Sunday, 6/19

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gene_mathis
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Sunday, 6/19

Let's try for 4 days in a row IN JUNE?

Yesterday was fun, good crowd of Windsurfers at Van Pugh, pretty good wind at times. Parking was availabe unitl after lunch. Today's forecast is almost as good as yesterday, east wind, maybe not quite as much. I hope to be at Van Pugh before 10:00.

Anybody need anything from Ezzy or Chinook?

Gene

Gene Mathis

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gene_mathis
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Re: Sunday, 6/19

Van Pugh Almost Live Update, 11:45

They're closing the park at the moment, It's FULL, very FULL. but may be reopened later when the church groups leave.

William is out on the big stuff, Alan S is out on the bigger stuff (sailboat,) I'm home.

Gene

Gene Mathis

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Re: Sunday, 6/19

Just leaving Galts. 8.5 good in the gusts.still blowing a 12:15.

Bill Herderich

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Re: Sunday, 6/19

Late VP report:
As much as I love the place on SW-NW, today confirmed my dislike on NE-E.

What was happening on shore didn't help. More on that in a moment.

On the water, the first half hour was typical "why am I here?" Only a couple of puffs as I worked over into the main channel and upwind where a bunch of keelboats were racing. Then the gusts started to come down (probably as Jim and Gene were driving away - not sure they ever made it out) so I was able to plane upwind, sail over above Vann's Tavern and over into the Lake Lanier bay but didn't go too far that way as the wind was light inside. In the main channel up there, was a good 10-15 with gusts close to 20. It was a lot of fun sailing around the big boats and I had one very memorable deep downwind run in the chicken strap (center rear strap).

Finally figured it was time to get closer to home and it was pretty much dead in the Van Pugh bay. I struggled even to plane. Worse, the boat wakes seemed to run not only perpendicular but almost saw tooth. Not planing was almost preferable simply from comfort.

Windsurfing wise: 9/10. It's really fun to be powered up and getting splashed by warm water.

(Begin rant) Now to the shore: VP is a crowded place in the summer. I get that. It's nice that people can enjoy the same park I do. When I was trying to get out of the water, the kids in the beach, essentially unattended, were too young to understand that I needed to come up the sidewalk. Eventually, a mom came over and told them to move. Not a single one was wearing a life jacket. Not a single one was over 6. The water was rough from the boat traffic and murky with clay. Had anything happened to one of these kids - big wake coming in, tripping on a rock under the surface, it would have been a tragedy. If it takes mom /dad several minutes to figure that her kids need to move because the guy keeps politely asking and motioning them, there is no way she/he can sort out that their kid has been underwater for several minutes in zero viz water. (End rant)

Onshore experience: 1/10

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Re: Sunday, 6/19

Well, it is time for rants, I'll join in.

Perhaps it is only my age biased imagination but it does seem as though the lake has become much more crowded in recent years, particularly Van Pugh, but all of the usual spots are worse. The launch at VP is now a favorite swimming spot for people who don't know that it is supposed to be used for windsurfing. (And please - don't get me started on the churches who seem to view taking over the lake as the modern version of taking back the Holy Land.) What gets me is how people who paid zero attention to what their kids were doing suddenly give you menacing glares when you are trying to carry your board/sail out to the water in the midst of their otherwise completely unattended children.

However, it pains me to report that Tidwell or MAP may no longer be viable options at least on weekends. The problem is after years (it seems) of having roadwork signs posted on 400 NB they have finally gotten serious about it. Traffic was backed up for up for miles on 400 Saturday because one lane is being closed as they widen the road. A trip (to MAP) that normally takes me about 30 minutes took an hour (and I left before 9 am on Saturday.) The work seems pretty extensive so it may be a while before its finished. Since I have to go up 400 and then across 20 (also roadwork infested) getting to the east side of the lake will probably take 90 minutes on a weekend. Weekdays, IDK, but I'll report on it later. 400 normally gets backed up pretty badly on normal weekdays after 3 or so anyway even before roadwork. Bottom line - probably Galts for me on weekends at least. Weekdays hopefully won't be quite so bad because I don't think that many people commute to work going N on 400.

Anyway - the prospect of sitting in traffic and a sore back kept me away from the lake on Sunday.

What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.

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webguy
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Re: Sunday, 6/19

Thanks for the heads up regarding 400. It has really become a sh*tshow the last few years.

It wouldn't take you more than 5 min extra to go perimeter to 85 would it? That would certainly be less painful than 400.

I don't know that the VP launch is "only" for us but that sidewalk was built to carry boards, etc in and out of the water replacing steps that we'd kludged together over the years. I don't mind people using the area (face it, how many times in the summer do we actually windsurf) but if they are too young to understand what's going on around them or basic requests*, that's not where they should be swimming without some sort of flotation aids.

*My first language was not English. If your child has trouble understanding interactions with others in a crowded and potentially dangerous place either because of language or they are too young to comprehend, they shouldn't be, as Randy said, unattended.

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Randy
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Re: Sunday, 6/19

I've gone the 400-285-85-985 route a few times. Pretty long trip which also give lots of opportunities for traffic snarls. I think a more promising idea is to see if there is a way around 400 on one of the surface roads. And there is always Galts.

Anyway - wind will soon be taking the summer off so we won't have to worry about it. I have found something even better than cat videos. Red Hot Nickel Ball videos will soon be making an appearance. (Though a video of cat playing with a RHNB might be fun. Anybody have a blow torch, a nickel ball and a cat I can borrow. There will be no damage to the nickel ball.)

What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.

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Joined: 01/24/2012 - 14:11
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Re: Sunday, 6/19
randy wrote:

... Anybody have a blow torch, a nickel ball and a cat I can borrow. There will be no damage to the nickel ball.)

Shocked cat would prefer you to watch this:

--- The Arrogant Jerk: Crabby and irritable since 1998.

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