Puslinch Lake Fun Fly
Feb 28, 2004
What a great day to be out on the ice! The sun was shining with a forcasted high of 6c. The winds ranged from 10-15km's. Mark Groshens was out early in the morning staking out a safe zone. You can also see the club sun shade was set up as well. Thirty one kite fliers came out to fly. When you include family members the number was closer to forty. A great turnout!
The Puslinch Fun Fly was a chance for many people to try out their new gear. Ziggy Racek is pictured setting up one of his new foils. Several new kite fliers had a blast trying out traction kiting for the first time.
Merv Cooper arrived with his large array of Peter Lynn kites. There were bears, cats and many more fun creatures. Merv also took some overhead shots with his KAP camera gear. A complete camera rig is supended from a kite. This set up is complete with a remote control that allows Merv to adjust angles and snap aerial photos right from the ground.
The highlight of the day goes to Ted Shaw! Ted was enjoying some conversation with friends when he heard Merv Cooper yell out that Ted's line had been cut. We all looked out to see the 12 foot delta floating out across the lake. It seemed to take only a few moments for the kite to float out to the other side of the lake. It was lucky for Ted that a snowmobile had stopped to see what was happening. The guy managed to grab one of the long hanging tails just in time. The kite had continued to fly high in the sky and would certainly have headed off over the trees on the edge on the lake. Ted even managed to get a ride back on the snowmobile with his kite in tow. What a great save!
Many people came out to enjoy the kite skiing on Puslinch Lake. At any time you could see five or more fliers tacking back and forth across the ice. As only a few snowmobiles were present it meant everyone had a lot more breathing room this year!
Several ice buggies have been built over the last season. Two of them are pictured to the right. The blades cut into the ice as opposed to tires that float across the surface. Blades certainly give a lot more grip on ice than regular rubber tires do!
The ice conditions where great! The surface of the ice was covered with dry snow powder. The texture of the snow seemed like sand on a beach. This type of snow allowed many with regular rubber buggy tires to get out there as well! Marek Theimer is pictured taking a break while enjoying some refreshing beverage!
Jim Everding, taking a brief break from kite skiing. That darned dog followed Jim across the lake all day long! Jim was having so much fun he ended up being the last person off the ice this year! They say the early bird gets the worm but it was Jim who won the big prize this year!

The Dinner that followed at the Marina Restaurant proved to be another fun part of the day. This year The big "kite raffle" will be held after the Dumfries Park Festival but we had some fun surprises for Puslinch fliers too! Jim & Tami Everding's name was drawn for the 2m Firebee traction kite. Pretty nice "FREE" prize for simply attending a Wind Climber event! Mark Groshens also raffled off some other "FREE" prizes. Dennis Ische & Family got a kite and teddy bear. Most of the rest of us settled for some kite themed wind chimes, small kites and sweeet candy treats. All raffle prizes donated by Mark Groshens and the Wind Climbers Kite Club of course!
-Carlos Simoes

Archives, Main Directory