Iles de la Madelaine, Chapter 3

Kiting Day 7 – Day 11

Tuesday: Gusty 25-35 kts out of the West. Big clean head high plus waves at Plage de l’Hopital Fatima. Not many kites out there today but a few dozen sailboarders were shredding with 4m-4.7m sails.
Dany and a few others ripping on 9m & 7m kites when I arrived, I flew the 7m Hypertype and did multiple sessions on the ZONE and 28 Rip, plenty powered up. It was nice to ride another new spot and to see another area of the islands. The wind was a lot cleaner further offshore and away from the lee of the point. My best day of riding here yet – possibly one of my best wave riding days ever, except the session was cut short by a slow leak in my leading edge (I unintentionally set the kite down on some dune grass – doh! )

Kiting Day 3 – Day 6

Friday: we had no wind so I explored the 3 North islands in fog, and could not see too much but it was still beautiful. The countryside is very green, and it makes me think that Ireland must be similar. The flora at first glance seems limited but there are many interesting plants and the place has a very nice look to it. There are lots of different dune grasses and plants, wetland and bog plants, and the pine forests have lots of berries and nice ground covering.

I spotted a few places along the Dune du Nord (between 52km and 53km) where the waves might be good for surfing. Apparently ground swells arrive in the autumn during hurricane season and the waves get really nice when pressure comes from the East.

31 Aout 2007 - Cap-aux-Meules

After a long drive from Camden (Maine) and a 5 hour ferry ride from PEI, I arrived on this remote island on 28 August. As I made my way further and further North I pondered whether the trip would be worthwhile. After the first 2 days of being here I am very happy to be here.

The island has a long maritime history and deeply embedded French culture, so it almost feels like being in Europe. Most of the people here speak French as do a majority of the visitors, and it has been fun trying to catch up on my French skills.

The scenery is beautiful here and there is always a view of the sea. It is very peaceful and many of the people from Quebec and Montreal seem to enjoy that. If you are thinking of coming here and wondering if you should bring your girlfriend I would say “yes” – it’s a romantic pot and there are lots of things to do and see.

For the past few weeks I have been spending a lot of time riding the new Spleene ZONE directional board.

Since returning here on 5/19 I have logged (out of 56 calendar days) 36 legitimately good kitesurfing days, some of them epic – and this does not include at least 4-5 days that I could have ridden here or at Little Point Sable (45 miles North). Other than driving 7-8 miles South of my usual launch spot for a few short down wind rides I have not traveled away from Muskegon to kite – not even once!

Upon my return to the shores of Lake Michigan I was treated to a nice long streak of riding (8 days out of the first 9 days I was home). To date we have had 17 good riding days out of the past 25…not bad numbers. The conditions here over the past 3 weeks have varied from big kite sessions to fully lit 7m conditions with decent waves. We’ve done some down winders, some big lake wave-riding, and some butter sessions in the lee of the long Muskegon pier heads. During Several NE to SE days we rode on Muskegon Lake…and it’s noteworthy to mention that it is possible to ride here in practically every wind direction!

5/8/07 Leftover waves from Andrea batter the Rodanthe Pier and outer beaches, breaching the road at Rodanthe and Avon, isolating us from the mainland. Several rescues at sea required for some unfortunate yachtsmen, a 54' yacht still reported missing - that's why they call this area the "Graveyard of the Atlantic".

5/9/07 Wednesday: The calm after the storm. Wakeboard training with the “Predator”

5/12/07 Saturday: Almost a week after “Andrea” blew thru here they are still digging sand off the road going north out of Rodanthe. After 2 days of un-kiteable winds over 40 mph and raging seas we had to suffer thru a few days of light air. Another storm blew thru on 5/13 and we did some kiting on the Sound but it was very gusty. I decided to hit the ocean side with a 9m Waroo and my Bowers Design 131, but I seriously underestimated the wind speed… I should have taken the 7m. The waves were very disorganized and I had the kite depowered completely and still had to work hard to hold down the power. It was survival riding but still fun to be out there.

The "wind festival" is almost over here in FL, so it's time to head North to the OBX - my annual Spring Trip for some riding and coaching. As many know the OBX is an awesome place for riders of all levels and for learning.

RRD

If you are looking for any new gear this year I encourage you to take a close look at the RRD Kites and Spleene Boards.

I recently decided to sell (only) this gear because it performs so well. There is a lot of good gear out there now, but I feel these products are exceptional. I’ve been using the Spleene boards for teaching and riding for over a year now and like them more and more. I recently began using the Hypertypes and I am thrilled with their performance.

The Spleene Board line-up ranges from wave boards and conventional shaped boards to "door" shaped boards that are unbeatable in light wind. Check out the website to see what is offered. The boards and hardware are all super quality and built to last. I have, for school and personal riding, the 164 & 159 Door (now a 154 door), 141 Session, and 128 Rip and the Zone wave board. I love them all!!!

The RRD Kite line-up include the Hypertype- arguably the best "hybrid” kite on the market with low bar pressure and great lift, Type 7 & 8 for some of the most amazing C kites with exceptional de-power and power, and the Type Wave - a 5-line kite that turns super fast and has lots of depower, and a few other models you can see on the RRD website. I am currently using the 7, 9, 12, 15 Hypertypes.

During a lesson the other day I got hit twice on the same foot by stingrays within a 1-hour period at one of the Bay side spots. OUCH!!!! I’m not sure if I was stung by a cow-nose ray I keep seeing or another species lurking in the sand bottom.

The wind in St. Pete for the past 3 -4 months has been great for weekend riders as well as for the ride “any timers”. The past 13 weekends have produced some fantastic riding conditions. What are the odds? This 2007 winter/spring season no doubt has been keeping a lot of "9 to 5-ers" super stoked on the weekends and keeping lots of people out of the psycho wards – I hope this has a lasting effect.

The wind forecast last week for St. Pete was uncertain, so I headed over to Jupiter for 5 days of great riding - (although the infamous St. Pete sea breeze delivered a few excellent days while I was on the East Coast).