A 2010 event that happened alongside of St. Lawrence River near Québec.View clip...

Facts

Squamish without a doubt is one of the most interesting places in Canada that you can find for windsurfing. Located at the end of Howe sound, the Squamish spit borders between the Squamish river mouth where it spills into Howe sound, and the Squamish estuary. On the far side of the estuary is Squamish terminals where during the summer large ships often dock.

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Wind

Like most thermal based winds, the wind turns mid morning building to around 20 knots just after noon. The thermals build like this almost every single sunny day from early spring through early autumn with amazing consistency. Some days the wind can build to 25 knots even 30 when the conditions are perfect. In the estuary or leeward side of the spit are great kiting conditions since kites are able to fly above the eddies created by the spit. The wind can last and even build to 8 though more often lasts until about 6.

Water

Interestingly enough, unlike the windsurfing done in most rivers, the wind blows on a diagonal in relation to the river. Due to the size of the river---at most 50 meters in width---it is very fast flowing compared to most others. I have seen it flow up to 20kph or 10 knots as I matched it driving down the spit during an extreme low tide. When sailing into the river from shore it often seems that you are barely moving. The most unique thing about this is that due to it being at the end of an inlet, it is strongly affected by the tide creating nice chop that almost stands still during high tide and perfectly flat water when the tide is low because of a sandbar that becomes exposed on the far side of the river. In turn, the water can be milky white in color and near fresh. Some days there can be a great amount of debris floating down the river that you have to watch out for. This season, a stump has lodged itself on one of the sandbars off the end of the spit.

Rig & Launch

All of the rigging is done on the mattresses setup on the spit behind a concrete barrier blocking the wind. By convention Windsurfers rig behind the wall further on the spit while Kiters setup their kites and lines on the end of the spit. The launch itself can be quite difficult. Launching on the riverside you have to deal with the river current and large rocks while on the riverside. On the estuary side you have the wind shadow from the pilings at the end of the Spit.

Warnings

You have to watch out for a lot of debris when it's low tide and in the middle of the season. Many people have broken fins, fin boxes and noses by hitting such items or the sandbars. Primarily you have to watch the river current so as not to get pushing into the Spit.

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InterviewPlease introduce yourself as an enthusiastic wind-/kitesurfer in a few sentences. I've been doing water sports for many, many years. I started out windsurfing on the St. Lawrence River in Quebec. Then I figured out that if I wanted to really windsurf, I needed wind. So I headed west to the Gorge, then to Maui, and eventually ended up in Vancouver. About nine years ago, I started kiteboarding too, thanks to some local sponsors convincing me. Now I do both. It's great to have two awesome sports like this available since conditions are so variable. :: Daniel ripping in the Gorge :: (c)image by Daniel O'Sullivan ::       You are living in the metropolitan area of Vancouver. Please introduce your favorite local playgrounds and gang you are hanging out with. Vancouver is a great ocean town and we live in Kitsilano, close to the beach and downtown. Just a quick trip to Squamish and I can get in a dual dose of kiting and windsurfing at The Spit, where most local riders play. On windy winter days, there's also Boundary Bay with long, shallow beaches and a great, laid-back crew. Also, I can head to Vancouver Island to kiteboard/windsurf along Dallas Road but mostly I go over there to surf. It's where I first learned to kiteboard nearly a decade ago. Even though I'm living in a city, I'm never that far from wind. And Hood River's just 7 hours away eh? Five on a good day.  :: Daniel kitesurfing in Squamish B.C.:: (c)image by Jim Hegan ::       You are both a windsurfing and kitesurfing addict. What is your favorite aspect of each sport ? Windsurfing's challanging because there's a real technical aspect to it and I like the culture too. It's where I first started. Kiteboarding's easy and portable.       What boards and sails do you ride? Naish all the way. They have my back for all my sports, from kiting and windsurfing to surfing. :: Daniel off the lip :: (c)image by Daniel O'Sullivan ::       Your latest magic moment on the water? There's been some nice, sunny spring days lately and it's been great to get into the water kiteboarding in English Bay, close to my house.       About your present life and your future? Right now? I'm happy getting into the water as often as I can, pushing it and trying new things. Even if it hurts sometimes. he he In the future? A sailboat and no destination.  :: Daniel, a true Naish fan :: (c)image by Jim Hegan ::

