Mississippi sup yoga

Nice fall day..light wind, paddled in Almonte and tried some yoga poses.  I didn't really want to fall in, so this made it a little more challenging.  I think it's more fun when you can fall in so you can find your limits.

baby crow

warrior I

Prasarita Padottanasana C (well at least my version)

supported head stand

Britannia

I couldn't make the drive to Lake Champlain on Saturday, (no one to go with and dog sitting duties) so Sunday's forecast for NW 15 knots was a little comforting ...arrived at Grandview launch (nobody there) around 1pm and the wind was too offshore.  Marc and Lisa were at Andrew Haydon Park and I thought maybe I could do a downwinder to hang out with them.  Tried Britannia - rigged 5.7 and launched from the main beach - maybe 2 other guys on the water.  Sailed over to AHP and sailed a couple of hours - buzzed by Marc / Lisa.  Air temp around 13C. 

duck gybe

Marc is downwind on a 14m

Grandview

I was supposed to go to Vermont with the guys for a mountain bike trip but I was unable to go.  At least I had Friday off and some wind came through 15-20 NW.  Launched at Grandview and sailed with Craig, Steve and Danny.  Sailed for a couple of hours.  I also got lucky and won a $200 gift certificate for Voile Libre while I was sailing!!

brought the clew-view along

Grandview

Some light northwest wind for the afternoon.  Dropped Liam and Roxanne off at bayshore mall and checked out Britannia, Andrew Haydon Park, and then finally decided on Grandview.  No one was there, so I had the launch all to myself.  Rigged 7.5 with Mike's Carve 123 and I was fully powered up for the next hour and 1/2.  Did a downwinder to AHP to see the kiters (no sign of Marc or Lisa), then tacked back up wind to Grandview.  It was then that I realized how far downwind I had gone, but it was easy to get back up as long as I was fully powered.  Second time this summer that I had a good session on Mike's gear.

SBX

Lisa and I drove down to meet Miro for a saturday session.  Wind started out light, enough for kiting.  We launched from the sandbanks beach (not outlet) and I rigged a 5.7 with my 9.2 SUP to try out the waves.  The waves were quick and close together, not quite big enough for wave riding.  Next I took the SUP out with the paddle and caught a couple of small waves.  With the wind, the legs get tired pretty quick.  In the afternoon the wind picked up and I sailed the 5.7 with the freestyle board, later with the 6.8, and then back to the 5.7.  The break was brutal with the on shore wind but I was surprised at how the freestyle board did in the waves.  We had supper in Picton at the acoustic grill.

SUP on the Mississippi in Almonte summer 2013

It's September and I'm just catching up...blog posts are falling way behind and I'm paddling too often to blog each session...maybe I'll just put a 1-liner just for the sake of future reference.

I've been paddling in Almonte as often as I can and bringing kids & friends,even dogs along when I can convince them.  The water levels started out pretty high and slowly dropped over the summer.  My new paddle kicks ass - it's just so super light!  My new wave board is fantastic and doubles as a board for Liam or a guest when they come along.  This board and paddle combo come to life in the ocean - can't wait for my return to some real waves.  To make things challenging on flat water I've been adding some yoga poses as I learn them.  I'm getting stoked about yoga now, especially the ashtanga style - I'm a beginner but so far it looks like years of fun and a great way to stay in shape.