VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

I'm looking at rentals in Victoria and a factor is how easily I could get away for windsurfing after work in the summer. I am no stranger to light wind and can slog my foil gear out easily, so long as I've got 10-12kts I'm flying.
Can you give any insight specifically for areas that are worth considering? Trying to bicycle commute into the base and I think I could manage cook st for the right place.
Have any you ever launched from Esquimalt or Vic West?
I'm guessing that Colwood/Langford doesn't offer much.

Seems like a silly requirement but my wife is certain I'll be bummed if I can only get out on weekends.

Thanks,
Grant

I used to windsurf at Esquimalt Lagoon all the time. Great spot!
It's really nice on SW or SSW. Its usually west though which works too but tends to be gusty. It's a bit better further out.
I wrote a bunch of stuff in the forum about it years ago. Just do a search for
Esquimalt Lagoon.
Good luck!

Langford is a happy medium between a quick drive to Gordons and downtown. Downtown if you're near cook street it's alright, but I prefer gordons.

Also the added benefit of a little closer to the south island surf spots... I mean what South Island surf spots. lol

So no giant wind shadow in the lagoon? Foils handle gusts well enough if they aren't huge and short duration. You can keep going through some deep lulls.
Is NW a common wind direction in the summer? Anyone launched from the Work Point area?

I don't surf anymore.....

Yeah I'd add Esquimalt Lagoon to the list too, especially if you only need 10 or 12 knots for the foil. Jeeze at 10 or 12 knots, Elk Lake might make a come back for windsurfing!

Needs a constant 10 to pump on with a 7.4, basically a few white caps and you are in business. Had a 5.7 out in 12-15 today and was totally happy. Plus if you can fly at all you can do it upwind.
Really opens up a lot of marginal days.

I think I probably go to esquimalt lagoon the most these days. As the guide says the earlier you go the more SW it is and the less gusty. As the day rolls on it often swings more offshore and gusty. A lot of my days there I'll ride for 15 minutes then my kite will Hindenburg and I'll spend 5 drifting. It's just part of the personality of the spot and honestly it usually just makes me laugh when it happens. I'll take it for the 5 minute drive and sandy beach. I've Windsurfed 4.7 there and it's smoother at those speeds but in the low teens expect some intermittent slogging. In the winter you can get cranking SE there but usually it doesn't make it past clover and it will instead be light NE at Esq.

nanmoo wrote:I think I probably go to esquimalt lagoon the most these days. As the guide says the earlier you go the more SW it is and the less gusty. As the day rolls on it often swings more offshore and gusty. A lot of my days there I'll ride for 15 minutes then my kite will Hindenburg and I'll spend 5 drifting. It's just part of the personality of the spot and honestly it usually just makes me laugh when it happens. I'll take it for the 5 minute drive and sandy beach. I've Windsurfed 4.7 there and it's smoother at those speeds but in the low teens expect some intermittent slogging. In the winter you can get cranking SE there but usually it doesn't make it past clover and it will instead be light NE at Esq.

So a 15 on/5 off cycle? That's pretty manageable unless it's worse down on the deck rather than kite height.
Unfortunately with my work days I won't hit the water in summer until 5:00-5:30 so getting anywhere early isn't likely.

My thoughts on the Victoria side were Clover PT for W the summer then Willows for the winter.
On weekends I'm willing to burn a lot of fuel to chase wind.

I am wondering where these big sails windfoiling come from?
I sailed with Peter Lederer the owner and designer of LP foils in Hood River. He never sailed anything bigger than a 5.2 and on a 105L. I see the guys here at the lake on 140L boards and big sails. I tried it out and found the board was so big it was really a factor once foiling. On the smaller board and smaller sail I could pump the sail and board onto foil much easier and it was a lot less cumbersome once riding.

Hey Grant! You have been foiling for over a decade if memory serves me. Well before it was on the radar. We hope you join us again back in Vic/Gordon's. Is this the Grant that used to live in Sidney area with webcam?

I"m sure you can handle the gusts at Esquimalt Lagoon getting out there to where the wind is more steady. I think the bridge end is the most wind. I kited and windsurfed there for a few years with my bro W247. It is doable but not if you can't handle the gusts and massive lulls. Also Witty's Lagoon is another potential spot but the water depth going out from the beach
is very gradual so you will have a lot of walking in the water to get out.

The great thing about this light and heavy wind sport is that many more areas are opened up for sailing if there is any wind. Wahoo. I know I'm very stoked about foiling and there are 3 or 4 of us here at Gordon's that are very into it.

105L is a sinker for me.
Up until recently a foil was something I only used in very light wind, where I am near Bellingham has a thermal of 8-12kts. That takes a lot more than a sub-5m sail at my weight.
PWA guys are on 9.5m

Pasta: I've been windsurfing just under two years so that definitely wasn't me, foiling only a few dozen times.

ha ha. hilarious. you have the same first and last name as the other guy, well as far as you can read into your handle.

MacDonald is the rest, its unusual for a Scot to have Grant as a first name.

Are all the foilers out with kites or are there some pole sailors too?
I initially felt like a foil was an accessory to extend my wind range down (it does) but it seems to keep a big board fun into more wind than I initially thought.
I'm still in the stage of learning where going where I want is plenty of challenge, gybes are a fantasy just yet.

I think you are thinking of gmac pasta!

yes I am fo sho