Lake Champlain — BIG windfoil downwinder

grayson · Joined: 09 May 2003 Posts: 91 Location: Burlington, VT

So I sailed a pretty big downwinder the other day...

LINKS:
Relive: Windfoiling Downwinder Lake Champlain = cool video animation of my track
Garmin Connect: Windfoil Downwinder Lake Champlain = track details & stats

STATS:
• 85 miles total sailed
• 42 miles end-to-end shortest-path-over-water
• 08:32 start time
• 17:05 end time
• 8½ hours start to finish including shore breaks
• ~6 hours total sailing time**
• ~14mph average speed**
• 25.4mph max speed
• >100 jibes — yes, I counted 'em in my track log Laughing

**including a few on-water rests, and just a mile or so of schlogging literally within the last two miles of the trip — otherwise I was on the foil pretty much the entire time!!

GEAR:
• Starboard foilset (1000 wing, 225 stab, 115+ fuse, 110 mast)
• franken-formula-foil-board (old ML101 with DIY modified footstrap positions)
• Ezzy Hydra Sport sails (5.7 to start, then 4.7 from the Surf Club on)

THE SKINNY:

Saturday evening 2021-08-28: The forecast looked pretty stellar, so I made arrangements to try for something I'd been dreaming of for years...

Sunday morning 2021-08-29: A generous friend (thanks Tim!!) shuttled me to Thompsons Point for a launch, and then left my truck for me at the Burlington Surf Club so I'd have options to either end there, or take a break and re-rig there as needed before continuing on. The wind was still hootin' when I got there, and the forecast looked good, so I opted for the latter.

I enjoyed fully lit conditions all the way up to Plattsburgh, where I took the opportunity to refuel at the Naked Turtle with fish tacos and a mojito.

Wind was still full-throttle, so on I went.

Finally ended the day at Alburgh Dunes State Park where my spouse reaffirmed her superstar status by picking me up. I had stayed in touch with her along the way (I keep my phone in a Stash7 waterproof pouch for far-flung missions), and timing worked out perfectly.

Epic day altogether. I'm still giddy that the stars aligned and I actually pulled this off after years of saying "someday...". Very Happy

windward1 · Joined: 18 Jun 2000 Posts: 1379

Hey Grayson,

Congratulations on an imagined trip turned into a reality! Sounds like it worked out perfectly.

And look at those Island names: Grand, South Hero, North Hero. Sound inspirational to me....

fox · Joined: 09 Sep 1997 Posts: 133 Location: Pine Point, Maine

Truly epic! Congratulations and thanks for sharing!

From the elevation statistics I could tell you were using a garmin watch Rolling Eyes

grayson · Joined: 09 May 2003 Posts: 91 Location: Burlington, VT

boardsurfr · Joined: 23 Aug 2001 Posts: 1266

Grayt trip! Any plans to come to Cape Cod this fall?

justall · Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Posts: 442

This is an excellent post.

Really interesting to look at the data. And, just a very cool trip. Gives me some ideas, too.

(Funny to see the heart rate peak at the beginning and end, presumably when getting the equipment on and off the water ... the hardest part.)

Thanks for the read.

tm00 · Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 8:57 am Post subject:

Nice Trip

outcast · Joined: 04 May 2004 Posts: 2724

just saw this....yeah, that's full on!

Mgoetz · Joined: 06 Jun 1997 Posts: 49

Dang - over 100 jibes?! I guess I better stop procrastinating and start working on getting my first. Very impressive accomplishment! How do you like that big mast? Feeling a little puny with my 80 cm NP Glide Wing.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20870

The details are impressive enough in themselves, but the part you'll never forget is this: "Epic day altogether. I'm still giddy that the stars aligned and I actually pulled this off after years of saying "someday...". I pulled off a successful "someday", aligned-stars quest decades ago, and can promise you that yours, too, will stick with you always.

BTW ... nice pic of your daughter.