Nitinat trip June 27th to July 4th.

I had planned a 2 week trip to Nitinat but the rain has come and I have abandoned the plan. I did spend 6 days at Nitinat and it wasn’t bad. It was great to see old friends and meet some new ones. Azat (master fire maker and story teller), Peter (a fountain of knowledge on all topics), Roger (thanks for helping me tune my 7.5), George and Maya, Vic, Voychek and his wife, Mike (thanks for cutting firewood and clearing paths), Rosie and little Sophie, Robert and Brenda, Pat and Rick et al., and others whose names I don’t know yet but who are familiar faces on the beach.javascript:emoticon(':D')

Monday, June 27th. Packed up in the drizzle and headed for the ferry. Caught the 10:30am ferry for the Island. Arrived in Nanaimo at about 12:20am. There is light rain at Cowitchan but some blue sky peeking through as well. Took it easy on the way to Nitinaht because I am wary of logging trucks. Met a couple on the way in as well as lots of speeding cars and trucks. I was surprised to see white caps on the lake since it is cloudy inland. Arrived at the campsite at about 3:30pm and by 4:00pm I was rigged and ready to go. Sailed for 2 hours on a North XXX 6.2 and Kombat 95. The wind was about 20 – 25 kts. Sweet! TOW 2 hours. Azat made a nice fire and we enjoyed a glass of wine and fought off the mosquitoes. javascript:emoticon(':evil:')

Tuesday, June 28th. The skies are overcast in the morning but it is clearing inland and it has the look of a decent day. I went out at about 12:30 on my Starboard Carve 121 and 6.2 and slogged around for an hour and ended up down by the village. Could get on a plane every other reach so I didn’t end up on Bozo beach. Finally at about 2:00pm the wind cranked up and I could beat it back up-wind got some nice rides in. The wind cranked up a little more at about 4pm. Stayed on the water till 6:00 all day on the 121/6.2 combo. All in all a great day! TOW 5.5 hrs. Roger arrived this morning. Good timing!

Wednesday, June 29th. It’s overcast again and the wind is inflowing from the time I get up. There is a little filtered sunshine but not enough to get warmed up. I got out on the water on the Starboard GO 140 and Sailworks Retro 7.5 at noon and schlogged for about a half hour until the wind kicked in. Stayed on the water till 4:30pm. All in all, not a bad day. Saw a couple of bumblebees fly by on the lake. They look like mini jumbos headed overseas. There was also a big raft of jellyfish in the middle of the lake so dense that the water was a light turquoise color. Really amazing! . TOW: 4.5 hours. I moved to a different campsite away from the loop because I can’t stand the relentless pounding of complaint rock

Thursday, June 30th. It rained last night. Not much, but enough to make everything damp. It’s 9am and the wind is already blowing from the west. Maybe a frontal push. The weather forecast sounded depressing. Cloudy with showers, but I can see some blue sky overhead. I’m optimistic! George, Jackie and the family arrived. At about 1:30 I got on the water on the 7.5 and GO. The wind was a little erratic but stayed through most of the day and I caught the last few puffs at about 5:30pm. Have been practicing clew first water starts and clew first sailing and am starting to get the hang of it. TOW: 4 hours. Not bad for a grey day.

Friday. Canada Day July 1st. I got up at 6am just in time to catch the wind line coming down the lake! Went up to the village for the annual Canada Day pancake breakfast but the pancakes were “banana pancakes” and I’m allergic to bananas so I opted for the bacon and eggs instead. It’s overcast this morning and there are squalls blowing through from the end of the lake. Every once and a while there is a small patch of filtered sunshine showing through. There is lots of wind for a 7.5 I hit the water at about 12:30pm after I patched the blisters on my hands. It was gusty all day with squalls coming down the lake in waves. There were 4 of us big sail GO-boarders on the water having a blast! The wind cranked up at about 2:30-3 and I switched to the 121 and 6.2 and got about an hour or so of great riding in until the wind dropped at about 4:30pm. TOW: 3 hours

Saturday July 2nd. Awoke to gentle breezes and a sky with blue patches. It looks like it is clearing from the west. It could be a great day if the skies continue to clear. Lots of people have come in yesterday. The campground is almost full but far from packed. Some young guys from Ontario arrived yesterday. Five young lads who put on a three ring circus on the water performing heli-tacks, etc. It was a great show. I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do with a little wind! At 8:00 am and it is already blowing!! Bobson and KC7777 arrive for a day sail. I got on the water at 11:30am in the morning on the GO and the 7.5. It started to kick in at around 12:30 or so but then backed off. George and I headed up wind where we stayed for about an hour or so. Spent the rest of the day on the GO and 7.5. Got off the water at about 4:30 exhausted! TOW: 5 hours. Bobson took over on the GO and spent the next couple of hours planning using a 8-something.

Sunday July 3rd. It cranked up at about noon. Went out for a couple of reaches on the GO and 7.5 but was overpowered. Took the 121 and 6.2 out and rode for about 2 to 2.5 hours fully powered up. Got one ride on the Kombat then it died quickly. Took the 7.5 and GO out and got off the water at 6:45!!! The last reach was up to the river and then a rocket fast downwind reach to the log pile. TOW: 6.5+ hours! A fantastic day.
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Monday, July 4th. The weather forecast is grim. I have decided to cut short my trip and head for home. It’s raining when I leave the campsite at 11am. javascript:emoticon('')

Hey MB, that was good story-time!! I'll have to take some tips from you on writing a good readers digest stories!! That was a great wrap up of your 6 days. I'm sorry you didn't get some more sunshine!!

Talk to you soon dude!!

ps. Thanks a bundle for lending me your GO board on Saturday evening....it added a good hour and a half to my sailing time. Always gotta bring the BIG GEAR!! Nothing like have a big stable board to plane on when the wind drops a bit. Again, THANKS MB!!

No problem Bobson. You looked like you needed it!

I musta spent 15 - 20 hours on that board last week. On Sunday for the last couple of hours only Windsurfish (on his GO 150) and I were on the lake. There weren't many whitecaps to be seen but the GO 140 and 7.5 kept me steaming! IT WAS FANTASTIC!

See you when the sun shines again!

glad you broke that Kombat in but since you are soooo in loooove with the bigger stuff, Mb, lemme know when you are selling that puny little 95L thing, ok?? I believe I am first in line, dood

the sun will shine more when I have my holidays, guys, no worries. I'll let ya know, ha

I'll sell my soul first

For all those of you who have read the thread this far, I recall, from many an occassion, that MB's sole can be readily purchased, for a short while, for the price of a beer or two, a glass or two of red wine, or the location of a pub specializing in great live Blues, or given the weather the last couple of weeks, an accurate forecast with sunshine all over it!

Mike, the sunshine is a comin', when can I borrow the Kombat?