I just saw a rescue of a windsurfer on WGN. He sailed in Evanston today. His mast broke about a mile out and was found 2 miles from the shore by the coast guards. Luckily, he had a phone on him and was able to call for help.

I was there at lee st when the 6 firetrucks and 20 cops arrived..... to deal with a windsurfer 2miles off shore.

It was a great day for sailing; i was on 5m all afternoon. We launched at lee, some guys launched at greenwood. It was super gusty, often my 5.0 was way overpowered.

the wind was quite strong offshore, but there was no need to go out 2 miles. IMO, that guy should not have gone out that far. Likely, he went out that far because he brought his cell; knowing he could call if he got into trouble. That is a bad plan. My guess is he has been rescued before.

well, some of us like to go out 3-5 miles out, not everyone likes to circle around the shore, some of us like to take in the view from a distance.
Remember, there were windsurfers crossing the lake, going far has a purpose to some.
You are right, he had the phone just in case of an unexpected equipment breaks.
He simply texted me to tell me that his mast broke and I called in the help. Normally, would have gone to get the NWU rescue boat, but was in the water and considering it would take a bit of time for me to get on the beach and drive over to NWU, I figured I can better relay the message by calling it in for him.
The dude is doing well, minus a mast.

I guess he drifted one mile. That's what happens in offshore winds.

The mass media, they exaggerate and tell the story they want to tell. They did make it sound dramatic for an average viewer, I got to give them that.
He was really out about a mile, that was all, the rescue craft kept close to shore and for about 30 minutes refused to go further out, no matter how many times I told them to be a mile away from shore. Then the boat finally started to go out, just to turn back just before they reached my buddy, he was a bit surprised on the phone saying: "the boat just turned and is going away from me". The guys onshore contacted the boat and directed it back, after a bit of back and forth.
I think it brings a bit more attention to the sport, being in the news, as they say any PR is a good PR; the news report like this adds the dangerous and extreme dimension to the sport's perception, hopefully will get more younger people interested.

I'm curious, did you guys text them GPS coordinates?

BTW I carry a portable marine radio instead of a cellphone in offshore conditions. It is way bulkier but has that EPIRB capability.

My general rule of thumb is I am never out further that I am willing to swim back in. I have to break that rule in evanston on sw winds as the winds are further out, and I myself am out 1 or 1.5mi regularly. I agree, the view from afar is cool too, but there is a risk being that far offshore. You can't count on being rescued (it appears even with pretty small search area, maybe 3 sq mijles, they had difficulty locating your friend).

I worry that municipalities ban windsurfing if rescues are publisized. The city already banned surfing (prone surfing) on several beaches in chicago (you recall a surfer was arrested a couple years back at 57th st beach).

What size sail was your friend on, and how much does he weigh?

It was super windy, and pretty gusty out there. And the wind did not let up, it got stronger towards dusk and kept going most of the night (crib was reading 30kn for several hours last night).

I rigged 5.7 (i weigh 140) and got on the water about 3:30pm. As soon as I got to the wind line, just past the metal breakwall, I got the full force of a gust of about 30kn of wind, i pointed up to depower, but the wind did not let up. I went out a bit further, turned around, went to shore and tightened the outhaul. Went back out and was still overpowered on this ride, so I decided to rig my 5.0. I'm glad I did that early on as that sail was good for the rest of the sesh. I sailed till past sunset. It was super warm at the lake, i think it almost hit 80, and it was sunny. What a great october day on the big lake

THe lake was very flat for these high winds. Offshore swell was only 2-4 ft, and it was possible to really rip out there yesterday

I have no doubt he drifted from where he broke his mast. Once, I blew the whole sail window above the boom (onshore wind) and ended up 2 miles south from Greenwood. I bought the sail used and it must have been UV damaged. I learnt my lesson.

I perceive Chicago and Illinois as anti-sport, there is almost nothing done to help with access to the sport. Every time I travel to SF Bay, I am blown away by all of the launches available to windsurfers and kiters alike; surfers have to be on the ocean side and it is pretty sweet.
Free parking feet away from the water, free CARPETS to rig on, quick rescue if you need help.
Yet here in Illinois, the only acceptable activity is sitting on the couch and watching TV, ok, fine, city also seems to think that biking is cool, yet does not plot protected bike lanes.
I understand that windsurfing can be banned at any moment, and for any reason. It does not have to be a rescue to trigger our corrupt lawmakers to take action, Just like with surfing being banned in 1988, it can happen because a 10 year old girl floats away and drowns on a floating mattress. We cannot live in fear, if the city makes living here any worse than it is already, I am going to call it quits and move.

I got rescued in SF Bay and I was not the first or the last windsurfer on that day, not a big deal there, one call, one rescue boat, back on the water in 20 minutes with a new mast. Here it makes for headline news. I guess Chicago being the murder capital of the world, makes news organizations look for anything else to report.

As to the question of GPS coordinates, my buddy had an iphone 6, not a water resistant kind, in a waterproof pouch, yet the screen was not responsive enough for him to get to the map app while talking on the phone, so we had to do without coordinates. When it comes to the radio, I bring that on a sail boat, but hate dragging extra stuff around when windsurfing.
To be hones, I did not expect this much noise, when I spoke to the fire department they said they had jet skies in the area and it would be quick pick up.
I guess on a nice day like that everyone wanted to hang out at the beach.

The conditions were super fun, from full power gusts and ramps to pure speed runs.
we went out on 5.5 sails, he is about 160 and I am 200 lbs, he was getting more air (i guess that what eventually did his mast in).
I felt good, never really overpowered, wish I could have stayed out longer.

Here is a blurb on what happened with the surfing ban, in case my comments were a bit obscure:

The city instituted a ban on all “self-propelled, wave-riding sports” like surfing and body-boarding after a 10-year-old girl riding an inflatable raft drowned at Montrose Beach in 1988.
Nearly 20 years later in 2009, surfers rallied against the ban, which was lifted that same year. Now you can surf at Montrose and 57th Street beaches year-round.

www.surfermag.com/features/chicago-surfe...#3mhAb5WCojBfa8GL.97