Playing with the Big Boys
After my collision with a 35-foot sailboat earlier this season, I decided to leave those amateurs to their own fate and embarked on exploring the deeper blues of Lake Ontario, the faraway waters where only the big boys play. 😉
The massive freighter moved fast, I was rather surprised. My GPS watch showed 30-35 km/h, and at that speed, I was barely overtaking the boat. When I got close to the vessel, it was rather ominous looking and a bit scary. Only the fact that I was kitesurfing next to a commercial giant about 15 kilometers from shore was quite exhilarating to say the least. Just imagine a tiny kitesurfer next to this 630-foot long metal beast!
As I was slowly overtaking the ship, I could see 3 sailors on the bridge taking photos. They shouted something but I couldn’t hear the words. Not being sure whether they were just cheering me on or if they were unhappy about something, I kept my distance of about 50 meters from the vessel, and I was enjoying the race. Yes, I was winning but the proximity of this ugly beast in the middle of nowhere was giving me goose bumps under my wetsuit. It felt great! When I was getting closer to the front of the ship, the guys seemed to shout something again and so I slowly peeled off to the right and waved good bye. They could have been Americans, as the boat was headed towards Rochester, and I didn’t want to create any international incident or take a bullet in my ass. On the way back, I crossed the freighter’s wake and I could still feel the turbulence the props left behind. The wind was much lighter on the open water; I estimated less than 12 knots. Along the shore, the wind blew steadily at 15-18 knots the whole afternoon. Another beautiful day on the lake!
