike were splashing all the way into the marina. My wind meter hit 38 mph for 2 minutes with several gusts to 50. It must have only been on the north end of the lake close to the cloud front as Provo Muni never showed this much wind. But you can see similar readings 30-40 mph readings on the Lehi mesowest. Cars were streaming into the marina to watch the wave show, and to watch all the boats frantically trying to get out of the water. I had thrown out the 3.7 to make room for the 9.0 so I figured I was cooked. But the 4.2 rigged flat as a board sufficed for a wild half hour before it backed off to perfect 4.2 conditions. It was very difficult even wading into the bay with all the large breaking rollers. I got swept all the way into the reeds while I was trying to make a last minute adjustment to the harness lines. The waves on the lake were the biggest I had seen in a couple of years, at least for the 1st hour. Then the wind shifted east for 10 minutes and the nice waves were turned to chop. And the water was almost pure mud. Definitely only something UWA members could enjoy. And the temps by the time I sailed were mid-60’s and, combine that with the warmest water in the area, it made for very pleasant sailing. I finished the afternoon with a sweet session on my new 5.5 Freeride with Tom and Gary. 5.5 hours on the water, 4 sails, 3 boards; that makes for an epic day. And I feel like team Ibuprofen today. Saratoga to their credit brought in a loader and cleared out all the reeds piled in the bay. But, after all the wind yesterday, there is another smaller pile on the beach. I didn’t catch any reeds on my fin but I did have to do some wild course changes to miss some. Great company and great sailing made for a great day. Ps, Josh, get a new battery.

[Emmanuel Pons]

But the 4.2 rigged flat as a board sufficed for a wild half hour before it backed off to perfect 4.2 conditions..

Wow unbelievable. I should have gone. Almost did it but thought the morning had already been so good it would be gluttony