Kitesurf Atlas, Kiteboarding Holidays, Kite Surf Lessons

2008 MI Kiting Fall Climax, 26 October 2008

As bright blazing autumn foliage colors of golds, reds, and purples illuminate the shoreline with that unique glowing afternoon light, the watermen of Lake Michigan watch and wait eagerly for the winds and waves that arrive this time of year. The water is clear and cold, the waves are packing more power, the surfboards and the small kites emerge on the beaches like some primordial annual ritual. Rounding the last bend in the road to the beach hearts start to beat faster as the sand blows like smoke down the road, the snow fences and front-end loaders engaged in a futile battle against nature - one property owner posts a sign inviting people to take some "free sand" and in neighborly competition at few houses down "free-er sand" is advertised... This is my favorite time of the year here in West Michigan, and before heading South for the winter, I love riding here - as long as I can keep my fingers warm!

October 25th marked my 100th session since the 12th of May, 2008. (100 days out of 166, = 60% kiteable days....not bad!) Oddly, the months of September and October have generally not been as consistently windy as expected, but I still averaged 4+ days/week the past 2 months. And the 100th session of summer/fall 2008 came on the eve of another incredible day of nuclear riding, session #101!

On Sunday, October 26th , the forecast was for 40-50 kt westerly winds to lash the West Michigan shoreline along with 10-15' waves to pound the beaches, breakwalls, and lighthouses. The previous day a few humble kiters even mumbled something about breaking out their sailboarding gear and 3m-4m sails. One has to question the sanity of even attempting to kite in these conditions. Not many people want to become another Kevin “Fay” Kearney, but it is tempting to ride if the conditions aren't too whack and if you have the right gear, skills, support, etc.

As the wind rattled windows all thru the night, my head on the pillow trying to sleep, I pondered the big day the night before the big blow. My initial thought for this much anticipated October gale was to fly a 5m Waroo on 15 or 20m lines. I have been able to use a 5m kite a handful of times each year, and so glad to have it just for these special occasions. Actually a 5m kite has always felt quite safe and manageable in winds up to 35-40 kts. And a 5m kite is so much less powerful than a 7m kite, but anything smaller might just be too fast? Finally I decided to fly the 5m on 25m lines, with the theory that the long lines would slow the kite down and keep it from flying too far forward. This turned out to be the perfect call together with my Spleene ZONE.

With the wind straight onshore, the shorebreak waves and rip currents would make "breaking thru" difficult – so I decided to launch inside the pierheads in more controlled waters. At 1000 hrs the South Lake bouy was reading 9' and climbing – a bellwether for waves to be breaking inside the pierheads – a little treat from Mother Nature a few time each year. There were remarkably as many as 25 surfers in the break along the inner channel wall, so I headed out to the outside pierheads for a while, catching some big fat juicy rollers wrapping around the ends of the breakwall...these fast moving freight trains with clean smooth faces were a blast to ride at full throttle.

Later I came back closer to shore to ride the longer, but smaller waves that stretched across ½ of the channel entrance producing a 300 yard long clean wave, an invitation to some sweet rhythmic bottom turning. I decided to call it a day when I saw some nasty hail filled squalls approaching rapidly, with their thick white beards sweeping furiously down from the dark clouds to the water, moving in fast from the West, and the sight of lightning and the heavy clap of thunder in the near distance signaled me to make a quick retreat. Only moments after I rolled my kite up on the beach the wind spiked to 50+kts and the heavens let loose, pelting us with some serious hail, meaty lightning bolts, and horizontal rain. It had been an AWESOME day and I was exhausted but yet so satisfied..

100 miles further North another posse of diehard sailboarders, kayakers, kiteboarders, and surfers were hitting the epic conditions of the day at Point Betsie. And 100 miles to the South a crew out of Chicago was shredding big clean waves at Michigan City before the wind went to 60+ kts!!!

Alright then, while we are in the area of discussing slightly insane ideas, it might be wise to consider some of the issues that have arisen in the past few weeks on the Great Lakes. One rider lost the tip of his finger (amputated by the kite-line) – could have been worse; another rider almost drowned by the undertow in 10-15 foot sets – survived ONLY because another kiter towed him to safety - and now swears he will use a flotation vest; several people having line entanglement (the dreaded "sushi roll") issues in the big waves – and in each of these examples all experienced kiters, but all suddenly very vulnerable when shit went wrong.

Going out in these conditions can test you and your gear, maybe even with the ultimate test. Don't be fooled into thinking you are good enough to avoid problems all the time. There have been times when I knew I was on the edge of control – but still loving the experience and not regretting my choice to be out there. There have also been a few times when I thought - “damn-it...this sucks!” and wondering is it worth it to be out here? As soon as one thing goes wrong it usually leads to another – even if it is only that feeling of being “off” when the conditions require you to be totally “on” with your best game. We need to use our heads about this, without resisting the urge to push the limits sometimes.

Gale force winds, massive waves, wicked undertows, deadly cold water, exhaustion, combined with any kind of equipment failure or loss of kite control can translate into a kitemare quickly. Take care of yourself and keep an eye on your friends out there and help them if you can.

ride on!

11/16/08 post-script...
Total sessions since mid-May: 109! I could have gotten 2-3 more these last few days, but it was cold and my focus is now on going south to warmer riding...Lake Michigan, I'll miss her..until next Summer!