Interview Please gives us a short introduction about yourself and about your home river the St. Lawrence River in Canada. My name is Guy Trudeau. I live in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. I have been sailing the St-Lawrence River for 20 years now. There are many spots with flat water and swell on this long river and on the lakes around. For east and north wind direction, Quebec is the best and if the wind is from the south or west, then it is better in Montreal area. If you want some waves, then you could go to Lake Champlain or Lake Ontario, which could offer good wave riding conditions.       ::videoclip of Guy Trudeau ripping at St. Lawrence River/Canada :: :: video sequence (c) by meodigital.com :: You are into freestyle windsurfing , please tell us about your motivation doing all kind of tricks. I am in freestyle windsurfing because I love learning some new moves. I began windsurfng in summer 1986. When the temperatures went to cold, I started doing some windskate and realised how fun and easy it was. Windskate is so easy it helps a lot to practice new moves. Learning some new moves is more important to me than being the faster on the spot. Also, if you could do some tricks when your wave riding, then it is even better. But, with or without waves there is always something to do and to learn. It is cool to do as much tricks as you can on a very short time with some friends pushing each other.       :: guy ripping at Gulf St-Lawrence :: photo (C) by Yanick Richard St-Vincent What boards and sails to to you ride ? Since three years, I ride for Ben Gauthier (Wind Spirit). So, I ride Wind Obsession's board. The wave board range is 70 l, 76 l, 82 l and the freestyle Swicht 99 l. For sails, I use Ezzy Sails. Overall great stuff! Ocean Earth, Select Hydrofoils, STS and Adrenaline are also supporting me.       What's the best windsurfing spot you've been to and what are your plans for the upcoming winter? Since i windsurf, I've been to different place like Maui, Cabarete, Costa Rica, The Gorge, Cap Hateras and the Maggies. The best spot for me is where it is blowing often and where there are only few people. So let's say until now that, Costa Rica and the Maggies are the best spots I've benn to. Next winter, I might be in Costa Rica again for practicing more and more moves!       :: winter sailing at Gulf St-Lawrence :: photo (C) by R. Landry Your latest magic moment on the water? My latest magic moment was last September when I catched a good north-east wind in the Maggies (?les-de-la-Madeleine) on a secret spot. The wind was side-off and I was riding super clean waves with few friends. My best feeling was when I was riding over a seal for 2-3 seconds. That was very cool!       About your life and future? Right now, I am a teacher in high school and I have chosen to be a substitute for the freedom. In this way, I can catch more wind. So for the future, I hope to experience more great days of windsurfing. Don't forget to check out his cool windskating website: www.windskate.ca 

Interview

Please introduce yourself as an enthusiastic windsurfer in a few sentences...

I'm from Vancouver, BC, Canada, the best place in the world for windsurfing if you have enough dedication. I started windsurfing many years ago on long boards at the local beach and had great fun doing that. I did that on and off for several years. In the fall of 2002 I bought my first short board, a Bic Vivace 282, and a couple of Hot Sails. The next sunny weekend I headed up to the fabled Squamish to try out the new gear. Arriving at the spit was all exciting, surrounded by tree covered mountains and shear rock faces on either side, the place was like no other. Seeing all these people flying around on the water in what I thought was an incredible amount of wind made my heart beat fast with a rush of adrenalin. After a couple tries rigging up, I finally managed to rig up the mid 90s sails on a one piece mast. Upon hitting the water I beach started as I wasn't able to waterstart. I headed out to the windline and when it hit I had the biggest rush of power. After going a hundred meters without planing I decided to turn around, so I dumped my rig and tried to waterstart for the first time. After struggling to get my rig flying I powered it up and was thrown straight over to the other side of the board. This wasn't going to work, so I seceded and tried to uphaul my rig. After several attempts I managed to get up. I pointed the board downwind on the way in and it happened. The board popped up onto a plane. I was flying, no better feeling in the world. Before I knew it, I was back at the Spit, albeit quite far downwind. I lugged my gear back to the rigging area and packed up. I was so worn out from that one run but it had made the difference. I was hooked.  ::elliot english - ripping the wall/columbia river gorge :: (c) thewindsurfer.com         You are living in the metropolitan area of Vancouver. Nearby Squamish River is one of your local playgrounds. What makes sailing there so special? Locally, it's one of the few places that consistently gets high wind during the summer. It blows every sunny day up there. First thing in the morning it'll be calm maybe even a light outflow. Then on a good fully sunny day sometime between 10 and 12 a light southerly breeze will begin and within half an hour it'll be up to 15-25 knots and perfectly steady. If there's a marine layer covering Vancouver and Georgia Strait the wind can get up to 35 knots though this is pretty rare only happening a handful of times per season. Launching from the spit you sail in either the river on the south side of the spit with it's glass smooth water and cranking winds perfectly for practising your lay down gybes or other tricks. Otherwise, you can sail out into Howe Sound and cruise about sailing up to the rock face which is responsible for the accelerated wind in Squamish. It's a beautiful place to sail with grand scenery and cold glacial fed water coming down the river mixing with the salt water of the inlet.  :: click to play - short video clip of elliot (~4 MB) :: (c) thewindsurfer.com         What other favorite playgrounds do you have? Quite a few. My favorite time to sail in Vancouver is the winter because we are directly in the path for low pressures on the northern pacific during those months. It's the season of high winds, big swell, small sails, and small boards. The two main places we sail from are Centennial Beach in a southeasterly wind and Acadia Beach on a northwesterly. I've sailed over 2m waves at either place on the bigger days. The setup is onshore at both locations, though when the wind is nuking you can get huge airs.       What is your favorite aspect of sailing and why? The whole feeling of windsurfing is what attracts me to it, the sense of speed and the feeling of flying over the surface of the water. I admit that I'm not really a freestyler, more what I like to do is go fast and hit steep ramps to go up. Currently I'm working on looping, both fronts and backs.  :: ripping at tsawwassen ferry terminal / Vancouver :: (c) thewindsurfer.com         What boards and sails do you ride? For boards I ride Roberts. They're a local shop based out of North Vancouver. Nothing I've sailed so far has the same slipperiness in the water and the limitless speed I get from them. I have two, a 70l bump and jump board for getting big air and a formula board. For sails I've got a few from Sailworks, Neil Pryde and Northwave. The Northwave is a 3.7 I picked up for free in the gorge. The Neil Pryde is my primary summertime sail, a 5.4 2003 Raf Jet. I've got a Sailworks Hucker 4.2 and Retro 6.5. The Hucker is my favorite with loads of power and no lack of guts. You feel every gust and just keep on accelerating.       Your latest magic moment on the water? Today, I was sailing 4.2 fully lit at Centennial Beach. The waves were over 2m on the outside with the opposing tide. I hit one face about to break and headed up into the wind straight into a massive back loop. I slowly rotated until I landed on my back in the water start position. It was my first full backloop. What a great feeling.       About your life and your future? It's only mid april and I've already had 37 days on the water, not much time for anything else. Currently, I'm a student at the University of British Columbia studying computer science. The plan is to get my masters and doctorate and take the research route so that I will have the freedom to windsurf as much as I can.  thanks to Elliot for being ripper of the month ! please check out his cool website www.thewindsurfer.com !! :: ripping boundary bay/Vancouver :: (c) David Clutton (C36)  

