I was pretty sore in the morning after yesterday’s 64km shortboard windsurf session. A few Advil and a bit of time on the island and as the wind built I got itching to get out again in the 13-15 knot winds.
I pumped up the new Duotone 5.0 Slick wing and decided not to add a harness line. My waist harness was tangling while swimming and doing so much learning the new board on Sunday I felt I should keep it simpler. I also wore the self recoiling spring line attached to my lifejacket instead of the ankle leash to the board.
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| The island from the air today - thanks Daphne for the photo! |
I made my upwind ground much more easily in the SW wind vs the South wind two days ago. I’m still not quite feeling balanced on the board but it is getting better. It was still a bit difficult for me to get going, I definitely needed a gust and to concentrate on my foot position. However once the board is going, it is amazingly efficient. Even coming out of a slow jibe, just a little pump of the wing and I can stay up on the foil.
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| Not as many wipeouts as on Sunday |
I wiped out around nine times, half as often as my first session on the smaller 125 litre Fanatic Sky Wing board. One of the falls was the fastest and most painful wipeouts I’ve ever had winging. I fell stomach first on the inside of a jibe and really slapped the water with my gut. My rib cage is sore tonight as I write this. Maybe I was even trying a carving downwind 360 - I know I only tried one and it was a fail.
The highlight of the session was getting even more dialled in on my jibes. I count 20 in a row on my way back to the dock. Such a zen feeling to link so many turns in a row - almost all completely on the foil (one or two light touchdowns) and none with a loss of speed. My timing co-ordinating the wing flip feels good. Time to start trying wing duck jibes?
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| Lots of nice downwind jibes - 20 in a row! |
The board and foil really respond to toe pressure when I’m riding my regular stance (port) and are equally responsive to heel pressure when I’m riding switch stance (starboard) into my jibes. The sensation is addictive. I’m going to start playing with different moves and see about adding the footstraps soon.
The air barely reached 20c, the water at the dock was 23c and very clear. I was a bit chilled after despite wearing a long leg 3/2 wetsuit.
I have to put a shim in the rear wing and see if that gets rid of the humming / vibration noise. I also need to bring out some 600 grit sandpaper for the rear foil which supposedly works? I think that vibration was also why a mounting bolt came loose. I’m lucky I ended the session when I did!
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| Foiling with a screw loose! YIKES! |
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| The locker getting full… |
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