08/07 DC IB 7.5 FF157

[Steven Nyhus]

On the water at 12:15 off the water at 5:00. Fun day at DC, typical gusty conditions but planning about 90% of the time. Wait for a gust and ride it all the way across. Donh Jubock was there (I hope his boss isn't searching for him) as well as Judy and two others I don't know. George showed up at around 3:00 and Jim Southwick came for the sunset session. He was still getting rides past 6:30 (how long did it keep going?). Water is way down and warm. All in all a very fun day!

[JimSouthwick]

The rides were pretty much over by about 6:45. Appearing even later than I did were a couple of darksiders, who launched from Jon's Beach. They both appeared to be flying Ozone Instincts and were doing amazingly well in VERY gusty conditions.

http://homepage.mac.com/jsouthwick/PhotoAlbum87.html

[Lisa Moss]

Ha! The 'darksiders' were Zac and I.
I was riding a 9m Boxer SLE fully powered, and Zac was on a 14m Contra fully depowered. Winds seemed pretty light by the shoreline, but once I got away from that, it was nice (actually didn't seem too gusty at that end). Winds were great when I first arrived but started dying down around 7:30.

That was our first time at Deer Creek. The spot we launched from was super muddy (there were spots where we sank down past our knees in mud). Where do kiters normally launch from at Deer Creek?

Lisa

[DanaDoggett]

I took an old Laser to DC yesterday so that I could sail with my daughter (I've never been able to get her to catch-on to board sailing, so I'm trying this approach...) The wind was GREAT for a small mono-hull. Having a boat which does not "sink" during the lulls was quite relaxing. We did get the laser planeing a few times. It's certainly not as exciting being fully powered on a 5.0, but it was a very enjoyable day.

Dana

[Kenny]

Lisa,

I usually do a drift launch just below sailboat beach. It works well, but I have to stay upwind or it is a hitch hike back. I like to go there in the Fall as the winds are more steady and there is no boat traffic.

There are no great launches for kiters at DC. All of the other beaches are pretty much in a wind shadow. The north end of the lake is flat and muddy, plus there are sharp little rocks that can tear up your canopy.

The difficult launches combined with the often flukey wind is why there are not more kiters at DC.

Kenny

[JimSouthwick]

Sorry about misidentifying your kites. The spot where you launched is where Jon Manwaring usually launches (hence, "Jon's Beach", my term). The mud can certainly be a problem, but it's one of the few areas at DC where there's lots of room to set up a kite.