wicked friday

October rarely disappoints in Ohio, that is if you don't count my abject disappointment in not being on the OBX. But, Friday October 15 made up for some of my disappointment. It was an odd sort of a day with localized rain squalls moving through the area. Shortly after the rains came through the wind would drop to almost nothing. When I got to fairport people (ok, person) was rigging a 7. Before he got out on the water it was blowing 25-30+. Good thing to, I heard a report of someone at Wendy (no names) who was out with a 9 and got blown down into the river and had to be pulled up the steel wall with a rope. One thing about wind driven water sports is that they keep you in tune with the weather.

why sharks circle

Two great white sharks swimming in the ocean spied a couple of kitesurfers. "Follow me son" the father shark said to the son shark and they swam to the kiters . "First we swim around them a few times with just the tip of our fins showing." And they did. "Well done, son! Now we swim around them a few times with all of our fins showing." And they did. "Now we eat everybody." And they did.

When they were both gorged, the son asked,"Dad, why didn't we just eat them all at first? Why did we swim around and around them?"

His wise father replied, "Because they taste better without the shit inside!"

Sept 4th at Fairport

A happy Eric and Mustafa

Paolo and Yanesh

Steve and Bradley survey their realm.

A great day at Fairport Harbor, WNW winds up to 35, everyone on 4.sumpin's. Pez, Robbo, Mustafa, Steve, Terry, Maynard, Saul, Eric, Paolo, Yanesh (sp?), and a newbie named Adam. I sailed in spite of a bad head cold; never been so happy and miserable at the same time!

BONC PAR-TAY Sunday September 5th, 2010

A few pics from the Towpath Trail excursion. More posted at Flickr.com, user name bptoe. It was a beautiful day and a great ride in spite of Allison's bad attitude! (just kidding)

Rendevous at the Reservation

A triumphant sailor displays his trophy

I've never seen so many boardheads at one time west of Pamlico Sound.

Its almost too good to be true, A sailboard Regatta with wind!

The Rendezvous at the New London Reservation was wildly successful beyond any ones expectations. There were more sailboarders in one place in Ohio than this writer has even seen in 25+ years of sailing. Over 30 racers participated in the racing and many more windsurfers came out to enjoy the fun. On Saturday morning we watched a bald eagle fishing in the reservoir. There was racing all day Saturday and live Bluegrass music in the afternoon. On Friday evening we all sat around the campground and watched the moon rise. On Saturday we did the same thing, except we watched Thunder storms in the distance. The reservoir sits high on the topography, almost above the surrounding tree line so you get great views and great wind.

I cant thank MOWIND (the race organizers) enough, and the Town of New London for making it possible.

Pelee 2010

Well Boncers, most of you missed the official BONC 2010 Pelee www.pelee.org trip. As you can see from these pictures those lucky boardheads who made the trip to the great wihite north had a great time as usual. We got out on the water everyday, as is usually the case most was 8.0 sailing but on Wed June 16, it blew hard all day and we got to pull our 5.2 out of the old quiver bag. On the flat days we found an old kayak paddle and tried it out on the GO board. Worked great. I'm starting to see the attraction to SUPing. I dont understand why SUPers dont use kayak style paddles.

Get your passports, next year the dates are June 11-18, 2011.

new launch site

Due to yesterdays flooding in Chesterland a new windsurfing launch site has opened up in my backyard. Here is a picture of me ripping it up after launching from the hillbilly porch

A bad day of windsurfing (wednesday)

Is still a geat day at the beach.

New London NOR

The New London Ohio Windsurfing Regatta & Reservoir Rendezvous & Community Band Jam & festival will be held July 17-18, 2010 on the New London Reservoir Campground Point access just West of New London Ohio.

The windsurfing Regatta will be part of the MOWIND race series for 2010. Windsurfers and wind junkies will have an excellent opportunity to promote their sports. We expect competitors from most of the MOWIND states (Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, New York and Canada.) but of course people from anywhere are welcome to join us in a 3 day event of full of fun on the water.

For those who prefer something else, the event features a Golf Venue, a 5K and 10K race, a 24 hour softball marath

Organizer: Midwest Organizers of Windsurfing (MOWIND) is the organizer of this event.

The results obtained by current MOWIND members will factor into the 2010 MOWIND standings, using MOWIND hi-points scoring. Formula, Hybrid (Prodigy & RSX), Open and Limited classes will be included, and both Sport and A + B fleet scored. Sails must have unique legible sail numbers.

Venue & Weather: The event will take place at the New London Reservoir Campground just west of New London Ohio South of Vermillion Ohio and roughly equidistant from Toledo and Cleveland, OH (see map & directions on opposite side).

