CAN757 Phantom380
Well the snow is on the ground now here in Canada, which means the windsurfing season has almost come to an end. It’s always a sad time of year when you have to put the gear away, and for us this season, it also included our sailboat which we happened to have spent alot of time on the water with this past year. More gear it seems every year, but, more gear always makes for more memories.
A few years ago, a group of us had decided to get a yearly “last sail” in on Nov.11, a national holiday here in Canada called “Remembrance Day“. Remembrance Day is a day of tribute to our fallen Canadian soldiers that have given there lives for country, and freedom as we know it today. We also use this day to remember the season that has passed, and how we charished the moments on the water together. Together in harmony of friendship, wind and water.
Our thoughts will soon turn to snowkiting, watching the kids whip around the lake on the snowmobile, sliding down the hill on the GT snow racer, and warming up in the ice shack. Good times can be had in every season of the year, you just have to make it happen.
Be sure to take the time for remembrance…
Rigging for Woodette…even in the winter!
Some of the kiters for a group photo. Look at the shine off my goggles!
Marg and I before the race
The Champ in her playground
Paul coming down after a 20′ jump! haha
Margot and Rob “The Professor” Evans (Men’s ski champion)
We are back from another terrific weekend spent with friends and fellow wind junkies at the 4th Annual Kite Crossing. This years event with over 100 registered kiters made it THE largest snowkiting event in North America! And who else better to represent the woman ski class as Champion? Well, non other than our very own Woodette! Holy cow eh!
The winds were forecasted all day Saturday to be steady in direction and speed, but good ol’ Mother Nature proves us wrong again, by mixin’ it up just a bit with a 40 degree wind shift 5 minutes before the start, failing winds halfway through a 32 mile killer thigh burning course, all the while with sunny blue skies above. Paul and I after crossing each other on a few tacks, to get to what was now, the windward mark (remember the 40 degree wind shift?), decided to stop for a ‘rest’ after the international ‘beer signal’ of a hand raised high in the air tilting back n’ forth was seen. I had packed some emergency beer in my backpack for such an occasion, so stopping made sense to us! We decided when we ran out of beer to just head back to the event site and cruise around with some of the other no-competing kiters. Good choice because later, better than half of the racers decided to either turn around, walk, or get picked up on the lake (remember the failing winds?). I was looking for Woodette on the return trip, but with kiters spread out all over the place and just trying to focus on the terrain in front of you, I must have passed her by.
Time passed by back at the event site by trying new gear manufaturer’s had to demo, kiting, chillin’ and socializing. I took my binoculars out to look for Woodette and spotted her still a few miles out struggling to keep her kite in the air with he lack of wind. I contemplated flagging down a snowmobile to go pick her up, but decided to just let her be… Sometime later the wind started to pick up, kiters were out and about then I grabbed everybody’s attention pointing to the sky and Margot’s kite heading to the finish line saying ” now let that be a lesson to all of us!” 3-1/2 hrs later she was cruisin to the finish that none of us made! Awesome stuff!
In the end, it was Woodette. The only woman to finish the race! Back-to-back Summer & Winter Crossing wins! Wow, that is still so unbelievable! By no means is she the most talented kiter or windsurfer, but determination? Well, her wins prove her will to finish!
Put your hands together for our Super-Champ Margot “Woodette” Woodworth!
Call it the winter blahs I guess, but I sure wish I was windsurfing somewhere right now! Windsurfing would mean we would be on water, NOT ice & snow and the temperature would be a whole lot better than we have around this part of the world right now! It’s been so cold and windy, but only windy it seems when I’m out of town without my kite, or at work unable to kite! So, with my snowkiting sessions being few and far in between this winter, my thoughts turn to ’soft’ water, warm temps, sandy beaches, and on and on.
I wish I was windsurfing….
