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Where do you sail most often?: HIggins Lake and Torch Lake

Favorite Sailing Site in MI: Higgins Lake

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At 2:53pm on March 18, 2011, Jeannie Driscoll said…: Hey Kathy, just wondering how the rest of your trip went. I hope you finally got some good wind days.

At 11:57am on March 4, 2011, Jeannie Driscoll said…: Just looked at the breathe bonaire webcam ( it's finally my day off)... looks like no wind plus a cruise ship has arrived! The number of people in the water is crazy! I hope you find something good to do today!

At 8:21pm on March 3, 2011, Jeannie Driscoll said…: I hope you get wind so I can live vicariously!

At 9:30pm on March 2, 2011, Jeannie Driscoll said…: I hope you get wind tomorrow. My fingers are crossed!... jibing is so mental and multifactorial... I had days in Bonaire where I made almost every jibe in the morning and then blew almost every one in the afternoon... all of a sudden just repeating the same dumb mistake like tripping over the foot straps or getting the timing of the sail flip wrong...and many times it's a matter of sailing first in high wind where you can practically lay on the sail and it will pop back up and then having a little bit less wind and not compensating for it...and then there were so many times where I couldn't commit and slowed down because I was sooo afraid of running aground. Coming out of a jibe still on a a plane is really hard...I frequently carve into it really fast but stall out the board at the very end by not letting go of the sail enough while i am flipping it...doesn't always result in getting wet, but it sure doesn't look very good. But remember this: One of the guys who runs the Vela in Margarita who does these free morning clinics said "Any jibe where you stay dry counts!" Now those are words I can live by! ha ha :) I hope you are ENJOYING your quest for the perfect jibe. Having fun while that beautiful water splashes against your ankles is what counts the most!

At 12:04pm on March 2, 2011, Jeannie Driscoll said…: I miss a lot of jibes "on the outside" in the swells...that helps you pratice your waterstarts... ha ha ;) Bonaire is a great place to practice water starts because if you are right at the edge of the channel it is deep enough that you need to waterstartl but still very close to the shallows so don't need to worry about getting carried out to sea..and the water is warm which is a big plus!. Of course practicing water starts is not fun! I only sail in on shore winds, so if you can't make your water start you will eventually drift in to land... it took me forever to learn to waterstart... I think knowing how to uphaul in precarious situations is just as important as being able to waterstart...because you can get out there and the swells and the wind can die off enough that you either have to uphaul or swim. You are definitely small enough to uphaul on any board you would sail in Michigan winds ( i.e. definitely on your 90L)...So if you KNOW you can uphaul, you don't need to worry as much about whether you'll be successful water starting. I was definitely not great at water starting when I started sailing on Lake St. Claire, but sailing there helped me get better. At Caseville, it is often just the two of us sailing, so that is scary if you are not 100% confident in waterstarting etc...I wouldn't recommend sailing there unless you are very confident. But the nice thing about Lake St. Claire is that there is always a big enough group that if you are stuck in the water for too long, someone is going to sail by an make sure you are okay, and one of the older guys is probably standing on the shore with binoculars...plus if the conditions are tough you can just decide to only sail out as far as you feel comfortable. Anyway, how is the wind down there? This first week back to work is KILLING me! ...but as they say: you play you pay!

At 10:20pm on March 1, 2011, Jeannie Driscoll said…: There are two females up in Caseville at my lake house, and another who gave up windsurfing and exclusively kites. At home there are a couple or a few female kiters at our usual sites (who I see but have never met), but only one or two women (one is a very petite woman from Japan who is REALLY good by the way) who make rare windsurfing appearances. There are some other women in the area who windsurf, but they stay at Stony Creek which is a smaller lake. But I will say, that we sail with a really great bunch of guys - people who are always looking out for each other - a number of really great sailors who don't take themselves too seriously and are really enjoyable to be around. So it is a great time!

At 10:12pm on February 28, 2011, Jeannie Driscoll said…: Yes Kathy it would be a lot of fun to sail together. It is rare to have another female windsurfer at our usual Lake St. Claire sites, so it would be a real treat!

Hope you have lots of warm wind for the rest of your trip! Keep in touch!

Jeannie

At 7:02pm on February 28, 2011, Brian said…: Okay, thanks Kathy. Just enjoy it in "real time" then.

brian

At 9:18am on February 28, 2011, Brian said…: Hi Kathy,

Welcome to MI Windsurfing. Good to see you again in Bonaire. We didn't get any good pic's down there, so if you get some, please share.

Brian

At 9:17am on February 28, 2011, Brian said…: Hi Kathy,

Welcome to Michigan Windsurfing. We didn't get any good pic's down in Bonaire. If you get some, please share.