Foiling and sailing

When I headed out after work the wind was still 18 knots which was exciting - maybe another shortboard day? Then after putting on my 3/2 long wetsuit it was 15 knots. I'm glad I didn't take the 7.0 and 122 Ray which was tempting. Rather I headed out with the 5.6 Idol on the Stingray 140 with the 99cm wing and smaller rear wing which was the right choice.

Vanessa came out and took a few photos and a video of me.

Foiling past Vanessa

Spectacular skies

Hi Vanessa

Returning!

There is one really good jibe in that path

I was still finding the foot placement for the 99 cm foil difficult to pinpoint, but on the one jibe where I got it right, it was great. The stall speed of the 99 is really low, so if I don't bobble off the foil to the side it is easy to keep going through the sail flip.

Eventually the wind dropped to 13 then 11 knots and it was over - just a nice slow downwind. The water was 15c, still fine on my feet.

So that was session #64 and 17/30 days in September!

With still a few knots of wind out there, I headed with Veronica in her sailboat. We had a great little sail. There was weather approaching, but it missed us, and we saw a wonderful double rainbow.

Scruffy sailor

Fun sailing

First mate & rainbow

The windsurf locker at the foot of the rainbow!

Dinner was memorable with champagne to celebrate my big decision on 2021 and beyond...

Vanessa in the waves

After I finished a crazy busy day of work, I suggested that Vanessa come out to the Launch Pad to take advantage of the steady SW wind and clearing skies. 

Vanessa enjoying her best day of the year!

She was game and Timo was napping. We took her favourite 5.7 firefly and the Skate 108 down to the point. The wind was 15-20 knots and relatively warm at 14c. Vanessa beach (rock) started and began planing on her first run.

Getting ready for Vanessa's session

The super mom is going to do it!

All smiles after the beach (rock) start.

Screaming on her first run.

Going on the Skate 108!

Nice scenery

Vanessa roaring back

After taking some photos of Vanessa I went back to rig up. I decided to take the 5.6 Idol on the Techno 148.

I did some tacks upwind and was soon sailing back and forth with her. I suggested we head through the shoals and head to the waves near Wedge island. What fun, Vanessa followed me out through the narrow opening between two shoals and we sailed beside each other out to the swells. We played in the 2-3 foot waves going back and forth even getting a few wave rides.

I was in my 2 mil suit and didn't fall in the whole time. It would have been pretty cold if I had - I figure that is my last day this year in that thin suit. Maybe it was the Santa hat that kept me warm! Vanessa decided to go back but not before getting some nice photos of me having fun.

Fun windsurf tracks - a few full planing jibes

Fun on the Techno

Thanks Vanessa for the photos

Top speed 40.1 km/h

Busiest day ever in Toronto

I've never seen the Toronto Windsurfing Club so busy. By 4 pm when I left there were around 100 windsurfers on the water and 60 on shore.

The busy scene in the TWC rigging area as I rigged to go windsurf

TWC conveniently located near downtown

TWC panorama!

I met up with Tom who had proposed a Kona long distance sail a few weeks ago. Well it was blowing 15-20 knots so we decided we'd just sail in the perfect warm SW onshore winds. I was rigging my 9.0 Kona sail on which I would surely have been overpowered and then Tom kindly offered me his sister's 6.0 Ezzy.

While I was rigging, Jill came in from her session with a huge grin on her face. It was wonderful to see her and reminisce about rigging Ezzy sails in Baja last year. Of course this year's Baja trip didn't happen!

I went out and scored planing runs on the Kona for over an hour. 18 kms in total and even a few planing jibes. I did a few upwind tacks with the centreboard down and interesting to see comparable upwind angles when up on the foil with a small sail from a few weeks ago.

I was sweating in my 2 mil wetsuit as I only fell in the water once. It is so nice to windsurf in relatively clean water just minutes from downtown Toronto. I saw one huge and one small fish surface and dive as I came close. I'm guessing they were salmon?

It was cool seeing Max out on his wing before he got back to teaching lessons. While Max was doing video analysis of his students he nicely shot a video of my sailing by:

Planing through the Toronto skyline!

Pretty good for a Kona!

My GPS speed trail

Speeds up to 35 km/h on the Kona (a bit faster than last time)

Thanks Tom for the loan of your sister's Ezzy!

I had some good conversations with a couple of the dozen or so foilers and was impressed by a few foilers out there doing consistent foil jibes. Who has the Canadian flag sail?

Warm and slow

It was even warmer after work so I headed out on the 7.0 hoping for a puff of wind that would let me try the 99cm foil wing again. It was 6-8 knots, so even when I tried pumping there wasn't enough.

So I slowly sailed around a few islands while enjoying the sun and warm 18c. The water was back up to 18c as well. I didn't fall in and figure that will be my last time in a shorty this year. 

A slow sail around the islands

Definitely my shortest post of the 60 sessions I've recorded this year.

First fall foil (& falls)

The first day of fall 2020 was so warm I was in a shorty to enjoy the 17c 11-13 knot wind from the SW. I set up the new 99cm Slingshot foil on my 2nd longest 30 inch mast.

I headed out from the Launch Pad with the 5.6 Idol sail and quickly got a few short foils. The 99 definitely gets on the foil more linearly and is easier to pump onto a plane.

I headed upwind and slowly got used to the different feeling of the bigger foil. It felt slower of course. 25.8 km/h was my top speed.

