Mother nature, you tease
I took a chance with the 2 hour drive today for questionable conditions. The last few readings had been around 15 knots, but it wasn't clear if it would last for 2 more hours. I'm starting to see things that indicate when the wind is good; scattered showers don't make for consistant wind. Anyway, my board is in the mail so I have to take every opportunity before I get it to practice body drags.
Andrew and I drove up and the wind was dead when we got there. I was hopeful that waiting out the lull would help, so we ate and drove around Presque Island a little. We were about to leave when the wind came back, just a little. It wasn't enough for the big kite, but I had brought my small kite, which Andrew learned to control fairly quickly. The wind increased in 20 minutes back to 10 knots, right around what I thought my GTO would be able to fly in. It was much more stable than the other day, so I suited up and jumped in the water.
Such flaky wind could not possibly last, and I had only been in the water for 5 or 10 minutes before it completely died. A few death throes and it was gone, along with the potential to practice flipping the downed kite. Definitely worth the drive, but I hope one day to have more than 10 minutes. I blame Pittsburgh of course.