Owner:
Harry
Member
Member#: 186 Location: Registered: 14-04-2003 Diary Entries: 418
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2nd July 2005
Windsurfing: Shoreham Wind Direction: SW Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: Overcast Max Speed: Distance Covered:
First day of 1 month "study leave". Yeah right. Windsurfing leave more like
methinks. Although having now seen the exam questions there is a fair load
of work to be done... :eek:
No studying today - it was windy. More than expected and I had a
surprisingly enjoyable session from 1.30-3.30pm at the Ham. Very easy
conditions, low tide, flat water, nothing particularly exciting, but there
was a 20 minute period when the wind picked up a notch and I was proper
powered up. Big clumps of string weed everywhere which had to be dodged,
and I was spinning out a lot, don't know if that was due to the weed or
me... Busy on the water today, at one point I counted 25 sailing, and
another 10 or so standing in the shallows.
When it's just a bog-standard flat water session, well it's taken me a long
time, but finally it's clear in my head what is needed to make a good
session, well, good. It's a Bee 260 (or similar small 85L board), and being
PROPER powered. Not just comfortably planing, but maxed-out, stacked,
whatever you want to call it. The amount of power which allows you to just
plonk your feet straight in the straps and go, which nudges the board from
semi-planing 4th gear into full speed 5th, which leaves you in perfect
balance against the sail and fin, and FLYING upwind downwind wherever you
want to go sans problème. And ooooh lah lah the transitions, gybes galore
without worries about losing ground downwind, and suddenly you're planing
out. Windsurfing becomes easy.
Today I had the privilege of experiencing this windsurfing "nirvana". So
many sessions in the past, it's been windy, the sun has been shining, I've
been planing quite comfortably, yet I've wondered why at the end I've felt
slightly un-satisfied. Now I've realised. It's when you blob out from the
beach, blob blob blob, then you do get planing and you're going OK but
always having to concentrate on getting upwind and then after each gybe
it's blob blob blob until eventually you're in the straps again. Not fun.
Now that I know, next time, I'll be rigging bigger.
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