InterviewYou are from the Victoria area, one of the places where you sail is the Squamish River. Could you please describe what's so magic about that place ? Squamish is a beautiful spot to sail. The combination of tides, river current, and sandbars creates a constantly changing set of conditions to play in. Some days the water will be silky smooth in the rivermouth for sliding tricks, while on other days nice steep ramps will form for throwing loops or aerial tricks. The scenery is hard to beat. It's like sailing in an Ansel Adams photograph!  :: squamish scenery :: (c) elliot english         Please tell us more about yourself as an enthusiastic windsurfer... I've been sailing for over 20 seasons now and find windsurfing more attractive and exciting than ever. My father bought three Windsurfer One Designs in the late '70s and I used to watch him and my brothers sail back and forth on the lake. I was too small to pull up the sail on my own then and had to wait a few years before I was strong enough to sail the early gear. I grew up in Alberta, Canada learning to sail on lakes and light winds. It wasn't until I began making trips to Maui with my family as a kid that I really understood what kind of potential windsurfing had in high wind and waves. Early on I had a love for slalom sailing and raced in a number of competitions within Canada. In recent years I have discovered a love for freestyle and wavesailing, and this has infused my sailing with more energy than ever. And to think I nearly gave it all up for kitesurfing! Whew! I now live in Victoria on Vancouver Island, where I can chase wind all year long.  :: table top :: (c) chris curran         Your favorite playgrounds are? The Gorge is a true playground. I'm like a kid in Disneyland there with all of the swell and strong wind to play in. I love the Oregon coast for it's scenery and waves. Columbia beach near home has always been a favorite for wavesailing and jumping. Maui will always be Mecca! I get tired of peeing in a 5mm wetsuit all winter, so it's a treat to sail in just boardies! Just kidding. I only pee in my suit when it's REALLY cold.       What boards and sails to you ride ? Currently I sail a Starboard Evo 74 and a custom Quatro 64cm x 250cm x 100L freestyle board. I'm sailing 2005 Ezzy Wave SEs.  :: (c) chris curran :: :: (c) chris curran :: :: (c) chris curran ::       What kind of jump/freestyle trick gives you the ultimate kick? I'm a simple guy. Clean forwards and high backloops make me happy. For freestyle I love the feeling of a high speed Haas tack or a long, sliding vulcan. I'm pretty old school with my freestyle skills still, but I'm working on some of the new stuff.       The latest trick/maneuver you are working on ? I'm starting to work on pushloops, spocks, and not spraining any extremities.       Your latest magic moment on the water? I've had so many magic moments this past year. A particularly memorable one was following a classic session at a local spot. My friends and I were standing on the beach in the waning breeze, the sun was starting to set, and the mountains were silhouetted in the blazing sky. Suddenly a pod of six or seven killer whales casually swam by within two hundred meters off the beach. Sometimes I can't believe that we get to share the water with such beautiful and powerful creatures.  :: magic moments :: (c) ron niebrugge         About your life and your future? I feel incredibly lucky to be able sail as often as I do. Windsurfing has brought so many good things and people into my life, and it has taken me to many places I'll never forget. I hope to keep this passion in my life for years to come and hope to continue to share it with others.  :: (c) chris curran