Warren Dunes July 18

I made the great decision to bring my board and sails along with me for a work trip to Bridgman MI. Once I was free I headed over to Warren Dunes and found the wind was blowing a steady 20mph with gusts in the high 20's. The beach was beyond crowded so I had to get everything rigged up in the dune grass and carry it down to the water. 

The wind was blowing from the South-West parallel to the shore. This made for minimal waves and allowed me to get planing very quickly. Once I reached the offshore winds I was in heaven, the wind was steady and strong while the waves were slow and rolling. I got a little carried away and found myself over a mile offshore. To my surprise I spotted a man swimming this far out. I offered him a chance to rest and hang on the board but he was content. 

The trip back in was much less enjoyable, with the strong winds blowing parallel to shore I had drifted considerably from where I launched on the beach and made little progress trying to sail back upwind. Needless to say I had to do the "Walk of shame" pulling the board through the water back to where I had launched. 

Overall it was a great session considering I had worked the first half of the day and was only planning on this being a trial run for my repaired sails.