NOAA: Partly sunny, with a high near 89. South southwest wind 7 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms.















Looks like a good day for all at Marina Sail Park. Beginners can learn in the protected cove in the morning(Garry gear permitting). In the afternoon higher wind might set up a sunset sesh. Be sure to bring plenty of cold water for yourself. Who's going?

Great way to start the week! I'll be there with everything I have. Like I mentioned previously I have that one boom that's seized up. I'll leave here early and try to get down there by 8. Is there anywhere to grab a quick breakfast there or along the way once I get off the xpress way? Any tips on getting there?

Like I said bring the seized boom down. We'll get that thing apart, Muhaha. Use the Launches page or your favorite smart phone map app to pan and zoom the roads. If coming down 57 take 54(at Onarga) it drops you straight to the lake. Boom! Once past Farmer City turn south at DeWitt on to Bloomington St. it turns into Chicago St.(to make you feel welcome) go over the bridge turn right onto Marina Road. For food there is the Boondocks Grill at the Swim Beach launch(campground before going over the bridge) if you don't see anything that catches your fancy on the way down.

Everything's loaded and the route looks pretty straight forward. I'll probably just hit Boondocks to grab a bite. If all goes to plan I should be there before 9.

Sounds good, I'll meet you at the Boondocks. Nice view of the lake while you eat. And then looks like a great day at the Marina launch. Should be a couple more folks coming out too.

I'll be down there but not sure what time. I'm thinking 10-11, not sure if my son will be coming or not but I will bring my long board.

I'll be out later. Probably around noon.

Fun day had by all. Quite a crowd for a Monday. Perfect condition for learning in the morning. Garry and I had a nice breakfast at the Boondocks. Then we headed to Marina Sail Park. I got Garry's boom unstuck. Then put proper down-haul in his 5.5 Ezzy Axis. His 165 L Nova is a lot of fun and perfect to learn on. Garry got a lot of time on the water. Chris was teaching his son in the cove too. Then the wind picked up in the afternoon. I rigged a 6.9 with the 108 L and got to try the 44cm on it for the first time. I had no problem holding it down. And that's with inboard straps. The 4:00 blow kicked in and Rick hit it with a 5.7. Great day for everybody and thanks to Barker and Garry for taking some pics. Where were you, Scott? We were all set for ya with gear. Next time.


Bloomington



Champaign



Decatur




17 of today's 33 photos - Link for all of today's photos at the bottom of this post.

Marina Sail Park






Garry venturing beyond the breakwalls



Barker getting the hang of it.



Garry's beautiful set-up



Jen getting her SUP on.



Chris showing the ape hang



Chris and Garry (photo by Barker)



Me heading out (photo by Garry)



Me (photo by Garry)



Me (6.9 sail, 108 L board, 44cm MFC RC2 fin ) photo by Garry



Me (photo by Garry)



Rick (5.7 sail)



Rick (5.7 sail)




More of Today's Photos Here

Yes it truly was a great day! Started out with some good grub at Boondocks. This is a great little place with a friendly atmosphere to start your day while looking out over the lake! After we fueled the engine Reid gave a great lesson on rigging do's and dont's as well as great advice on sail maintenance and care. My starter gear is a little older so Reid also threw in some history on past and new technology on how the gear has evolved. After set up "Sensei" headed out for a quick test drive while I got dressed for my maiden voyage on Clinton Lake.





I was not sure what to expect from myself as its been a good 7 weeks since my last lesson on a 180L & 2.4 sail vs my "new" 165L & 5.5 sail. First up haul was a bit tricky finding and establishing those sea legs again but it went better than I thought it would. If you haven't sailed the Marina at Clinton Lake yet this is a great spot. You can park, rig, eat and relax in a green area in the shade when not on the lake. As you can see from Reid's pixs it's a short walk from your vehicle to the water. I'd estimate the water depth shore is about 100' from 1' to 5' so very friendly getting in and out.
A big "Thanks!" to Reid for setting this day up! Nice to meet Jen, Chris and Barker. It was a great start for my first time on fresh water with my new quiver. I also want to thank everyone on the site that took the time to answer all my questions regarding starting equipment and future sailing progression. If not for this site and all of your information I would've never been at this point to hit the water in my pursuit of the sport. Thanks so much!!!! Hope to meet more of you in the near future.

Glad you guys had fun at Clinton Lake. It was rather wild at Wolf -something like 15-35 mph. I went thru 3 sails in an effort to make my 86L Kode work. It didn't quite well after all-it gets challenging in the lulls so I was confined downwind most of the time wishing I had a bit more volume underneath . Wolf can't match the much cleaner Northerly on the Big Lake. But hey, there were " waves "downwind and I had some waveriding of a sort he he Only the next day it came to me that I missed a good opportunity to start practicing the Forward-alright next time maybe.
Huge turnout -probably close to 30 sails and kites roughly estimated .
Garry looks like fully locked and loaded now and hopefully we'll see him on the local ponds soon!