Kite lesson with Chuck, Michael?! How about a loop clinic instead??
Glad the consistent plan B panned out for you guys.
Massimo, Old Adrian and myself, convinced on a certified skunk at Centennial (after Richi's fine work of jinxing the good forecast), followed Adrian's gut and Francois's forecast analysis on a whim to Nicola Lake. The forecast was calling for late afternoon wind, but naturally we left pre-dawn to maximize our odds of success (and/or birdwatching).
After about 6 hours of standing around, coffee shop runs, checking out the different launches and getting teased on 2-3 "pulses" of wind, a solid wind line finally showed face. Massimo and Adrian were already ready to pack it up as I yelled "RIG" from the shores of Monck park back up to the parking lot. Eager to get our money's worth, we all put on the big stuff: 5.2m, 5.2m, 5.5m and the freestyle sticks. Being slowest to rig, I caught a glimpse of Adrian and Massimo blasting off the shore over a glowing, evening lit lake. The grassy launch of Monck park with the arid desert landscape of Quinchilla on the far side made it feel a lot like Maryhill in the Gorge.
The wind came in streaks. The puffs were anywhere from 15-30knots, at times bobbing, at times almost being catapulted due to too much juice. Sailed for a quick hour before packing up for the drive home. The scenery, mood and a long hiatus since my last real session made it a stoke-filled one for me, but in the words of Massimo "it's still lake sailing". It might be hard to justify another trip there without either a full day 4.2m event and/or 2+ days of sailing w/ camping.
We'll be putting our time and effort towards Columbia Beach for the next far-and-wide chase!