Wow, Nov 5th and the wind was super strong and over 17c from the SSE. I took the old Tiga out to the point to check on the wind. 12 gusting to 27 on my handheld wind meter. Hmm, that would be a challenge sinking the small board or being overpowered with the 5.4 I thought as I walked back to put on my 4/3 wetsuit.
I decided to head out on the 4.8 with the Skate 108 instead. Sure, it would be a lot of tacking to get upwind from the dock. And I’d likely fall in a few times. But as it turned out I managed to stay dry on all 5 tacks and I was off.
The wind got super strong as I got out past the islands. I stayed in sight of the island so Jen could keep an eye on me from time to time. I did several runs with a few good planing jibes but felt that I was pushing the size limit on the Skate 108. So I went to the point and changed boards to the Tiga, hiding the Skate in the bushes at the top of the island.
The Tiga is slow and heavy, but perfect when you are getting blown off the water. I did 4 runs - sinking a bit during one lull in the wind. In the gusts it felt like I was definitely stressing out the Idol 4.8 - a lightweight freestyle sail intended for small windsurfers in Bonaire, not for survival sailing in Georgian Bay gusts. I was pretty tired after yesterdays 3.5 hour session. I decided to head back and was able to plane most of the way back to the dock for a 13.5 km day.
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| Warm SSE wind and a few good jibes in there |
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| The first 2/3 was on the Skate 108, last 1/3 on the Tiga 257 |
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| Post session view from the Launch Pad roof |
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| Wind was pretty steady… |
Top speed just 45 km/h. But pretty satisfying for a November session. I looked at iWindsurf later in the evening, it was still windy - but interesting to see they still have satellite of the area before the wind farm and fire.
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| List of weather iWindsurf weather stations on Georgian Bay |
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| iWindsurf weather map close up showing the area before the wind farm and fire. |
Tomorrow is the day to put away all the gear. Let’s see if I get one more session in.
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