Closing time

Since the wind was supposed to die early in the morning I didn't expect much, maybe a light wind foil session.

But as I headed out it was really whitecapping. So I took the trusty Skate 108 board and my 6.2 Duke sail to see if I would have enough wind. I headed right from the dock and pinched upwind.

My trusty Skate 108

This was indeed the last windsurfing day at the cottage!

I was surprised to be able to pump onto a plane on each run. I tried making the boom 2cm shorter to get more power but that really made the sail feel back hand heavy. After extending the boom back to the normal position it got even windier! I was now fully powered and even planing out of many jibes.

The view of my track looking west

Another hour and a half session - with lots of moves in the steady west wind.

Regarding jibing, I have committed to trying to grab the boom underhand from below like all the books and videos and instructors tell you to. I think it brings the sail forward and into the wind more during the transition which helps. So I'm going keep working on that. My duck jibes are still the best way for me to plane out of a jibe.

A little later I added even more downhaul and extended the boom another 2cm. The sail felt really good. I must have tried a half dozen vulcans. I even got both hands to the other side of the boom on one attempt but didn't complete it.

The sun, wind and waves were perfect. A classic Georgian Bay day, just way warmer than any Thanksgiving I can remember (other than yesterday's 18/17 combo). 16 degree air and 16c water on Thanksgiving! (last year was 12c wind and 14c water, and the year before was 11c wind and 14c water.) Actually, looking back at my blog 3 Thankgivings with sessions in 3 years is pretty good!

30 km covered in and hour and a half. Max speed 45 km/h.

The trailer is loaded now with gear for Hatteras in Nov. But there are a few weekends in October that may still see another session!

Last cottage session for 2017?

Crazy warm for Canadian Thanksgiving. And windy too!

I got out Saturday at noon and carried my favourite windsurfing board, the Skate 108 out to the point. The warm south wind was reading 15-25 knots so rigged up the 5.4 Duke on my new carbon skinny mast. The water was 17, the air 18 and I was wearing a 3/2 wet suit. While it was overcast with a bit of rain now and then, I don't think I've ever seen a Thanksgiving this warm.

I got a few runs but the sail felt heavy. So I stopped and added more downhaul. That made it much more comfortable to sail and then go fast. 47 km/h was my top speed, not bad for a freestyle board. I headed out farther into the bay but then realized I was windsurfing over shallow spots that used to be shoals. Without sun and polarized sunglasses it was hard to see the shallow spots. I got a solid hour of sailing before the wind started dying.

Some great runs on the 5.4 in the early afternoon

You can see the shoals I cruised over on the left (west)

So I parked the gear on the point and headed to the shed and worked on closing down the place and began draining the plumbing. I also started packing up some of the gear I am planning on taking to Hatteras this fall.

The gear sitting on the rocks between sessions

For the 2nd session I tightened the battens which made a big difference. I could now feel the 5.4m North Duke sail become pumpable in the wind. I got 8 good runs with a duck gybe and a few upwind 360s.

My 2nd session, a few runs as the sun was setting

In total 1.5 hours of sailing with a smaller sail than I normally use. The wind should hold overnight but will be dying down in the morning...

Packing up after the last session of the year?

Oh, here is my new favourite wind site. Windy.com