Well ok, my mother didn't go windsurfing, but she was out on the water watching me for what may have been the first time in my 34 years of windsurfing.
It started out as a mellow day, with 15 knot winds predicted to build as the skies cleared. I'd been windsurfing for around an hour on my Ray 122 and then changed boards to try the Techno 148 that I haven't used since getting the Ray last year. Of course after that the wind dropped to 10 knots and I slogged for around half an hour. (See speed graph at bottom of post.)
The wind started building again just as my mother, daughter, sister, niece and some family friends came back from a long boat trip. They stopped the boat in the main channel and watched as I zipped back and forth. I think they really enjoyed seeing me come so close to the boat and they took tons of pictures. I was very comfortable on my 9.0 and then chased them back to the harbour. Here are a some of those photos!
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My 88 year old mother heading out for a boat ride -
and to see me windsurfing (up close for the first time?) |
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| Look mom - one hand... |
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| That was close... |
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| Incoming... |
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| Fly by |
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| Cruising |
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| Starting my body drag... |
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| Break time |
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| The boat starts to head home |
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| Chasing them down |
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| And goodbye! |
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| My launch site - with my mother's boat |
Later, Vanessa (yes that Vanessa from Jibe City in Bonaire) came out and we sailed together. I was on the 9.0 and Ray and she was on my 7.0 and Techno. She said it was the most fun she's had sailing since coming home from Bonaire. The wind kept increasing to over 20 knots and after 3 hours on the water I got catapulted twice and it was time to call it a (fantastic) day.
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| Vanessa heading out |
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| It's colder here than Bonaire! |
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| Planing nicely |
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| The gear after getting Vanessa set up with the GoPro |
I'm crushed that I corrupted the great half hour clewview gopro video of Vanessa's session. It had footage of her sailing so nicely. I was previewing it and then GRRR ctrl-x.
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I did 65 km in 3 1/4 hours. The wind shifted from SSW to SSE and back.
I was wonderfully sore and very happy the next day. |
Here's a panorama of our launch site:
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| Packed up |
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| Heading home |
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| Sunset and smiles |
When I got back home later that evening my mother said "I think I finally understand why you love windsurfing so much - it is really cool!"
Ray 122 vs Techno 148: Technical notes - they both planed in around the same 11-15 knot wind, with the Ray either slogging or quickly jumping on a plane, but the Techno builds much more slowly and linearly. Top speed on the Ray is definitely faster, but it is a harder board to sail - very responsive but also twitchier than the Techno and difficult to tack. The Techno also is much more forgiving in the jibes. No wonder it was the HiHo board and also recently got a great review as an affordable classic in Windsport's 2014 board guide.
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| The Techno wasn't as fast, but the wind also died during that hour... |
Glad you had another great day windsurfing this year. Love seeing you two together!
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