Prospects for an endorphin buzz improved when early morning Sunday weather radar agreed with the forecast of morning showers giving way to a few hours of warm sunshine in advance of an early afternoon frontal system. Heading to Seneca by 7AM, I was impressed by the intensity of the full moon flashing from behind fast moving broken clouds….it occurred to me that Mother Nature had it going on this morning. Approaching Seneca, the sky show continued as I watched a rather weird single, skinny, towering cell busting apart just short of anvil height. Packing gear into the state park beach just after 7:30AM, the grand finale was a faint rainbow (pic) on the water, heralding the possibility of a golden session on Seneca.
Based on sights and sounds of a quickly building breeze, I guessed on a 12m and was almost launch-ready by 8am when Brad wandered up. Staring at the lake we engaged in a locals-only discussion on spring conditions on Seneca and bubble-sense, prompting me to forgo the temptation of first-ride.
Buoyed by an 8AM meter bump, (SW 18 G 22) the kite crew began arriving anticipating a short pre-frontal session as was forecast. Predictably, the wind started tanking and we spent the next hour blaming each person who arrived for killing the wind which bottomed out by 9:30 to mentions of a skunked session.
Morale improved to the point of applause when Iron Man Don D. walked up ready to ride again after his short hiatus. Things really started to pop when one of Brad’s trainees seeking his first water-starts arrived with that rookie wind mojo. Urged on by Greg B. I took one for the team and pumped up my jumbo 17m as final appeasement to the wind-goddess who answered with a quick ramp up to SW 15 G 19 by 11AM.
Beach wind was still scant, but the outside was showing so I went for that first-ride launch and the lumbering 17m swept the sky like a god-hammer out into some of the smoothest spring season air I have ever flown on Seneca. The foilers scrambled to hot-launch their smaller kites and got to the outside where the session buzz was full-on for a couple of hours. After peaking at 1PM, the perfect spring breeze began diminishing as an advancing cloud line appeared on the horizon. Stoke was high at the pack-up, and thinking back I realized that our outstanding “pot of gold” session began and faded like a rainbow after a warm spring shower on Seneca.
.
