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Feb 9th I Bay Kitewing Sesh
Note: I wrote this account while still under the influence of endorphins from a super ice sailing session. I reread it today and I’ll still post, cause I KNOW YOU FEEL ME! (and I love reading stories about myself).
I seldom bother to write it down unless it is awesomely special and today was one of those days. A massive frontal change with a total snow meltdown and galeforce winds for two days had folks wondering what would happen to our ice. I had already scored some sessions leading up to the melt, the last one as the sun heated up the surface and temps soared into the 50’s. My boat left half inch grooves in the soft ice! It got colder and then there was shell ice, then wind. Lots of wind. But I got the word from the ice boat elders that the high winds would evaporate and smooth the watery ice surface, so I had to be ready. Last night I sharpened up my ice boat runners with my new diamond stone sharpener purchased from Loews. I made some minor modifications to the boat. The winds blew through the night, keeping me awake. The morning came and the wind was quiet but the Montana meter showed a stiff breeze. But my phone was silent. No Groupme. No Posts. No buzz at all! And Cranberry John was ambivalent.
The DN ice boat doesn’t load itself and hefting it up onto the wagon sometimes is a deciding factor, plus there was no encouraging DN reports. Lets go Kitewinging. A five minute load into the car and short drive to the bay. Simple.
Arriving at Irondequoit Bay between Sutter’s and the Fish and Game Club, I was surprised to see such a small ice fishing crowd. I was excited to see how beautifully smooth the ice was! It was frozen with 6-8 inches of ice and no shell ice or shore melt to be seen. After a good survey, I made the decision to put out the call to fellow wind enthusiasts. This is a responsibility I don’t take lightly. We’ve all made that bad call about how great things are only to have conditions deteriorate just as every one arrives! But I manage to wrestle Doug away from the kids after several texts. The final one read, “I think you need to get down here!” Issac responded to the call. “I have “new” skates and want to come down”. I give him directions. Dave can’t make it. Gary doesn’t talk to us anymore and goes to Bonaire to sail so he’s out.
Winds were WNW with wind rotoring around the nearby point at the bluff in front of Fish and Game Club. The bluff where in the summer the cormorants roost turning the green leaves white. Just beyond the bluff to the north the deflected air flow whipped around the point such that once you skated out of the shadow you got hit with a healthy flow. And did it flow! There was a lot of smooth ice. There were bumps but it was easy to sail to the best sections. The whole area from Empire Blvd. to a bit south of the Bay Bridge was available for ripping rides on the 5.5 Kitewing. A lone skater came out onto the ice from the setup area. It was Mark. No sail in his hand it was hard to recognized him. But I changed that and he made some nice passes with my wing and then left to get his freeskate and feed the Tesla.
Finally Doug arrived. Now it was a party. We raced around the bay sailing in tandem. Doug clocked 37 mph without trying to go fast. It was the ice, it just encouraged you to sheet in and go. His moves are smooth and sure. He pulls off a beautiful jibe and breaks down the move for me to copy. It’s not easy. He’s got the Gopro and is ghosting me. I hope the video can convey the moment of us flying through the falling snow and great ice.
My phone, (the infamous phone recently rescued from the bottom of the engine bay in my Volvo) kept buzzing. To keep it charged, I had it buried four layers deep and had to stop, carefully secure the wing, and dig it out to check for important messages. Issac was late, Dave’s truck broke down (again),Kim wanted to know if everything was OK. It was. But I told Issac Doug and I were getting thirsty. I told Kim I was hungry could she bring lunch. I was also tired but that’s on me.
The winds were quite strong and gusty. We found that the wind south of the bluff was more moderate and although variable we found that it was absolutely the best ice! Frankly I hadn’t scouted this area because it is the first to melt and become unsafe. Irondeqouit Creek flows in at the south and with the total snow meltdown there would be considerable water flow. But it was great. It was especially nice to carry speed from the high wind area from the middle bay and nurse apparent wind into the silky smooth section to the south. Pass after pass. I am gonna be sore tomorrow.
Now my phone is ringing. I can tell even though the wind blowing through my helmet prevents me from hearing much of anything, cause my left nipple starts to tingle. Like vibrate mode! I ignore it, I’m going 30+ mph and its buried beneath so many layers. I do stop, Doug is making an adjustment. I tell him it must have been Issac, he’s probably here. Sure enough he’s lacing up his skates at launch but wants to work on his long dormant skating skills and heads out deep into the icy smooth. Before pushing off, he says.”BTW look what I brought!”, a lonely six pack of Fat Tire Belgium Ale sits by the edge of the ice! Issac! You can be late any time you want.
Mark has returned with his freeskate and is chewing up I Bay real estate with vigor. Issac joins him after we three put our collective heads together to open our beer without a bottle opener( a story by itself!). Doug and I quench a well deserved thirst and I chase after them both while Doug retreats to family life. Soon, Issac has got his legs going pretty good and is eager for a kitewing lesson. After a couple nice passes and a couple most impressive falls he returns back to skating. I can tell he feels the calling of the wing. Hopefully the calling of the Ibuprofen bottle isn’t stronger!
It’s been a great day on the bay ice. I’m tired. And still thirsty but decide to call it. Hopping in the car a blue lunch box sits in the driver’s seat! It’s my lunch. Kim called while I was out on the ice and dropped off a lunch box! I have a great wife!
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