Thank you so much Rich

Del Carpenter wrote:

You boys are more than welcome. We have folks from all over. The stoke doesn't stop at state lines. I'm looking at Clear Lake and Storm Lake on Google Earth right now!

Maybe I need to fire up The Pub category.

I got on the water at around 8:45 am. The Decatur station was 17 gusting to 24 mph. I'm tellin' ya there's morning wind out there. Saw it last year from the archived actual wind graphs - the 9:00 am blow. Caught a lucky shift and made it up to the main pool in 2 tacks with 5.8 on 108 L. I could get on plane up there and the WSW wind made for longer reaches. The boys up here were bassy. Some kind of Bass tournament going on. I didn't get any pictures as I waited for the wind to really kick in before turning the camera on. And then boom the wind shifted WNW and died around noon. A storm was coming by and just grazed the lake to the north. Hard to keep rain / storms off Clinton. I schlogged my way back and found one of Sylvain's boys doing really well on Rich's Starboard Start. Sylvain's wife made a jibe on it. A couple more weekends and the whole family will be looping. The beginner cove works like a charm with W winds Sylvain will have to share some pics. Great to see everybody!


Bloomington



Champaign



Decatur

Working on a video
Always enjoy people’s company.
Special thanks to Rich for letting us use the big board
I will say: lots of progress from almost everyone
- my scared 6 years old stood on the board
- my 9 year old went forward 20 yards or so
- my 11 years old was .... grumpy
- my 13 years old went from one side of the shore to the next. Fell. Turned his rig around and came back (a bit downwind)
- and my wife.... like the guys said, she is better on her 4th trial than I am after 15 years. Gibing, tacking, going upwind, looking cool with the sunglasses

If it takes a village to raise a kid, it takes a (windsurfillinois) community to raise windsurfers.
I enjoy the gifts, the advices, the jokes. You guys (and the lake) make Illinois a pleasant place.

Sylvain wrote:
Ha! Sounds just like my 12 y-o!