3 categories

Quick sail at stanley to catch the low tide,had 43 on the screen but only a 41.89 when downloaded.Oh well still very happy with the speed and the alpha.

NP RSR EVOII 4.7,JP Speed 45,KA Lockwood Sym 23cm

6 categories

On the road by 5:00am this morning to catch the low tide just after day break.Wind was good but it was constanly raining witch made it hard.Great little sail, well done Jordan and Izaak.Wish i had my new speed board though, in Melbourne they say.

North Warp F2009 5.2,F2 Missile xs,Vector Delta 23cm

Kingston Beach, TAS, AU Isonic 107, Reflex 7.0, 40cm C3 Sting.

By far the worse sail I have ever had, nothing even comes close to this one. Dave and I went out off Blackmans Bay beach in an Easterly breeze straight on shore. It was also bucketing down with rain, big confussed waves and gusty as hell. Forecast was for strong winds which never happened. We tacked all the way accoss to the other side of the river which took an hour. Then the wind died out and spent nearly 3 hours dogging back to the car. Feeling totally shattered and will never do that again. I dont think Dave was too impressed as it was my idea to sail there, sorry Dave.

Kingston Beach, TAS, AU

Yep, total shocker today.  Waited in the car while the rain poured down, hoping the wind would pick up from the 8-10 knots that there was.  It finally did so quickly braved the rain and rigged up.  Steve and I got planing, but only just and took about two and a half hours tacking upwind.  Finally ready to head back off the wind and about 6 minutes after starting my watch to do a 1 hr the wind dropped out.  Took ages getting back in, sometimes only just planning, but mostly dogging.  Chop was terrible, with a NE wind across a southerly swell (yuk)!  Even when there was some wind it was horrible.  At least we know never to go there again in an Easterly!

Well done Izaak and Perks, awesome effort.  Really pleased you guys managed to get the conditions ...

Stanley, TAS, AU

Nice sail at Stanley today with Izaak and Perk. Tryed out my new vector delta 23 fin today and it felt very slippery, never felt  like spinning out. I cant wait to try it again!! Just couldnt get that one great run today, although feel like 40 is not far off if i can string a couple of decent sails together. cant wait to get back to Stanley, great place!

5.0 koncept, IS50

3 categories

Cremorne Beach, TAS, AU

Travelled upwind for an hour to start a 1 hour, ended up very overpowered and had to deal with some really messy chop.  Managed to find a bit of shore to lay up on and crank a bit more downhaul.  Left to start the 1 hour downwind runs back to cremorne and found myself fully out of control and lacking the ability to handle the rediculous chop comiing at me from all angles.  Blew my first gybe not far from the rocks at Slopen Island with birds and seals, got in a bit of a panic and got pulled over the front twice while trying to water start.  Started trying to bear off and was way over done, wind was round 40 and gusting, I was standing up fully sheeted out and every time I tried to bear off slightly I would accelerate at an increadable speed(still fully sheeted out) and could not keep the board in the water, then a gust would hit me and i couldnt do anything, I couldnt luff out and head up wind as the sail was as open as it would go and the water state didnt allow me to hang in there and attack it down wind like normal!  the only result was an explosion in the air or a nose burying catapult!  I've sailed in 50 knots on many occasions and cant get enough of wild out of control conditions with wave gear, and 20 foot waves with big hold downs no worries. What I experienced today with the gear I was on took me to the edge of my emotional stability. The run upwind knocked the bag out of me, my feet had cramp from the amount of pressure pushing them around the rail on the back foot , my arms cramped from the upright position I was forced to sail in and my back ached from the waist harness.  When I started the downwind 1 hour all those pains dissapeared as survival set in.  The shear power of the wind and the ocean state sapped every bit of energy I had, I was so over powered and the water was so lumpy I had real trouble getting off the wind. I honestly didnt think I'd be able to continue to sail.

Today was the first time in 20 years that I had ever felt over whelming emotion of the situation I was in, it took me 1 hour and 35 kms to get upwind, it took me over an hour and over 50km with about 20 catapults and explosions to get back downwind.  

Good fun But!

(Tried for a bit jumping at Clifton afterwards to make sure I hadn't lost my nerve but the wind didnt want to get in there properly)

http://www.ka72.com/TrackRecalc.aspx?fid=12190

JP 60 Slalom, 32 venom, 5.6CR

Dorans, TAS, AU

Starboard Kode 86 Aerotech Charge 4.75

Not enough wind for this setup but good to get out.