8/10/11 South Haven

[kitingjames]

Anybody going to da haven today?

[West]

ZIPPIN' and a SIPPIN'....................another "horrible" downwinder, Sheriff!!!!!!!!

[jensmadwind]

i think the sheriff is thinking quality over quantity. not that a 24 mile downwinder is not quality, just our ability to give quality effort the whole way.

glad you notched another one though

[Northerner]

I am all about quantity and quality, but quality is the first and formost. That downwinder for myself and others last week was outstanding the first 12-15 miles. The last 10 or was on shore winds, chop and holey winds. Making for a tought strapless ride. When I get the chance to kite all day I don't like to put all my eggs in one basket.

I'll only do that run again if I can break it up a bit and stop and have Hot Pocket to refuel the turn machine.

[FSP]

best quality is actually staying put just a bit off any good pier break where there is still interval time but thump. leaving this usually means lots of side current and loss of shape.

[West]

The best part of the downwinders is never knowing what to expect....sometimes more wind, sometimes less, most times bigger waves, some times junkier waves, other times alot of current, often times negligible current.....the same LAKE, always a different LAKE.............one thing you can always count on is an incredible shoreline just zipping by, and usually a nice sunny day to sip in the sunshine!!!!!!!!!!

The riding partners you travel with make the downwinder.....not the conditions......there is always a thing or two you learn along the way......I actually love riding very underpowered, cause it makes you do everything perfectly just to catch a wave, or do a bottom turn.....making it back to where you started is also part of what makes it so damn good....you just never know.

As for the generalization on waves next to the pier.....couldn't be farther from the truth; that's one thing that all of these long downwinders has taught me......the best waves are always off of blown-out dunes, that deposit their sand several sandbars out, it is where the waves break the farthest out and with the most shape......same in all areas where we do the downwinders; Haven, St joe, Saugatuck, Holland, White Hall, Onekema, Frankfort........the best waves are always at the biggest exposed duneheads!!!!!

Never had a downwinder I wouldn't run again..... but I never had a bad day at the beach either!!! Differeint strokes for different folks....Happy Kiting boyz!!!!!!

[FSP]

iidk but a long period late oct wnw in front of the lifeguard tower at mc is damn near like a point break consistency for power vert walls and bombing closeouts. combine that with what perch fisherman say is a deepwater ridge and that would leave any wave junkie hard pressed to leave. Personally i want to get to know places like that to relish the details and really express myself, and so to leave it takes away from what the search was about. I even built some boards i feel are specialized for this wave so to each his own. Cool thing with this topic is how other riders find there ideal and their style to bring variety as in who wants to see another guy doing the exact same things you do?

[West]

Couldn't agree anymore with the WNW push at MC during the fall.......one of the best waves on the lake bar none; thing about that wave is that it breaks consistently in the same spot give or take a bottom turn.....I could hit that puppy all day long and under the pier lights till the waning moon comes up to give me a wink....believe me, I will be riding side by side in the late October sun, laying down lines.........

And I most certainly agree with each rider finding their ideal; hence "different strokes for different folks": that's what makes kiting so unique; you can have fun on a surfboard, twin tip, mutant, skimboard, hooked, unhooked, tricks, waves, cruising, it's ALL GOOD!!!!! After all, Variety makes the world go round and round!! Wouldn't quite be the same to see every kiter killing it like Jens all day long....

Quite frankly I was "razzing" the boyz for complaining about the length and quality of the downwinder. To me, a downwinder is like a piece of birthday cake with a scoop of ice cream drizzled with fudge and topped with cherries, nuts and whipping cream.........you get the cake, you eat the cake, and you say thank you to the host for the cake.....you don't scrape off the icing, complain about the ice cream melting, and say you don't like cherries.....EAT the cake and SMILE!!!!!!
Sometimes you think the cake will be chocolate and it's lemon, but it's still a birthday, and it's still cake....one of those parties it will be chocolate, and the ice cream will be home-made, and the fudge will be HOT........but you never know until the birthday cake is cut and served!! That's the beauty of a downwinder on LAKE MICHIGAN, each mile is unto itself!!! You can have your cake and eat it too, just remember to show your appreciation!!