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Heading home now, on the North Shore..

It was the ground hog day regatta. Friday we went out around 9:30 and waited till after 5:30pm.. then the light & variable breeze finally produced enough breeze out of the SW to set a line and a top mark. We started a race! You couldn't tell from the start line, but the breeze came in on the lake side. Many on the shore side starting line either noticed and tacked, or got barted.

We got in 3 gold and 3 silver today.... no wind till around 2:00pm. Right after the Thunder Bay Yacht Club came out to the pit area and delivered hot dogs to the fleet, the fleet did a 180 on the course and moved to the other end. The wind freshened up and the gold-silver-gold races were good. Plenty of pressure. About the time the second silver went down it was starting to lighten up. The third gold was at minimum wind and the top guy just got his lap in before the timelimit. The third silver for the day was light too.

leaving to go to the launch site. Bright Sunny morning and the flags are moving up on the hill.

Racing starts at 10:00am.

The Thunder Bay Yacht Club (TBYC), I think, is going to have a hotdog lunch out on the ice today. It should be a surprise for the athletes. They also worked really hard to find a member with a quad-wheeler, and it is going to be at the launch this morning. So the MVP goes to TBYC

Today was a mixed day.

We got our mini-qualifier in today. There was some wind in the morning and we got the qualifier in. By the time the line was reset, and scored the barts figured out, and then the gold fleet lined up.. the wind had died.

It came up later with a 90deg shift and the course was reset but then it died again.

At 4:09 the P.R.O abandoned the racing. Of course when I got into the launch the wind had come up and I dumped my gear and had to go back out.

We are heading down to the ice and opening ceremonies. It looks like there is some breeze up on the hill. I think we are going racing today! Light wind was forecast..

Word is we have about 60 boats. we are going with two fleets.

We got to the launch site today at 9:00am and a few of the competitors had already arrived. It was great to see everybody, and those that came thru sault ste. marie said the drive was great. There was also a full moon so it must have been nice.. even though it was long, and it sounds like you had to do a little fuel management.

Wow..

What a great day!

We went for a great ride today out on Thunder Bay, Lake Superior.

We got into Thunder Bay around Noon.
Sunny blue skies and a huge sheet of sailable ice greeted us.

We met up with my friend, Dale Shymko who had a map to the public launch site all ready for us. We got down there checked the ice, and there is miles and miles of it.. Dale had his DN on his truck and had been sailing all day yesterday.

Strange.. going over the top of Lake Superior only adds six hours to the drive time to Torch Lake, Mi.

What is the closest ice to the twin cities MSP? I Want to do some sailing this week and want to know how far I have to drive.

I just looked back at the first photo I posted here, compared with the shots from Fire on Ice last weekend...

Feb, 2004:

I am nearly finished with a DN. I am looking for a used sail.
I live in Red Wing, MN.
A question. How wide should the groove be to complete the sail track?
John

Light winds made for some pushing Saturday, but a number of racers got around the track in good time.

Light wind and cold temps kept the track quiet until afternoon. Three boats setup and sailed, with a fourth arriving as the sun was setting.

Winds and the temperature are forecast to build through the morning, so Saturday's racing looks to be exciting.

In addition to my youtube videos for my Arrow, you are also welcome to view my Dragonfly Ice Sled. Directions: youtube.com, search for lotawana dragonfly. Ice taxi, anyone?