movin’ on over

hello all, i am moving over from the reef warrior page

http://reefwarriors.wordpress.com  for any new readers.

these are some past adventures and such with more to come soon.

7/28/11

Rain makes corn, corn makes whiskey…

Hello reef warriors,

It has been a while since I have found the time to keep you all up to date. Computer problems are  the 1st reason I have been tardy on updates,  the 2nd and real reason is the weather has been to darn good to find the time to post. Please forgive me.

Last week Casey and I got in a good surf session at wildwood. Thursday the 21st turned into a good windsurf day with some good sup waves as the sun set. Casey, Amanda, and Sharon got some good rides on the reef. Gail and I missed out due to packing for a road trip to Iowa.

Why Iowa you ask? We were on a “paddle-tisum” . Our trip would culminate with  the baptism of our nephew Bennet in Iowa. The paddle part was to see how many different water ways we could try out.

Our 1st stop was just east of Cleveland, had to bid farewell to our old friend Lake Erie. We found a nice public park with a nice beach and threw the boards in the water for a paddle down the coast to a light house. No waves in sight so back we paddled, loaded up, and went on our merry way.

Our next stop was in Michigan city, Indiana to put our paddle in Lake Michigan.   www.michigancityparks.com  We found another nice park with a boat launch , marina,and  a beautiful beach. After a short walk to explore the area and stretch our legs, we decided to start paddling around the marina, very cool way to see some big power and sailing yachts. A few folks asked just what we were doing, standing on surfboards like that. After the trip around the marina we headed out into the channel. A short paddle down river lead us under the bridge into the park and into the backyards of the folks who live along the waterway. Near the coast guard station there was a very nice lighthouse. The next leg of this paddle took us out into the lake, along an old abandon pier and light house, to our west were some very impressive dunes, Indiana dunes state park. A little too far away on this trip but something to check out if you are in the area. During our paddle in I caught the only wave of the trip, made by a jet ski wake. By now the sun was setting and we were a couple of tired and hungry travelers. Hotel/ dinner /early to bed. We had just fallen asleep and were startled awake by a drum line practicing of a weekend competition. At 1st we thought some one was stealing our boards, then maybe fire works, and finally realised it was marching band drum corps. Over breakfast the waitress clued us in  about the drumline competition. Mystery solved.

Back in the car, next stop the Mississippi River. Hoping to paddle in the Mississippi we planned to stop in Rock Island, Illinois  www.rigov.org where there seemed to be good launch areas, but our  plans were derailed (pun intended) by a steam engine show which we had to check out. Unfortunately our time was running short and we could not see as much as we would have liked we will plan a return trip soon. Rock Island looked like a very fun area to explore.

Before we cross the river into Iowa I would like to side bar here. While in Illinois, I saw signs for what may be the best name for a strip club ever. POLEKATZ, it says it all. www.polekatzchicago.net

On we traveled into Iowa, rolling hills and corn fields. Hence the title of this post. Now I thought I was going to see life like a country music video, Pick -up trucks full of country boys and girls getting down on the farm, ect. No  such luck, just corn and rolling hills. Our truck with sup boards strapped up top did stand out like a sore thumb though!

After all the family get together’s were completed we needed to get our feet wet, so we set out looking for water. A map showed the Iowa river was not to far away from our hotel, ( not to far away is a matter of perspective in Iowa I think,15 mile is close, 25 is not to far away), with a couple of canoe launch site clearly marked. Great, should be fun. Wrong ,when we finally came to the lauch site, after off roading a 1/2 mile the clearing had quite a Deliverance feel, I could almost here the dueling Banjo’s in the back ground. After a short discussion regarding our safety we got out of there and did some sight-seeing.

Sunday afternoon brought another family get together, where we shared our tales of no surf in Iowa with those who would listen. After dinner we headed back to the hotel. Along the way we saw signs for Lake Iowa and thought why not, we came to paddle, so lets paddle. Close to the highway, (remember,close is 15 miles.) we found a nice size lake with great scenery and got in a nice trip ending paddle session. We chatted with a few folks who had “never seen any thing like that before” about our boards.

If you ever find your self near any of these locations check them out. All were great fun and very scenic. You can’t go wrong!

The next morning brought an early start, long drive and the welcome sight of Lake Erie and the reef we call home. It’s always good to be home.

more links and photo’s coming soon.

6/6/11

We went down to the river and into the river we…….

……paddled. Sunday afternoon a few of us, Randy & Sharon, Gail & I, & Joel H. met up with the gang from the western new york windsurfing association www.wnywa.com on grand island. They were hosting a rep. from RRD www.robertoriccidesigns.com for a paddleboard demo day.

Tony from www.a-o-sports.com  was on site with a whole whack of boards, windsurf, paddlesurf and everything in between. Tony was very knowledgable and generous in letting us try out all the gear.

Paddleboards were tested all around. We tried every RRD board available and many of the wnywa group tried out or stuff as well. After much testing we took off on a distance paddle down the mighty Niagara, still switching boards along the way. During our trip downstream many cruisers passed us causing some big enough wakes to try out river surfing. We all got a few short rides. It was a very nice scenic fun paddle, sharing stories with our new friends.

About a mile from the take out spot, Joel H. decided we had paddled enough and suggested we head back. Call us stupid, stubborn, or just silly reef warrior pride we proceed to paddle back 2 plus miles to where we put in, against the current. Tony joined us for the paddle back. During our return trip i could see cars with boards and people being shuttle back to the starting point. I kept telling myself they did not get as good a workout as the rest of us.

A wonderful chicken dinner awaited us (lucky I paddle all that extra way, I could have a 2nd helping), care of Robin & Doug & the rest of our great hosts. The group was very welcoming and generous with their gear, as much as we are here at the reef. A heartfelt Thanks to the wnywa for inviting us the this event. You are all welcome here any time. Also thanks to Tony and RRD for letting us try all the boards. Maybe we can have an event like this in the future.

So, what did we think of the boards we tried?

All the RRD boards were very stable and comfortable to paddle. They were all windsurf compatible, a great feature, and they all seemed priced very reasonable, making them a good bang for you buck.

The 12′ cruiser model did not seem to have the glide I would have thought for such a board.

The 10′ & 10’6″ diamond series that I tried did not have enough volume for me but would be great for a lighter rider. Gail really felt the 1o’6″ board was the best she tried. It tracked well, easy and quick to turn. A better ride than its 11′ brother.

The WASSUP series 11′ seemed to be the favorite among the rest of us. Wide and stable, good glide and tracking, and should catch a wave easy. A nice board.

My favorite of the bunch was the WASSUP 10′ stinger. Good glide, nice volume, wide and stable, but easy to turn. This board should be fun on a wave, if you are paddle surfing or windsurfing. If you were only going to by one board for all you needs I think this could be the one.

Joel, Randy, & Sharon fell in love with the fire move windsurf board but will probably wait for the twin fin model to come out in 2012.

Thanks again to all the great folks we met, looking forward to seeing you here at the reef in the future.

5/28/11

Lets go surfin’ now, everybody’s learnin’ how….

I would like to welcome into the reef warrior SUP ranks, Stan & Petra, and Dave & Michelle.  D&M are getting a Blend, a sweet ride I must say.  www.curtissportconnection.com   S&P have bought a  used Mistral Pacifico, one of the 1st SUP boards to surf the reef.

There is also a lot of new gear showing up here. The possum has a new windsurf board, Joel H. has been spending his kids college fund and has reloaded his quiver with a new J.P. 118 freeride board and some new sails. The afore-mentioned S&P added 103 Kode this winter season,as well. R&S added some much-needed sails, along with a glass bottom boat. We are all waiting for the arrival of Moondoggies new ripper, it should be on the way here any day now. There should also be many new trainer kites in the sky, as the need for wind and water time increases.

Speaking of wind and water, way to much rain and little or no wind. (thank goodness for rum) We are all starting to get a little crazy here on the reef, desperate times call for desperate measures . Do we need a sacrifice? Should we resort to voodoo or black magic? How can we break this string of bad weather days?

I think it is time for a rum while I try to find a solution to this dilemma.

Paddle On, Lou

5/25/11

Good days, sunshine……

Well, we finally had a good weekend here on the reef.  Saturday became “demo” day as we tried out many paddleboards to get some newbies on the water. Derek, Robin, Dave and Michelle all became hooked and started paddleboard shopping.

Still no wind or waves on the weekend but lots of fun in the sun.

Monday brought some waves, Casey got out early in the day (he was off) while Gail and i had to wait till after work and caught the last remnants of waves. Gail’s  new blend  caught some good waves and finally  the curse was lifted, we shall now have waves more frequently (I hope).

Looking forward to the weekend now, see you on the water.

5/16/11

For those 5 days in May…

After a nice week in which I got out 6 of the 7 days paddleboarding  including 5 in a row (just flat water,  where are the waves?), twice on Ellicott creek and the rest on the very flat surface of lake Erie. Gail got to try out her new Blend as well a couple of times on the lake. Her words “This board is like cheating, it does everything so easy”.  Derek got out for a try on a paddleboard also, borrowing Randy’s big easy. He still has it going on at 70+ years young. I think he will be surfing in no time( if we ever get any waves, that is!). By the way, the lake is warming up slowly, your feet turn to ice-cubes in a short time as opposed to immediately, just ask Casey.

Looking forward, the May 2-4 weekend is upon us which means the 1st (canadian) bacon friday of the season. Now remember the goal is to enjoy bacon with every meal.  I am planning a happy hour treat that should be bacon-licious.

Bacon fridays are enjoyed the friday before a monday holiday thru the summer season. (may to october) Your task is to find fun ways to enjoy everyone’s favorite meat treat. Have fun.

5/8/11

A bottle of red, a bottle of white…

Another good weekend here in reef warrior country. Gidget got out on her new Blend, even caught a little ripple of a wave. We got a lot of work done here at ledge 12. I would say we are open for business.

R&S treated D&M, Derek, and G& me to a great dinner on saturday, good food, good times here’s to more nites like that.

As the sunset on saturday J&H got out for their inaugural paddle of the season.

Sunday brought some north winds and the annual putting down of the stairs. The work party moved efficiently along the waterfront and soon beach access was available for all. Stan and Petra were welcomed back after spending the winter in florida. We are all looking forward to trying out Stans new Kode.

After lunch Gail and  I got out for a paddle to work off the previous evenings festivities. Shortly after R&S borrowed our boards for the same reason and to try out the new Blend.

Thanks to M&C for the cool reef warrior stickers. If you don”t have one yet, get one.

As with all good things the weekend draws to a close, dinner is on the grill and the work week beckons.

5/2/11

There’s This One Particular Harbor, So Far but yet So Near…

Great to get back to the beach, and saturday was finally a nice day to work on getting opened up. It is always hard to get anything done around here early in the season because you spend a lot of time catching up with friends and neighbors, which seems to make all the work more worth it.

D&M showed up for a quick beer break as they were doing the same on their end of the beach.

After getting caught up we found time for a paddle out to the wreck and down to H-bay. I tried in vain to catch a few small ripples for a ride.

A little later  Moondoggie  & Possum got out for an evening paddle. Now I wasn’t sure but I really thought we were the 1st reef warriors on the lake this year only to find out R&S beat us all to it with a paddle among the icebergs a few weeks earlier. If they have photos we will get them posted.

The evening brought on an impromptu rum quest with Derek, C&A, R&S, Gidget and myself. The rum and company were delightful. An early night was had by all as we were all pretty wiped out by all the work of the day.

It is good to be home.

4/11/11

Old Black Water

Got out on the creek again, saturday afternoon with Casey, and sunday with Gail. Casey and I explored a different branch of the creek, a nice scenic trip, while Gail and I did the round trip we tried the week earlier.  We finally had a warm weekend , t-shirts and shorts compared to wetsuits and sweatshirts the week before. Looking forward to more warm weather.  This flat water touring is a nice way to get on the water when away from the reef but I can”t wait for some waves.

4/3/11

Up on Cripple Creek

Well, maybe up on Ellicott Creek. After 5 months of not being on the water and having recently purchased some 7mm wetsuit booties and wetsuit pants, www.wetsuitwearhouse.com we could hardly wait for a warm enough day to get out and paddle.

Finally a nice Saturday. We loaded up the truck and off we went. After some dicussion we decided to head to Ellicott creek near the University of Buffalo North Campus. Found a nice place to park and put in and away we go. Paddling east toward the campus. After a short distance we came upon a creek street sign and took a left, down an arm of the creek we headed into a swampy, deliverance looking world     Lots of deadfall under the surface, one even tripped me up, but my cat like reflexes kept me on the board. ( cats hate to get wet and hate to fall in and will do anything to prevent that from happening. Did you really think I meant I was graceful?)  We startled a herd of deer hanging out in the woods, I caught sight of them but Gail, the camera woman of the day, was not paying attention. We also came across some turtles sun bathing on a log as well as a nesting mallard. More geese and ducks were met along the way.

Returning to the the main creek branch we continued east a ways. Not finding anything of interest we headed back and took the earlier tributary the opposite way. Under the bridge we could hear the traffic of the I-990 rush by. Those poor souls have no idea what the are missing down here. Paddling through some current and a wind tunnel we found ourselves in the backyards of the folks who live along the creek. Our watery highway wound and curved around and back again making for a fun little adventure.

About 2 miles up steam we could hear the roar of traffic and new we were getting near to Niagara Falls Boulavard. We came upon another creek street sign pointing our way back to the truck, a long paddle back into the wind and current. All told our little afternoon shakedown cruise took us about 5 miles and we spent about 2 hours with our feet firmly planted on our boards, a very delightful way to kick off the 2011 paddle season.

ps. our new booties were wonderful, feet warm and dry!

3/28/11

Ice, Ice, Baby

has any one checked out the ice on lake erie? it has suddenly disappeared. last week there was about 1/2 a lake full and today it is down to a 1/4 or less.  check out the coast watch link.

http://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/modis/region_map.html

Jive Talking

here is a video of phil soltysiak at the reef. listen to the jive talk in the background

Splish Splash

going through some video from last summer and i found this little clip, thought it might bring a smile or two.

March 19, 2011

Under the moonlight, the serious moonlight.

Happy spring all you reef warriors. Only a matter of time and we will be sipping rum together. In the mean time enjoy tonights full moon. It will be the closest to the earth that it has been since 1993.
Enjoy, Lou