Fall is HERE: 35-45mph winds on Lake Champlain!

Well Fall is the windy season here on the Lake Champlain, and it has started delivering pretty much immediately!  We had a super powered 3.3 session over the weekend with the wind meter reading 35-45mph winds while we were out on the water.  Yikes!  Fun!

Getting to the spot (White's Beach on South Hero) took much longer than normal, due to a big tree that had blown down across the road.  Detour!  But at least I knew it was windy ;)  There was a nice crew at the beach, maybe 5 guys on the water and 5-10 more folks in the lot tinkering with gear and licking their wounds.  It was great to see everyone and feel the stoke!

 

I got the report that a 200ish pound guy was happy on his 3.5, so that made the rigging question super easy:  Rig the smallest thing you have!  Luckily, I had thrown my wife's 3.3 Gaastra Manic in the car at the last minute, otherwise I would've been wrestling a 3.7.  That 0.4 meters makes a big difference when it's gusting in the 40s!

I've been loving the Quads for a few years now- one reason is that they tend to be super planted and easy to control in crazy conditions.  So riding my 84 liter Goya board was no problem and it never seemed too big, despite the crazy winds.  It's so nice to be able to sail your regular board on the nuking days- there's less of an acclimation period and you can just get on and go!  The last time I sailed that 3.3 (2011ish?) I had matched it up with my wife's 67 liter single fin.  It worked great but took some getting used to, and any lull meant instant dives down to the bottom...  Not true with the Goya Quad 84!  Loving that board!

Pro-tip on the Goya Quads-  slide the mast base forward for out of control bump and jump conditions.  It settles everything right down and smooths out the chop for extreme control.  Works like a charm!

Usually, there is a bit of hole when launching at Whites, and you need to work your way out and upwind to get to clean wind.  Not on Friday!  I waterstarted and was instantly planing, and found my first solid jump ramp just 19 seconds later (GoPros are great for reliving a session, ain't they?).  I ended up sticking pretty close to the launch for the bulk of the sesh, not feeling like risking a big swim if I lost grip of the gear on the outside.  I was rewarded with really fun breaking swell in the shorebreak section, and nice kickers for jumps on the way back out.  Stoked!

Anyway, it was a great sesh in somewhat extreme conditions!  Stoked for more as the Fall season gets underway!  Check the video below for some session highlights!