Kitesurf Atlas, Kiteboarding Holidays, Kite Surf Lessons

The kiting since I returned here on May 12 has been spectacular. July 15 marked the 50th session since I got back 75 days earlier. That works out to 68% of days kiteable, or roughly 5 days/week! And total kiteable days 12 May thru 11 August: 63 days!

The big lake water did not warm up much until mid-June, and there were many days when water temps were in the high 40's!! but for some reason it didn't seem to bother me at all – I guess all the good kiting kept me warm...plus an Ocean Rodeo Pyro Pro drysuit with lots of fleece layers, a hood and booties.

On 15 July I did my 5th down-winder of the season, a ssweet 12 mile long wave session, but most of my riding has been right here - 3 blocks from “home sweet home”. St. Joseph has delivered a couple of sweet wave days earlier in the season – and the South end of the lake will undoubtedly offer up some fall classics as well, but for now with fuel prices being so high I have parked myself at the local beach most of the time. Why chase wind if it's in your back yard, right? One nice repercussion of the high fuel prices is very few power boats are on the lake – it's nice not hearing them, smelling them, and having the wave patterns screwed up by them.

While we always dread the potential for summer doldrums beginning in July we have been pleasantly surprised by consistent winds and some of the nicest temperatures that I can remember. There have been lots of stormy weather, but it seems to pass quickly and leaves plenty of time for good riding. And the grass is nice and green and the beaches have not been crowded.

July and August winds are typically lighter here, but we've still been averaging over 60% of days kiteable up until 11 August... and 7 straight days of kiting from the 5th thru the 11th! I've actually used 7m, 9m, 10m, 12m, and 15m kites during the first half August. The only bad thing is the water temperature dropped to 48 F on 10 August!!!! I literally had to scream out loud whenever I dipped my body into the frigid water – even with 75F air temp and 4/3 wetsuit and booties.

A fall trip to the Upper Peninsula is in the works where the “big lake they call Gitchigumi” should serve up some good waves and winds coming down the 400 mile fetch from the West end of Lake Superior.