Perfect Gear for a Royal Flush

Poker buddy Dave came up to the Launch Pad to be part of a bubble increasing games weekend. He hadn't windsurfed in years, having suffered from some bad equipment availability at the family cottage in the past. He talked about an old beginner board that was replaced with a too small semi-sinker that was not right for his 6 foot 7, 240 lb frame.

Dave looking good on the simulator

I set up the simulator and got him using the Duke 5.4 in the light wind. His muscle memory was very good. I figured the 230 litre YPSI Wayler would be a much better board for him than the 190 litre Viper 80.

We headed out to the point for him to give windsurfing a try again. The wind was 6 knots from the west and 15c. He was just in shorts. As we were walking out, my friend Geoff and his son were just arriving perfectly on time from their week long canoe trip.

Geoff and Quinn arriving from Killarney

Dave got on the board and pretty much took off perfectly. There was one fall off the slippery YPSI deck with his size 14 water shoes.

Dave ready to try windsurfing for the first time in a decade

That YPSI easily floats 240 lbs!

Whoops!

Nice "tennis save"

Good form and permission granted for the hand on the boom!

Way to go Dave!

I watched him sail across the harbour and then do a perfect tack. He tried even using the harness and had a few successes and failures with that. It was very rewarding to see someone get in a great session after so many years away from the sport.

My track chasing Dave

I went out and chased him with my 5.6 Idol and Viper 80. That combo isn't as fast through the water as the 40 year old YPSI. I had some fun doing duck tacks and other lightwind freestyle. He was able to stay upwind easily and had many nice cruising runs back and forth. His transitions would improve with more attention to keeping his eyes on the horizon.

Return of the canoeists

Cheers on the rock

We headed back to the cottage for dinner and the zoom Pokerstars game. Dave managed to fold what would become a royal flush to my bold betting and eventual flush. But he and Geoff were the only players in the positive column for the evening. Lucky cottage cat Angel helped them I guess. Fun times.