Big Boat Brian and the Launch Pad

Brian had heard about the Launch Pad from the Ports Guide and Fogh Marine. He reached out looking for some wing foiling lessons. He and Irene were on a boating adventure through the 30,000 islands.

They arrived on Monday and after doing some good investigation about the depth of the Launchpad Harbour (4.5 feet), Brian felt confident backing the 40 foot trawler into our new dock. I was quite impressed with the teamwork, skill and confidence they demonstrated.

Turns out he and Irene have extensive boat and sailing experience having sailed across the Atlantic. We got to know each other and settled in and look forward to Tuesday’s weather forecast, which was hopefully going to have a bit more wind than the 5 knots predicted.

Tuesday started with light and variable winds, but by the time we had done our introduction inside and started carrying gear to the point the wind was coming from the southwest. That’s the typical Key Harbour thermal.

I convinced Brian that it would be a good idea to try windsurfing first. He had never really done it but with his small and large sailboat experience, I figured he would be a natural.

Indeed, he was showing great skill on the wobbly simulator so it wasn’t too long until I suggested to go out on the actual water. I put him on the big Fanatic Viper HD board with the 2.6 Fanatic ripper rig. He liked how easy it was to uphaul versus the sail that he had tried thirty years ago.

He was a natural being able to stay balanced on the board and get going in both directions. A few tacks and jibes and with a bit of help upwind he was able to then sail right back to the point where Irene and the dog Molly were ready to cheer him on.

The water is super clear right now so I was able to take photos of the old cribs in the harbour where 100 years ago iron ore and coal freighters used to offload in the same harbour that Brian was now windsurfing in.

After lunch, it was time to try the wing foil. I set up the WeCanFoil North demo board in the new garage. We had good technical discussion. It’s very fun to have student who is as into Sail GP as we are. I think we’ll be seeing each other in Halifax in June next year for the Canadian Sail GP event!

I towed the board up to the point and did a quick demo using my larger 8m Duotone Ventis wing in the 8-10 knot winds. Jen joined us at the point for a few tips too.

Brian had pumped up the North 5m wing and found the it to be quite fun to play with kneeling and standing up on my foam “board” on the rock.

Then we spent some time on the simulator with Brian wanting to learn steering with the wing a bit better. Turns out it works very similarly to steering with a windsurfing rig.

Finally, it was time to get on the water. The North Seek 6’4” board is just as wobbly on water as my simulator is on land. He quickly figured it out. He learned the cadence of the foil and he was able to kneel and taxi in both directions.

I towed to him back up wind with the SeaDoo and again he got back to the point. He hadn’t tried standing yet, but it was 5 o’clock. Judging by his comment later in the evening; thinking he already had TWO days of lessons - we probably did enough for ONE day!

Jen and I got a lovely tour of the 40 foot Mainship boat "Sapphire" and we all enjoyed some drinks in the upper cockpit admiring the view, the wind and the construction progress at the Launch Pad.

Wednesday afternoon began with Brian trying the Duotone iRIG medium sized windsurfing sail. Since it is similar to the wing in construction it is a natural and logical thing to try. He did great on it and then I set up the larger and traditional Duotone Now 3.2 sail. It was interesting to see him compare the two. Now that he was more comfortable windsurfing it was easier to use the heavier rig too. I think the iRIG definitely wins on the ease of storing and rigging on a boat.

Wednesday evening with lower wind and flat water was the time to try the foil behind the boat. First I put Brian on the balance board simulator and he did really well. We had a good discussion about the foil and how it works and how to foil safely.

With Jen driving I did a few runs to show both how to do it, and how to fall carefully.

Brian decided to try the foil on his knees which worked really well. On the second try he got up for a brief flight. His third try had him doing a sustained flight for over a minute Wow! Way better than anyone had expected. He even had a moment to do a thumbs up for the camera! Pretty amazing for Brian’s 71 years of age. Foil mission an accomplished!

Thursday started with no wind but good afternoon convection wind prospects. It was a busy one at the Launch Pad with another construction barge load arriving. So I couldn’t start our WeCanFoil demo session until later in the day. Fun small world - Brian did get to meet our neighbour Bill who has family in Grand Bend.

The wind was 12 knots so I did a little demo while walking through the basics over the bbTalkin headsets.

Then Brian got on the demo gear and had a great run out toward Diamond Key. He managed to taxi in both directions on his knees. And the did the same standing using the ABK “old man” standing trick (push down on the wing in the water while standing up). He also made use of the Max Robinson back foot on the board while standing from your knees trick. Brian was now officially a stand up winger.

Another tow upwind and Brian winged standing back to the point. Irene and Molly were excited to see him and I congratulated Brian on all his accomplishments.

We ended the visit with cocktails, cookies and wonderful discussions on their top deck.

What will Brian pursue? Wingfoil lessons with Dasher in Bonaire or ABK in Hatteras? A nice big windsurf board similar to the Duotone Viper HD (maybe an inflatable board?) and a medium Duotone iRIG to keep onboard for nice days cruising around the many harbours they visit?

I do know I look forward to keeping in touch with Brian and Irene and the Launch Pad will be ready for them for a repeat visit.