9th Annual Kite Crossing on March 1-3

The ninth annual Mille Lacs Kite Crossing is on track to continue as one of the largest and most dynamic snowkite events in the country. Last year, Mother Nature challenged the possibility of even doing the event with open water into January, but then became a team player providing us with some of the best conditions since the first Kite Crossing. Check out and relive last year’s event at .

The Notice of Challenge in a PDF format is available by contacting us at Fleet-8@juno.com. It should provide all the necessary information. We will be accepting electronic registration by e-mail. If you have registered for a Fleet 8 event in the past two years and nothing has changed, just provide your name, category, shirt size and preferred e-mail address for receiving Updates. You can pay by Paypal below. The PayPal button is a Donate button and has a fixed amount of $30 until midnite Tuesday, the 26th, then the $40 late fee goes into effect. Guest banquet fees can be paid at the site.

Riders of all levels are encouraged to attend. Come out, meet riders from around the area, share the stoke, check out some new gear and learn some new moves. We would also like to thank our hosts at the Harbor Inn, Garrison VFW, Y-Club and around Garrison as well as our loyal sponsors.

As always, volunteer help is appreciated. Additional snowmobiles may be needed, so if you are not ready for the challenge and/or have friends with machines, contact us. We would also appreciate help with site setup as well as terrain park development. Even if you want to participate, or have a guest that would like to contribute, contact us at Fleet-8@juno.com. Let us know of your projected arrival and your interest of contribution.

Mille Lacs Challenge & Great Lakes Kona Cup

Mille Lacs has always been synonymous with the word Challenge. Anyone who tests the winds and big water of Mille Lacs can relate to that word. The Mille Lacs Crossing provided that challenge for 28 years. Now we offer the chance to test and really develop skills by just trying to reach a mark before friends. Kiters and windsurfers alike, will share the waters on integrated courses, designed for those of all levels. And to keep the spirit of the Crossing present and relevant, a long-distance race is on the agenda, utilizing the double out’n’back format of the last four years.

With the success of the Kona North Americans on Waconia, we have recognized a totally, renewed interest in one-design racing. We still have the extra charter boards available, so we invite all windsurfers and kiters/ex-windsurfers to try out Kona one-design. Since many of our Kona racers are also kiters, we may be able to offer a combined and/or team competition. We are proud to be in our sixth year of providing on-the-water competition for kiters, and with kiteboarding’s new Olympic status, we may soon have a kiter or two join the half dozen windsurfers whose Olympic training regiment included Mille Lacs.

The charter fee for a Kona board and complete rig was $125 at the North Americans and the Nationals at Calema, and $50 for the 2012 Mowind events. As a special offer for the Great Lakes Kona Cup, we are offering a discounted charter fee of $30 for the complete rig for the entire weekend. For those not really competitive, still feel free to take a Kona foe a recreational sail or a stand-up paddle session. For the past thirty years, this weekend on Mille Lacs has been a season-ending celebration for free-wind board enthusiasts and their fans. Come join the celebration.

To register for the event:

To register for race only:

8th annual Kite Crossing is Still On!

The 8th annual Kite Crossing is still on and will be held over the weekend of March 2-4. This absurd winter definitely threatened the future of this event as well as others. We had open water on Mille Lacs going into the middle of January. Since then, we have secured enough ice to maintain safety/rescue vehicles for a limited but yet still challenging endurance race. Only a few of us remember the first year which now seems like the perfect event, but since then we have come to recognize that the challenge may be more than burning thighs and frozen fingers, but more like getting enough wind down on a surface with good traction and adequate visibility.

While we may be dealing with some restrictions and limitations, we can still be assured of a weekend of competition and comradery. Just last Thursday, the Hennepin County Sheriff closed Minnetonka as well as all other county accesses to all cars and trucks. The spotlight will be on us, so now is the time to show our respect for the conditions and responsibility to our community. We will be providing regular updates right up to the event.

Registration: Contact us at fleet-8@juno.com for a Notice of Challenge in a PDF format. It should provide all the necessary information. We will be accepting electronic registration by e-mail. If you have registered for a Fleet 8 event in the past two years and nothing has changed, just provide your name, category, shirt size and preferred e-mail address for receiving Updates. The PayPal button is a Donate button and has a fixed amount of $30 until midnite Wednesday, February 29th. Guest banquet fees can be paid at the site.

Kona North Americans

Fleet 8 is proud to announce that we will be hosting the 2012 Kona North American Championships on Lake Waconia, August 24-26. In our 35th year, we have come full circle. In 1978, we hosted the District 5 Championships for the original Windsurfer One-design on Lake Waconia. Since then, we have been fortunate to play a major role in propelling our local race scene to being the most active in the western hemisphere, with the Tonka Crossing drawing over 200 participants for several years and the Mille Lacs Crossing enduring 28 years as the most popular and longest-running event in the history of our sport. Of course, we did shift off course a bit with the first International snowkite competition, the Kite Freeze and the only kiting event to surpass 100 registrants, the Kite Crossing, now in its eighth year. But now Kona brings us back to our roots.

Kona One-design was developed by enthusiasts of the original Windsurfer competition and has become the strongest one-design program since the 80’s. As one World Class sailor stated this last year, I believe the Kona One is the fairest sailing class today, including all dinghy classes. Last season, Fleet 8 and Kona Midwest helped introduce one-design racing back into the Midwest racing scene with great success. This coming season, we are preparing to offer programs for Midwest sailors to redevelop their sailing skills on the Kona, in preparation for the North Americans. We hope to see our local, as well as Midwest sailors make a statement competing against some of the best International competition. More info to follow as we release the Notice of Race and open on-line registration.

Mille Lacs Challenge & Great Lakes Kona Cup

Last September, The Challenge replaced The Crossing after an incredible, 28-year run. The focus switched from one BIG race to a full weekend of racing for both windsurfers and kiters. Racing provided the foundation that helped make windsurfing the fastest growing sport in the world.

Mille Lacs must always be synonymous with the word Challenge. Anyone who tests the winds and big water of Mille Lacs can relate to that word. Now we offer the chance to test and really develop skills by just trying to reach a mark before friends. Kiters and windsurfers alike, will share the waters on integrated courses, designed for those of all levels. And to keep the spirit of the Crossing present and relevant, a long-distance race is on the agenda, utilizing the double out’n’back format of the last four years.

This year would be the 30th year for the Mille Lacs Crossing, the longest-running and highest-attended windsurfing event in the western hemisphere. Since The Crossing was built off our racing program, anchored by one-design, it is only fitting that the Mille Lacs Challenge will also host the first Great Lakes Kona Cup. Kona One-design has become the most successful one-design program since the 80’s, because like the original Windsurfer, it entices entry-level development.

Contact us at Fleet-8@juno.com to receive a Notice of Race in a PDF format as well as lodging info. It should provide all the necessary information. We will be accepting electronic registration by e-mail. If you have registered for a Fleet 8 event in the past two years, just provide your name, category, shirt size and preferred e-mail address for receiving Updates. You can pay by Paypal with the two PayPal Donate buttons, one for full participation and one for racer only or non-racer social. Guest fees can be paid at check-in time, so you only have to make one payment.

Full Participant

Racer Only