Thanks Paul!
I've been to the spot couple of times, and I think it is more prone to sudden wind changes compared to the other side of the bay.
NW is coming from the City, so the bay is just barely enough to smooth it a little ... SW is much cleaner.
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Lofted Kiter Drowned ... Then Revived?
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Actually SW is best for Cherry but not for Thommy West on the other side... West is best and the wave are best in W. In SW it is very gusty going into the bay for flat water (Wind comes over trees). If you were to this spot in W - NW without a boat, you would be able to get back to Cherry. I've had many great sessions in W-NW, about 50-60 4-5hr Sessions. See pict.... Great view of Toornto. Those who don't have boats another spot, Toronto Island via Ferry for W-NW... NW is gustier there since it is closer to the city. So I prefer this spot.
Wind over water here can be very gusty at times as well... Even on an East wind from 100's of Kms over water. or S SW, including thermal days in summer.
Also, this day Oct 12th... We look at spring and fall as out windy season.
Aphid link. Shows how kiters can go out with a good forecast of 15-20mph... 9-10am, while meteorologist are tracking a storm in Buffalo, where the cold front had already passed. They later post an advisory in the afternoon, and then environment Canada posts as well, in the afternoon while we are kiting. This is a water effect storm "aphid" Lake Storm from Lake Erie. Historic event.
So again, beware of weather and forecasts... If they say it will be 15-20mph when you leave homefor a day of good wind... know your gear and take safety precautions. There may be no cold front to see since it already past. Yeah, wind can go from 20 to 70mph in 5 sec... but sometimes you have to have been there imagine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Storm_%22Aphid%22
Toronto received the side effects from the Buffallo Storm.
Our cold air and big warm lakes make fall kiting a littlemore unpredictable.
See your in UK now...
Wind over water here can be very gusty at times as well... Even on an East wind from 100's of Kms over water. or S SW, including thermal days in summer.
Also, this day Oct 12th... We look at spring and fall as out windy season.
Aphid link. Shows how kiters can go out with a good forecast of 15-20mph... 9-10am, while meteorologist are tracking a storm in Buffalo, where the cold front had already passed. They later post an advisory in the afternoon, and then environment Canada posts as well, in the afternoon while we are kiting. This is a water effect storm "aphid" Lake Storm from Lake Erie. Historic event.
So again, beware of weather and forecasts... If they say it will be 15-20mph when you leave homefor a day of good wind... know your gear and take safety precautions. There may be no cold front to see since it already past. Yeah, wind can go from 20 to 70mph in 5 sec... but sometimes you have to have been there imagine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Storm_%22Aphid%22
Toronto received the side effects from the Buffallo Storm.
Our cold air and big warm lakes make fall kiting a littlemore unpredictable.
See your in UK now...
Thanks Paul!
I've been to the spot couple of times, and I think it is more prone to sudden wind changes compared to the other side of the bay.
NW is coming from the City, so the bay is just barely enough to smooth it a little ... SW is much cleaner.
A few things to add to this story. First of all I'm friends with all 3 of these guys so I don't want to stir anything up but I believe all accidents are the unintended consequences of prior decisions. When you participate in any outdoor sports you are taking a calculated risk with the weather.
If I had known they were out that day I probably would have hitched a ride to the park with them and could have been there as well. Instead I went to Keswick, on Lake Simcoe, which is about 40 miles north of where they were. There was no one at Keswick but I blew up a kite, and donned my drysuit and waited to see if someone would come by. Many days I will go out alone but given the weather I decided today I wouldn't. What was bothering me was that several sensors had already gone off and the radio was reporting the highways closed by Niagra Falls due to heavy snow. This was no ordinary day and although the extreme nature of the weather was not forcast, there were weather warnings. When a snow squall rolled through Keswick, I packed up and went home.
I went through the ikitesurf archive data for that day and both Hamilton Harbour and Crystal Beach (about 30 miles SW)instantly went from about 20 to 45 mph at about 1:30, 3.5 hours before the accident.
I think just about all of us have kited on days where there are weather warnings. We count on being able to see things coming in time to get off the water, as opposed to just the forcast. This time it came so fast they didn't see it coming but there were other warnings, that weren't heeded. Like I say I don't want to sound like I'm preaching because given the opportunity I likely would have been there with them but after what happened to Jason I am much less likely to kite when there is a big front going to roll through, especially in the fall when they move much quicker than they do in the summer.
Lastly, I kited with both Jason and Ralph (I'm going to start calling him that) on Saturday. We had an awesome session and it's great to see Jason back to his old self. It was only a year ago they told his parents there was virtually no hope. Paul, you did an amazing job, thanks.
Al
If I had known they were out that day I probably would have hitched a ride to the park with them and could have been there as well. Instead I went to Keswick, on Lake Simcoe, which is about 40 miles north of where they were. There was no one at Keswick but I blew up a kite, and donned my drysuit and waited to see if someone would come by. Many days I will go out alone but given the weather I decided today I wouldn't. What was bothering me was that several sensors had already gone off and the radio was reporting the highways closed by Niagra Falls due to heavy snow. This was no ordinary day and although the extreme nature of the weather was not forcast, there were weather warnings. When a snow squall rolled through Keswick, I packed up and went home.
I went through the ikitesurf archive data for that day and both Hamilton Harbour and Crystal Beach (about 30 miles SW)instantly went from about 20 to 45 mph at about 1:30, 3.5 hours before the accident.
I think just about all of us have kited on days where there are weather warnings. We count on being able to see things coming in time to get off the water, as opposed to just the forcast. This time it came so fast they didn't see it coming but there were other warnings, that weren't heeded. Like I say I don't want to sound like I'm preaching because given the opportunity I likely would have been there with them but after what happened to Jason I am much less likely to kite when there is a big front going to roll through, especially in the fall when they move much quicker than they do in the summer.
Lastly, I kited with both Jason and Ralph (I'm going to start calling him that) on Saturday. We had an awesome session and it's great to see Jason back to his old self. It was only a year ago they told his parents there was virtually no hope. Paul, you did an amazing job, thanks.
Al