Trip to Tawas July 14 - 19

[Like To Kite]

Incredibly fun time! Loved every minute of it!! Even weathering the storms was just another adventure. With such great people it makes it easy to have such good times!

Kiting conditions were overall spectacular. Thigh deep flat water everywhere. Long periods of excellent wind. All of us improved from where we were a week ago. So stocked to see everyone doing so well!

See more pics at

http://picasaweb.google.com/10929423804 ... ipToTawas#

Here's a sampling

Little challenge at the start


Craziest storm ever seen by the 85year old that was in this cabin next door to our cabin at Timberlane. Tree was on roof and fell inches from his van and had only a cracked windshield. Stephen and I were on the beach when we narrowly escaped this storm and the wind, sky and lightning were unbelievable!!!


Loving my Ozone C4








Clare did awesome from start to finish. Self proclaimed new kite addict with her new kite!




Stephen cranking upwind - he even made it up to the point!


Mike's Riding, Yee Haw!


Conan celebrating his first controlled ride!




















Looking forward to the next one!!!

[jensmadwind]

what were the winds forecasted to be compared to what materialized?

what size kites were you on for the most part?

thanks

[Misfit]

The Tawas trips look like a ton of fun when its breezy and when it's not. Great times on and off the H20. One question, are there any good wave spots? I'll bet a couple of SUP's would be awesome for those no breeze days.

Cory

[WaWaZat]

what were the winds forecasted to be compared to what materialized?

what size kites were you on for the most part?

thanks

Learned from the 2 times I've been there to not pay attention to the specific wind forecast. Around the the point, it can be blowing even a different direction from the nearest weather station. In planning this last trip... a week in advance... we just looked for a Southerly flow, temps above 80 & sun. Great chance for thermal action with these 3 elements.

On the last day of our 1st trip, 3 of the 4 of us that went headed for home because of lack of wind that morn. By the time we got around to the North side of the bay, we noticed it starting to build. Spun the car around only to meet our #4 comrade entering the beach lot at the exact same time! With the exception of 2 other MI riders on large foils that left shortly after we arrived, we had the entire beach to ourselves for the most epic day of that trip!

We were on 9s, 10s & 12s both trips. I was on the 9 a lot the 1st day of this last trip, playing it conservative because of the ups & downs. Many slightly heavier riders were on 11s & 12s. The last day of this last jaunt I started on a Royal 9 and moved to an Ozone 12 C4 (thank you Amanda!) until the kites all fell out of the sky, then things picked back up 180º in the other direction.

It's really the land of OZ...

[WaWaZat]

The Tawas trips look like a ton of fun when its breezy and when it's not. Great times on and off the H20. One question, are there any good wave spots? I'll bet a couple of SUP's would be awesome for those no breeze days.

Cory

They get waves on the lake side... just a decent walk across the point from the bay. Not sure about others times but, while we were there, nothing like beatings us beginners take Lake MI. In fact the 1st trip I was amazed at how calm the waves were on the lake side. Really though, I'm not the right guy to be asking about waves right now 'cause I've been on a mission for smoother waters after spending all last season getting my ass kicked around here. The 1st day of our 2nd excursion, I noticed slightly bigger waves but winds were starting to shift from SE to SW so we headed for the bay side. Anything with E in it, you're on the lake side... W, bay. Would be an awesome SUP ride around the point between bay & lake. Likewise for more experienced kiters in the right wind directions... I watched 'em do it after a walk up the beach right to the very tip of the point. Careful of the extreme shallows while making the transition however... I saw a couple take headers too. Also heard a few broken fin stories while there.

[chillin]

Wow you were busier than I thought with that camera!

[Like To Kite]

One question, are there any good wave spots? I'll bet a couple of SUP's would be awesome for those no breeze days.

We only rode at the point. There are some other places to ride as well though it is less common. Only have limited experience in this area though will tell you what information we've learned from riding there.

When we rode on the deep side of the point (meaning waist deep) we only encountered very minimal waves/chop. Like Mike said, nothing to get in the way during learning stages. Inside the point (calf/knee deep) there was super flat water.

I think there may be a place to go with waves in certain conditions. I will ask some of the locals that I met there.

When the wind was light it would have been absolutely perfect with a SUP! Nice way to get out on the water.

It was a really nice place to have a mini vacation and have some fun.

[Like To Kite]

As promised, here's a little more info about wave riding near Tawas. This info was provided to me by "Safety Rick." Super fun guy that invited us all out on his boat after a great day of kiting.


Rick says:
There are a few good wave spots around. Atlantis produced some monsters today for the first time this summer. About an hour north there is a spot the builds on a NW. The NE end of Tawas pt gets good on a SE. Looking forward to riding with you all again.
Keep me posted.

If anyone else has more info to add about wave spots in Tawas it would be great to know more.

Thanks!