Re: alton pool tonight

[Chris Mihill]

Ted,   With your "go for it attitude", you have become the new Iron Man.   CM --- On Fri, 11/13/09, Windcatcher <ted.b...@gmail.com> wrote: From: Windcatcher <ted.b...@gmail.com> Subject: alton pool tonight To: "Wind Fun St. Louis" <windf...@googlegroups.com> Date: Friday, November 13, 2009, 1:49 PM WOW! Chris you are trying to scare me. I have kayaked and wind surfed alton pool at night. If you get too close to the dam they blow the monstrous air horn at you.  You can  see the barges coming from way off.  with the wind out of the east south east it blows against the current.  I am more afraid of getting hit in the face by a jumping carp.  The lightw from alton are beautiful at night and makes it well worth the session.  Join me.

[Moderator]

The session report from Ted/Windcatcher:

tried to put in north of dam and st chas cop ran me out. went to a
parking lot south of dam and got in my suit when he showed up. He
shined his light on me so I used it to rig my sail. He said you look
bound and determined. I said i was. I engaged in a little
conversation and carried my board and sail down and had a peaceful
session on the river. next time i expect he will be more
accomodating. It was nice to get a board fix after being off the
water for three weeks. i used a light that has a strap you wear on
your head. It worked great. water was not cold but cool. I just wish
had more wind. water level was very low. ran aground easily,

[Hossfeld, Tim W]

That sounds totally cool and serene.

Awesome !

Tim

-----Original Message-----
From: windf...@googlegroups.com [mailto:windf...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Moderator
Sent: Monday, November 16, 2009 7:15 AM
To: Wind Fun St. Louis

[Richard Hunter]

Large board, light wind, cold, night windsurfing would be a one way in the St. Louis region to get water time to accelerate ones sailing skills. However, it would be troublesome if not dangerous to sail with much speed, especially on a river. Full moon was about Holloween, so I presume you didn't have much moonlight. I am not sure what body of water is considered the Alton pool, so maybe logs, etc aren't an issue.   I sailed in the dark in a snow storm on Lake Calhoun in uptown Minneopolis in Nov or Dec 1988 planing a 9'4" Mistral Diamond Head with a 5.0 meter Gasta Speed Sail. It was a very rewarding experience. Fortunately, I did not have to worry about floating logs, boats, etc and there was faily good light reflected off the low clouds from the surrounding city lights. The lake is only about a mile in diameter.   Some sailors windsurf at the Columbia Gorge near full moon. I think moonlight sailing at the Gorge was more popular in the late 80's.   Another problem is not being able to see the crows feet on the water to prepare for gusts and lulls, but this presumably improves ones touch and feel. In lighter winds, the wind can change directions by 180 degrees, especially if your sail on the windward side of a body of water. This can make for challenging sailing.   With your "go for it" attitude, I presume we will be seeing you on Carlyle next spring.   Rich --- On Mon, 11/16/09, Hossfeld, Tim W <tim.w.h...@boeing.com> wrote: