White Toddler Bed

It's nice, but....

I saw this bed for sale on Kijiji. It's a white toddler bed, but what if your child isn't white??

The Saint John Windsurfing Crew

There were eight of us on the water yesterday...all men. Question: where are all the windsurfing girls? Answer: dunno.

We men folk enjoyed a windy and sunny day in Saint John (almost unheard of). It was a refreshing change from the week before where the wind played tricks on us and the rain washed away any hope for fun.

The wind was in the 40-60 km/h range and it blew from one side of the Kennebecasis to the other. Glorious!

Why Is That Tree Red?

It's happening...the leaves on the trees are beginning to turn red. This means two things:
1) the landscape it about to become spectacularly attractive,
2) summer is officially over.

I woke up this morning to find a fog blanketing the lake. If I had a yacht at my mooring then I wouldn't have been able to see it on account of the fog. Think pea soup for breakfast.

This picture was taken yesterday afternoon, pre-fog. Gorgeous, but fleeting.

Say No To Drugs And Thugs

A friend just sent me this image.

In the picture I'm talking (or negotiating??)  with my Cambridge-Narrows neighbour in les Iles de la Madeleine.

It was pretty cool to have two Cambridge-Narrows friends in les Iles at the same time that I was there.

They were there on their motorcycles. Who's the crazy one...me or them?

Strange Day - Bay of Fundy Version

Crazy Dave Stares Down The Beast (the beast wins!)

With a forecast of 40-80 km/h you'd think that I would have been flying across the waves. Guess again. Not enough wind to plane on a 106 litre board and a 5.2 sail. But wait....a second attempt sees me get away from the beach and plane ever so slightly, then back into shore. Again I try to head out but this time there's not enough wind to even get started and break through the relentlessly incoming waves.

I grab my windsurfer and walk back across the beach to my car. I give up. It simply isn't worth the effort.

Minutes after de-rigging, the wind gets up. Now it's so windy that crazy Dave Cuthbertson can't even get through the incoming waves, some of which are about 6 feet high and breaking 50 feet from shore. Plenty of wind but the waves are incapacitating. Dave gives up. Rick Lawrence gives up. Doug Justason gives up. Leonard Dow gives up.

Bay of Fundy: 1    
Windsurfers: 0

Downwinder

Yesterday, September 15, I did a downwinder on the lake. I rigged my 5.9 sail on Janie Trebble's lawn and proceeded to windsurf home. It took three hours. Conditions ranged from intoxicatingly great to wildly frustrating. All in all, though, it was a rewarding adventure. It almost always is.

Maison encore, maison encore

(not my) artwork in the sandstone
 Dune du Sud, Iles de la Madeleine

Home again, home again. I just returned from my annual windsurfing pilgrimage to les Iles de la Madeleine. It was spectacular! I windsurfed, surfed  and stand-up paddled in eleven different locations on Havre-Aubert, Cap Aux Meules, Havre Aux Maisons, Iles Pointe Aux Loups, Grosse Ile and Grande Entrée.

I used every sail that I own (3.5, 4.2, 4.7, 5.2, 5.9 and 6.9). I spent very little time in the lagoon which was a pleasant change. I experienced very challenging surf and winds up to almost 70 km/h...and I survived. I used my 77 litre board as much as my 106 litre board. I managed four bottom turns on a single wave at Plage Portage du Cap on my last day...a triumphant finish!

Gawd it was a great 18 days!!