And so it is that the 2019 season has come to an end (for most of us). But what a year it has been! The 2019 season has crushed wind records since I began recording in 2011. It has been the single BEST season in nearly every category.
As I discuss the numbers keep in mind that I only count days when the wind
blows at least 15-20mph for at least a solid hour AND the air temperature is at least 40 degrees. The same system of measuring has been used each year for consistency and usefullness of comparability.
blows at least 15-20mph for at least a solid hour AND the air temperature is at least 40 degrees. The same system of measuring has been used each year for consistency and usefullness of comparability.
Let's start with the main data. The season began on March 28 and ended on November 27. During those 245 days there were 159 days when the wind blew at least 15-20mph for a solid hour or more and the air temp was over 40 degrees. The average windsurfing sail size on those 159 days was 5.0m and average board size 93.1 liters. This includes ONLY traditional windsurfing, NOT foiling. Yes, that means that 4.5 days per week allowed you to ride a 5.0m sail. That's pretty amazing! Compare this to 2018 which allowed you 3.8 sessions per week on a 5.2m sail, and 2017 which allowed you 3.6 sessions per week on a 5.1m sail. That's an 18.4% increase in sessions per week compared to 2018, and a 25% increase compared to 2017, plus a slightly smaller sail size. Incredible! Of the 159 sailing days there were 56 days that delivered an average sail size of 3.7m...WOW! That's almost 2 days per week on average sail size 3.7m. INCREDIBLE! And, remember, eastern Lake Erie had ice until near the end of April, so we had to rely mostly on Lake Ontario for that month.
Personally, I had a total of 66 windsurfing sessions with average sail size 4.2m and average board size 85.0 liters. This is a slightly smaller sail size than 2018 and 2017 which averaged 4.3m and 4.5m respectively, but significantly smaller board size dropping from 93.9 liters in 2018 (9.5% smaller in 2019) and 98.2 liter in 2017 (13.4% smaller in 2019). My top 20 sessions had average sail size of 3.3m which is slightly smaller than 2018 and 2017 which were both 3.4m. There were 29 sessions on 3.7m or smaller. Two of the most interesting categories in my log are "Conditions" and "Stoke". These are subjective categories that I rate on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the best and 1 being the worst). They were both significantly higher in 2019. The "Conditions" rating for 2019 is 6.0, while 2018 was 5.4, and 2017 was 5.2. The "Stoke" rating for 2019 is 6.6, while 2018 was 5.6, and 2017 was 5.4. That is as much as a 17.8% increase. A big jump in stoke and conditions. Why such a large jump? I think part of the drastic increase in rating this year is due to improvement in my personal skill level. With increased skill level comes increased stoke and the feeling that conditions are better. Plus, there was just more and better wind.
My greatest areas of improvement this year were in the carving step jibe, riding smaller boards, and carve tacking on 85 liter board. At the beginning of the year I set out with 9 goals so that I had different things to work on in different conditions. Can't really practice wave riding in flat-water conditions, for example. Of all the goals, I am most excited about my carving step jibe this season. It is a move that eludes many of us. This year the move came with a lot more time during the jibe to address each little part. Progression has reached that critical point so that the basics are now internalized, and there is now time during the jibe to more carefully focus on the finer details. Here is a brief article that you may appreciate on "Continuing To Improve".
A couple other notable items from 2019: We had a streak of 33 days of wind in a row from September 22 to October 24 with average sail size 4.8m. That's pretty cool! And the month of August was windy 27 days out of 31 days. That's amazing for August! Remember, that's at least 15-20mph wind. Wow! Lake Ontario hit record high water levels at over 249 feet in late Spring, which made it difficult to find safe launching locations. Eastern Lake Erie had ice through much of April. The storm of November 1 caused a seiche that forced water levels up 10.6 feet in Buffalo and down 2 feet in Toledo. That's almost 13 feet of water displacement. Property damage and shoreline damage is significant. Recorded wind speeds at the Buffalo Lighthouse were close to 70mph during that storm. The storm of October 27 brought winds of 50mph. While Lisa and I had a very successful session that day when the winds dropped to upper 40's, the gusts of 50mph finally convinced us to purchase a 2.7m sail. For several years we delayed this purchase, but now I wish we had done it sooner.
For us, next season will be the year of the foil. We have finally made the decision, and we have secured a board specifically for windsurf wave foiling. The foil will be ordered closer to Spring. I'm optimistic that with a little practice we will no longer need anything bigger than a 4.7m. Sometimes the winter can be long, but this new endeavor will keep us mentally excited about next April. And, who knows, there may still be a warm day in December to sneak another windsurfing session. Our gear is accessible in the garage and the snowboards are not yet loaded into the van. 2019 was an incredible season! This sport just keeps getting better and better.
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