I did get a few jibes that kept nice speed, but I wasn't as consistent as I've become on the 76 cm foil wing. In fact most jibes were wobbly and I fell in a lot more than I expected. The 15c water was generally a shock. I foiled for just over an hour and did 15 km.

Returning to the Launch Pad
 Thanks Jen for the photo

A few pure downwind sections were fun and really showed how slowly one can go on a big foil. Basically I was able to float straight downwind on any of the nice swells up NW of Wedge Island where the waves roll in from the Bay. That is where I spent the majority of my time!

Using "walk" app in Garmin gives a coloured speed chart.
A few jibes without going back down to blue!

Nice warm wind for the first day of fall

The new 99 cm wing. Even in "C" position, a bit far back?

Max speed 25.8 km/h

12 out of 17

I didn't really expect to get another session. 7 in a row actually. And 12 out of 17 days in September. And #59 for the year.

The weather has turned cold; 4c overnight with a north wind all day. It was sunny and 13 once I was done work and got out to the Launch Pad. The wind was still there at 6pm and so I suddenly decided to go out for one more foil. I took the 7.0 NP V6 and the Stingray foil with 76 cm foil wind.

I was still able to go out in just my 2 mil wetsuit as I didn't plan on falling in. And I didn't fall in even though I was trying some aggressive foil jibes. My success is improving as I set the back foot ever farther across the board and forward during the carve with the other foot then moving right into the footstrap.

I definitely needed to wait for the 10 knot west wind to have a 12 knot gust to pump onto the foil. My heart rate really jumps during those pumping sessions. Short session but sweet.

Max speed 29.9 km/h.
Heart rate relates to pumping and then speed.

GPS foil track

Coldest day of the summer. Fall is coming.

The local wind farm was in the process of replacing another of the 1 year old blades. It sure is nicer looking when there isn't a crane on the horizon.

Let's see what the fall brings after a quick trip back to the city.

After work foil

Another busy day at work, working remotely. I knew that I would miss the 28 knot winds predicted for lunch time, but hoped I'd get some of the late afternoon dying wind.

I got out with the 5.6 Idol and the Stingray foil with the 76 cm wing. I got planing several times but it was hard work pumping onto the wing. I do feel I'm getting better at the pumping.

Jen came out and took a photo and video of one of my last foils runs in the session.

Nice wave from the video below

My first ever video uploaded to blogger

I'd forgotten my Garmin Vivoactive 3 watch so I used my Canmore Gporter GPS to record the trail. I got some colour coded speed maps from GPSresults. Hope someday to record some jibes that stay the same colour because I've planed through them completely! I do like the increased accuracy of the GPS trail in the various output options.

Fun speed coloured GPS trail

GPS trail from Google Earth showing upwind duck tack zig zag

Combo speed and GPS trail from Canway software

Pretty warm out - but gusty 7 - 13 knots

Battle of the Yellow Boards

After work (and a surprise charity award created in my name that makes me feel honoured to be like my father having the "Fritz Spiess Award" named after him while he was still alive) I headed out for a late windsurf session.

The wind was quite strong from the south. After fixing some garden and grass covers on the island, I had a dilemma about what to rig? 20-28 knots is pretty solid but I'd just been out on the Tiga in gale with even stronger winds.

My next smallest board is my old Axxis 272. 95 litres and the last time I used it was a fail. But it seemed more consistent than that day in June when I had to swim home. So I took the 4.7 and the Axxis out to the point and launched from there. A couple of good runs with nice upwind ground. But the lulls were too long and I was quickly tiring of slogging with the board a foot or two underwater and my butt in the water to help maintain flotation.

At least the wind and water were warm at 16c. It was the first time since June that I was wearing the 3/2 full wetsuit and I did close the neck after a few Axxis waterstarts.

The Axxis was too small though for the lulls, and so I returned to the point and tied down the board and walked the sail back to the dock. I was going to launch on the foil, but decided to try the Techno that my son Phillip had enjoyed on a super windy day recently.

The Axxis is actually longer than the big Techno

The little Axxis 272

The big Techno

Leaving with 28 knot peaks

GPS Trail with upwind and downwind sections

Winds upon my return

Top speed on the Techno was actually a bit higher than the Axxis

I tacked the Techno up out of the harbour and then I was flying. Some nice long runs out toward Bigsby and then more tacking up the small craft channel to see if my friends were at their place. No one there but that was a good place to send a Spot message home to say that I was safe.

While I was sailing I was reflecting on the two boards. The Axxis was a wonderful board to windsurf on in places like Margarita where the wind was so strong and consistent. It was fast but a handful when I took it to the Gorge and did my first ever short board tacks. And I think it might be part of what contributed to the decline of windsurfing in the late 1990s. It was as if windsurfing wasn't fun if you weren't on a tiny board. But the reality of sailing the two back to back is that the relatively inexpensive Techno gets planing easier, has a similar top speed, is easier to jibe and tack AND IT CAN GET YOU HOME IF THE WIND DROPS. The wind didn't drop much so I could plane most of the session but it sure feels good on the Techno knowing that there's no massive swim required if the wind does die.

So I had some nice downwind runs on the Techno and then back to the Launch Pad after 1.5 hours and 2km. A nice little workout, and gonna save a bit for tomorrow which should be windy too.