We got married Tuesday.

October 8th 2013 - Heidi and I got Married. We wanted to do this soon, and since there are so many changes coming ahead, now in Texas made sense for us.

The lake is beautiful and a big part of our recent lives, why not have the ceremony out on the lake ? Lake side? no Lake ON.

So we paddled on out. Heidi's Mom in the tandem kayak, Rev. Danny Jones in the Canoe. Heidi and I on windsurf boards.

It was a beautiful, calm, quiet, warm evening on the lake, somehow we managed to find the entire lake to ourselves.

We formed our flotilla, read some passages, said a few things, exchanged a few vows. Gloria gave Heidi away. We exchanged rings, (mine made from the nose plate of my favourite glider).

Rev. Dan did the paperwork, and boom, the big plunge, a wet kiss indeed !

And off into the sunset we paddled, husband and wife.

Thanks Rev. Danny ! A very momentous occasion.

Hang gliding behind a boat on Canyon Lake

I was lucky enough to receive a visit from Greg Ludwig this passed Thursday, he brought his whole boat towing operation (Lake Shore Hang Gliding) up to Canyon Lake.

Of course the first thing that crossed my mind was cool! - I could take Heidi up! and so we did :) On the most beautiful day.

We went up just after Greg had finished teaching his morning class. I'm convinced teaching from a boat is a far safer way to go in Texas. Especially solo anyway. The water is warm, clean and considerably softer than baked dirt. Thermals and gusts lose their edge over the water.

Heidi and I pinned off at 1600ft over the lake, and lazily flew around, taking in the scenery. A few neighbors even spotted us :) 

Tracy flew solo a few times, great to see.

Then we took her son Hunter up a couple of times, and his girlfriend Jess. With the wind change we were landing over by the Baja BBQ, to be setup for the next tow.

I love sliding in on the water, coming from the california coast where water and hang gliders don't mix, landing on the water is a neat novelty.

As you can see, I wasn't the only one to think so. Fabulous BBQ back at our place afterwards, Thanks Greg and Kim for making the trip. Hope to see you again soon :)

The flight home

The long anticipated flight finally happened Saturday. It was everything I thought it should be. The lake is very pretty from the air, and its of course interesting flying over somewhere you are familiar with from a ground bound perspective.

I teamed up with Nate for the flight and towed up first. I was climbing through 6000ft when Nate launched. I think the clouds were starting to street from the south at that point, there surely was  a lot of sink around the airport. I thought Nate would take a second tow, but my radio was misbehaving, so I wasn't sure what was happening down there.

I waited around the airport for an hour but no relight, so I decided it was time to get going.

At 38 miles, it's not a hugely impressive task, but it is challenging, due to airspace and long tree crossings.

The wind was East so a complete tailwind, which made getting through the airspace a cake walk. Interestingly the cloud streets were north south, 90 degrees to the wind below cloud base. There was plenty of sink between the streets.

At this point (9000ft over pergatory) I knew I had the lake made. Unfortunately it's also when my camera battery quit. So I guess I will have to fly the route again.

I was in no hurry to land, so I noodled my way to the lake under the hazy areas, too minimize the sink, and got to lake at 6500ft. Plenty enough for a nice lap. I landed across the street from the bar in a freshly bailed hay field, where Heidi was waiting, with the video camera. I was in smooth widespread -500fpm, which made landing a piece of cake.

Landing at Canyon Lake Vimeo.

more windsurfing

Jacobs creek park - much better place to launch from. I've been improving day on day. Although the wind is finally calming down into what I understand is the normal summer pattern. When it was windy the other day, Ricker came down and played. He had so much fun, remembering how he used to windsurf, he returned the following week with a quiver of equipment.

I don't think I stayed on the board to much long after hitting this wave, but I figure it's a cool shot. I'm still trying to figure out good ways and places to mount the camera. Some of the wipe outs have lead my to believe I'm lucky to have not destroyed or lost the camera yet.

I've been picking up tips from Mike, Jack, Jim the local guys here, Also tips out of this book There are many things to learn of course. The tiny differences in setup have dramatic differences in handling. Mike has generously also lent me a board and harness to try out, which made me realize how bad the equipment was I had.

Now it's even more fun. The winds on the lake can often be gusty, leading to some fast crashes. Think I skipped on the water 3 times on Monday, still a bit sore !

This is probably more what things should look like, although the sail is too slack and the boom to high, but at least the mast foot is in a better position.

Messing about with a windsurfer.

I tried Windsurfing way back when I was 14 or something like. I never got that good, but now living almost on a really inviting lake it'd be a waste not to play with it some more.

There's a put-in spot just 5 mins away and it's generally pretty windy (which is among many reasons I've not been flying much recently).

It's really nice to be able to go for a quick sail after work. And go cool off in this hot, humid environment. The water is pretty clear and a good temperature.

There's a fun crowd here giving me a ton of helpful advice and lending me stuff. I got brave enough to put the camera on the boom last attempt :)

Next I need to tack, jibe and water start. I've been having some spectacular crashes maybe I'll run some video ;)

A huge thanks to Zac for delivering my forgotten mast :)

Nice lake day

Last week, we had an exceedingly sunny warm pleasant day, so I grabbed the camera and went for a run.

It was my birthday so I somehow justified taking some time scrambling around these rocks and stumbled upon this cave.

The morning light and calm air really made the rocks come alive.

Later on, the wind remained calm and air warm, it was too tempting to throw the kayak in the water.

Heidi and I headed out passed the harbor

and noticed a collection of trees poking out the water. There was an Osprey perched right there.

What a fantastic way to enjoy a spectacular sunset.