50 km/h + 50km

I generally don't like north winds. Here in Canada they are generally cold and gusty.  In the summer they aren't really cold, just not as warm as southwest winds.  But I've almost given up sailing when the wind is from the north because you can't really sail a short board when the wind sputters.  But Aug 4th was a fantastic north wind day for me.

That's 31 mph or 27 knots

I headed out not expecting much, but I managed to hit a personal best speed on the GPS. 50.3 km/h was the top speed.  I played with the unit the day before and realised there was a max speed screen option. Suddenly I kept looking at it to see if I could go faster in the gusts.  I don't think I've gone over 50 km/h in a long time.  But the north wind means there aren't big waves. And this was with the 148 Techno, the stock fin and my 9.0.

There was one gust that backwinded me at speed, and one that catupulted me after I spun out.  But I also had a lot of fun blasting around. Polarized lenses make a big difference for my confidence among the shoals of the 30,000 islands.  You can see on the track that I actually steered through some narrow gaps in the islands.

Then I went downwind to visit friends and convinced their visiting son to get out on his windsurfer for the first time in 2 years.  I'm not the only north wind snob apparently!  Once back upwind I realized that I wanted to sail at least 50 km to put in a good 2 hour effort.  Man was I sore the next morning - advil to the rescue.

Max speed on the GPS was 50.3 km/h 

My 50km track. A true north wind.
I underestimated my downwind / upwind angles and ability!