... the storm (above?) that was coming in over the Adirondacks behind us. In the end, we waited out a little rain, had another beer and then set off to follow the gang - of whom there was no sign by now. We had dawdled for about a mile in 5 knots of breeze when suddenly the water darkened in front of us and seconds later we were in a good 20 knots of breeze. "Spinnaker weather," said Frank. And a fine ride it was. It seemed like seconds later that we were getting close to the cliffs north of Button Bay. Even Al was getting a bit nervous about the proximity of the cliffs by the time Frank finally consented to dousing the spinnaker. But Frank had not had nearly enough! In increasing winds, we beat back up the lake with Jake Maarse whom we had crossed going the other way near the end of our ride. This time we wanted to get upwind enough that we could plane straight into Button Bay and, we hoped, tempt one or another of our guys to record our ride on film. So we slogged up to the lighthouse again, popped the chute and settled in for a great ride. Both of us sat well aft so that only the leeward quarter of SHADES was touching the water. Minutes later, we entered Button Bay in a cloud of spray. It had been a super ride, admirable even by the high standards of a windsurfer whom we met while hauling out a few minutes later. Sadly the beach and the cliff were empty, so our ride went photographically unnoticed.

Since Frank had to leave early the next morning and take SHADES to Ottawa with him for the following week's Ontario Championships (to save Al two long tows), we decided to haul out right away. No sooner said than done. With an evening out at Rosie's Restaurant  ahead of us, we grabbed the showers while they were sure to still be hot. Then we returned to the cliff to watch for boats.