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Had a decent day with a bunch of Windsurf and Kite folks, Seneca can be such a melting pot of riders. Folks from the Geneva area, Finger Lakes South, Rochester area, Syracuse area, and even Buffalo were on the water for deceivingly steady wind in the middle of the lake. A few kiting women were in the line up, and that should get us all pumped. Ride on ladies.
I was worried about parking being an issue at the Castle Creek/Visitor Center launch, and all in all it wasn’t bad, I got a grass side spot. Kites were in the air early with the lighter wind, and while I think a crew was out of the park the better launch in a SSE is typically the Visitor Center.
Windsurfers that I spotted and knew were: Scott and Geoff (park launch), Joe, Art, Bill, Ted and myself.
Kites I knew were: Chris, Gus, Doug C., Kevin, Jason, Andrew and Greg. I didn’t know the rest of the crew and I guess that is a good sign of a growing community.
Launching and Landing
With all of us mixing together out there it did occasionally get a little crowded/confusing on area’s of the lake. The biggest thing I noticed were a couple of kites riding back and forth really close to the launch. I’m not 100% sure of the rules of the road, but I know landing folks have the right of way…and that was mostly followed. I ended up in the water and frustrated a couple times as I came in heading downwind and ended up in the tight space of the launch behind a kiter that didn’t look and turned close to the boardwalk and launch heading right at me. I had to ditch. Everybody (kite and windsurf) make sure you keep well clear of the launch when you are just riding/cruising for the sake of safety. It was crowded on land but that seemed to stay pretty organized, so a pat on the back to all.
The other thing we all need to do is know where everybody is before we turn and before we jump. I’ve goofed it up before, and had it happen to me. You get in a sweet, flowy riding zone and lose track of others.
Kevin’s GOAT board
Beside getting to ride in sun on my favorite lake I was also psyched to see GOAT Kevin (see what I did there) riding on a homebuilt foam directional board that looked and rode total pro. The marketing guy in me says Kevin has to start a custom board business tailored to surfing our swell. His brand could be KEVIN, and the board would be the GOAT…..cause the board slays, and Kevin is a Goat farmer…get it??? Get it??? He has another name for it, but mine is better. He has based it on a design by famed shaper Stretch Riedel.
On The Water
The wind was out there, but it took a while for me to bite the bullet on 6.6 and 116L. Kites were on 10-12 all day long. I got in a groove of fully powered with a pretty flat 6.6 and was joined by Joe Art and Ted on 5.8 and floaty boards. On the park side I know Scott was on his 6.9 quick then his 6.3 I believe. Did a few rips with he and Freaky G (his first session). Bill was on his 6.5 and sweet Fanatic board.
Phantom Drone
At the end of the session I hoped to catch Joe, and Ted from the air with my new Drone. I ended up missing any action but had some good practice flying over water in wind. I spent a decent amount of time seeing how fast I could go into the 18-22 mph breeze and how the drone could handle maneuvering. I left more confident of what possibilities lie ahead.
Here are a few pics from the end of the day.
Wd
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Cool pics.
I made the error of bringing a big board and a little board, but NOT the board I needed (117 Aero). So I was on the rainbow Freak (6.7) and 89L Kombat…could of used more board in the Montana-sized holes.
I agree that crowded launch sites are problematic and everyone needs to follow the rules of the road. Bikies and wind sports enthusiasts seem to never pay attention to the rules of the road.
Scott and I favor the park for various reasons. Speaking for myself:
1A) I dislike how far in a hole the town dock puts you, particularly if the swell is up a dying wind (or rigging too small) can put you in a difficult spot;
1B) Parking is better at the park (both launch beaches have their down sides, but the marina site is less crowded);
2) Schlogging to the wind line isn’t that bad, and the park marina puts you well upwind into stronger winds that avoid the lift along the park shoreline;
3) Larger shallows for light wind activities (learning / freestyle);
4) When nobody else is around, often Brad and PharmaBob are at the park;
5) Warm showers;
6) Friendly marina folks are there watch over our stuff and like to chat;
7) Supports our NYS Parks with an Empire Passport, as I launch at many State Parks (Taughannock Falls, Geneva, Fair Haven, Southwick, Cedar Island, Westcott, Sylvan Beach, Evangola…not to mention the several parks I go to but don’t sail there). Empire Passports are hands down the best deal on a gym membership in New York, making it easy to be youthful – go outside and play.
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Nice write-up and Pics! Can’t wait for the full length feature! Another nice thing about the park is that you might miss a tree falling nearby or a bald eagle! I also, like the protection from the sun the trees that are still standing provide and the closeness to the water for launching. I agree with Geoff about supporting the parks with a pass! However if we should support the chambers redesign as we seemed to have had some influence on the local scene. I feel as though we are part of the Seneca Lake landscape and add to the vibrancy of the park. I wish this were true of all our sites.
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<p style=”text-align: left;”>Great comments on a fun and memorable day guys! Agreed Nys parks rock and Empire pass is a sound investment. This year I went for the card option which allows you to carry your pass on your person vs stuck on window of a single, dedicated vehicle.</p>
<p style=”text-align: left;”>And definitely excited with the possibilities drone footage has for capturing the excitement of our great sports. Keep on flyin” Capt. Dougie! ✈️</p>
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