The primary Launch used will be the Campground point (depending on wind conditions and water level in the lake). It is located on the east side of the lake. There is plenty of parking at the location. Another location within 15 min drive will be used as a backup site, this will be at the nearby at the spillway, it will only be used if too many folks show up at the time of the race.

Wind conditions will vary but you can probably expect wind ranging from 5 – 20 knots on an elevated reservoir that favors South West and West winds which often occur mid summer. Often New London is not affected by thermal affects that shut down Lake Erie this time of year. Water temperature is likely to be in the 65-75 degree Fahrenheit range, with kids swimming at the campground beach. So Wetsuits are NOT recommended.

The regatta will have plenty of opportunities for you to try out windsurfing with some cool folks. Several experienced sailors will be on hand to share hints and tips about many wind and water sports.

The Work Shop fleet will sail a new EASY to get around course. The Sport fleet will also sail a shorter version, allowing you to develop you skills without racing hard core. The shifty winds can make for some good tactical sailing in tight quarters.

Parking: Parking for competitors needing access to their equipment will be reserved at the event site in the field near the campsites near the point. There will be plenty of parking for both competitors and visitors. A small fee applies to visitors of the park. Participants in racing will have reserved parking (marked off with tape nearest to the water access.)

Event Rules & Schedule: Courses shall be described in the Sailing Instructions which will be available at the skippers meeting. These will include several course racing variations, perhaps slalom if we get the right wind. They will be similar to all MOWIND events. The regatta races will be held Saturday and Sunday, Sunday awards will be no later than 4 PM to distant travelers can get on the road home.

Friday afternoon a number of fun windsurfing events will be arranged, buoys will be set and fun-racing will be going on. We will run a freestyle windsurfing event and potentially a tandem race and chance to try out gear and learn the sport. These will be less formal events intended to get as many as possible to participate. Judges will include competitors and the audience. A late registration for windsurfers will also be happening.

Saturday racers meeting will be at 9:30 at the white trailer near the point beach access, first start of race heat 1 shortly thereafter; It is recommended that you are rigged and ready to go before the meeting. Racing will include course and slalom (depending on conditions) with the last race starting no later than 4:00. Saturday night dinner will be a bar-b-que and will be included in the cost of registration.

Sunday the skipper meeting will be at 9:30 AM, with the last race to start no later than 2:00. Course racing and possibly a distance race will take place, with awards presentation concluding no later than 4:00 pm. MOWIND points will be awarded based on all Saturday & Sunday races.

Liability: Competitors take part in all races at their own risk. The MOWIND, US Windsurfing, ISAF, FW Class, IWA, The Village of New London, or any of their officials or representatives or the sponsors or their officials or representatives are not responsible, under any circumstances, for any damage, loss or injury either on shore or on the water either to persons or equipment, which may result. Participation in this event, supporting events and in each race in them is at the sole discretion of the sailor and at his/her own risk.

Food: Saturday we plan to have a grill ready for use during lunch break, hamburgers and brats will be available for all racers. You may also bring something of your own to grill. The Saturday night dinner will be at the camp site following the conclusion of the races. The meal will be free for all people registered. New London is located a mile up the road has some great small town dining, gas stations and Subway if you need to grab something quick. Since the closest restaurant is located a few miles from the beach access we plan to provide water and some fruit at the registration desk and on the committee boat during races.

Accommodations: The New London area has a few hotels you can drive to after racing. The Preferred campground “IS” at the event site, where you can camp literally 2 feet from the water! Overflow camping is available on a first come first serve basis in town, but you will be sharing that site with the all night softball tournament.

Link to the New London Reservoir web site with more information including Cabin rental and trailer hookups is here:

http://www.newlondonohio.com/nlreservoir.htm#cabin

Registration & Entry Fees for Competitors: Competitors must check-in on site at the registration desk located at the Race site. The registration will be open for all racers from noon until 7:00 pm on Friday May 21^st and from 8:00 am until 9:30 on Saturday, May 22^nd.

sunday, may 17 2010

Alright so it was not the most exciting day at the beach, but it was sunny and 70 degrees, with steady NE wind at around 10 mph. Some how Paulo (sorry, no picture) managed to stay up on plane with an 8.0. (I've got t0 stop pounding the chips and salsa).

This is my favorite time of year for North Coast Boardheading; No Boats, no annoying swimmers in the launch zone. No pesky mosquitos or sun bathers. There was a rare sighting of Mrs. Doodle, patiently awaiting the return of her crispy cheese snack from the inland sea.