Commute By Kite In Toronto
70-kilometer Round Trip
It has been insanely gorgeous day here in Toronto today. The weather forecast had promised a sunny and very hot Friday with fairly strong southwest winds around 20 knots. Severe thunderstorms were not expected until late in the evening. The whole kitesurfing community in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) was stoked and the emails about locations and meeting times had already started to fly back and forth on Thursday.
Most of my kitesurfing buddies were going to be at Cherry Beach on the east side of the city. As I live at the west end, I usually commute to Cherry through the downtown core and its horrendous traffic. Today, however, I concluded it was the perfect day to finally execute my long planned “commute by kite extravaganza.”
I started at Humber Bay Park West at my usual launch spot by Etobicoke Yacht Club at 3:30pm. The wind had picked up much later than forecast but it was nice and steady. I kited along the break-wall at Sunnyside to Ontario Place and then traversed through some open water towards Hanlan’s Point Beach.
When I approached the west shore of Toronto Island at 4pm, all kites were surprisingly lying on the beach. I saw guys impatiently waiting for the wind to pick up and I imagined how shocking it must have been for them to see a lone kiter appearing out of the distance and then kiting right by them further down the coast. Indeed, the wind was lighter along the beach but it was still plenty strong enough for my 15m kite. This was the only part of my trip where I kited close to a beautiful sandy beach and so I would have been in no danger had the wind decided to die off completely. It would have been just a long and expensive ride back home by ferry and taxi.
When I turned around Gibraltar Point, the wind became even lighter. I cautiously continued towards Cherry and hoped to see some kites in the distance. As I got a bit closer, it became apparent that nobody else was kiting. I became a bit worried because I knew my friends were well equipped for light-wind kiting. “By the way, where were those 20 knots forecast for today?” I decided to traverse over to the Light House to have a better look at the beach. From my new vantage point Cherry Beach looked so colorful; there must have been at least 15 kites pumped and ready for some action. I decided to “hold” in the vicinity just like an airplane that can’t get to its destination due to fog. I stayed by Bird Sanctuary and enjoyed riding in its flat water. There was enough wind there even for some jumps. After a while, I saw one kiter on the water and I knew it was Paul aka PBK. Paul, though one of the most skilled kiters in Toronto, seemed to be fighting with light and sketchy wind along the beach and so I kept “holding” around Bird Sanctuary and Danger Bay.
I looked at my watch and it was almost 5pm. Five o’clock was my predetermined turn-around time to start my way back home. I exchanged greetings with Paul, who was kiting at Danger Bay with me by then, and started to tack upwind towards Humber. The wind finally picked up and I was sure the kites at Cherry finally got some flying time. Unfortunately, it was too late for me to stay and play. When I reached Hanlan’s Point, all kites were up and I saw lots of people riding. The wind must have been around 17 knots and the jumps were massive. After having some fun with local kiters there, I started the Humber Bay cross. My dilemma was whether I should stay close to the shore where the winds were super gusty in these conditions or whether I should just shoot straight across this 7-kilometer bay with its choppy swell. As I had my usual “long-range kiting safety equipment” with me and the wind was steady, I decided to “go for it” straight across. At times I was more than 2 kilometers offshore and admittedly I was taking big chances! Had I had an equipment failure or any different kind of trouble, I would have been in deep, deep trouble. With the sunset approaching and heavy thunderstorms around the corner, I sincerely doubt I would have been able to reach the shore on my own at all!
Fortunately, in 20 minutes, I was safely back at Humber. I felt ecstatic because I knew that I had just completed a 50-kilometer round-trip in conditions that most kiters couldn’t even ride. Rejuvenated by this small personal triumph, I decided to continue further west to Colonel Sam Smith Park to visit a small group of kiters that I saw on the horizon. Even though these were grueling upwind tacks and my legs were burning from exhaustion, it didn’t take long to reach the group of kiters. I kited with them for a while, visited the flat waters of the local marina, made a few farewell jumps, and started my way back home. On my departure, one kiter shouted at me to ask where I came from. When I shouted back “Cherry Beach,” he couldn’t wrap his head around it and truly, neither could I.
The thunderstorm clouds were ominously closing in and so I knew I had to hurry home. I landed at my launch site just before 7pm with a huge smile on my face. “What a day and what a feat! My summer was complete.”
Edit 2020: This was my first cross of Humber Bay. Little did I know at the time how tricky and dangerous this bay really is. Having said that, little did I also know that this cross would eventually become absolutely routine for me . I love my home kiting spot!
TRIP STATISTICS ____________________________________________ Plotted trip distance: 40 km Total kiting distance: 70.73km Total time on the water: 3 hours 20 min. Maximum speed: 33.1 km/h Average speed: 21.2 km/h Wind direction: SW Wind speed: 8-18 knots Calories burned: 1634 kcal Recovery time: 30 hours Kite: Flysurfer Speed3 15m Board: Vagabond (Custom dagger TT board) ____________________________________________ Interactive map and detailed statistics: SUUNTO Ambit2