North winds are normally too cold and too gusty to be really fun. Today was remarkable in many ways!
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Smiling while foiling past the Launch Pad
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| Playing with the GoPro |
Just my 2nd windfoil selfie video..
I like the slow-mo part of the feet and foil in the video above…
The SW wind coming off the bay was light and 19c most of the day. At 6:30pm the wind shifted almost 180 degrees to north and was now coming over warm land so the temperature jumped to 25c.
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| Not much wind all day - then the shift to north at 6:30 |
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| The temperature jumped from 19c to 25c at 6:30 |
I headed out to the Launch Pad at 7:15 and was on the water by 7:45. With the water at 18c I simply put on my 2mil XCEL Axis short sleeve wetsuit. No booties, no gloves, no hat. Wow, it doesn’t take long to change when it is warm!
I took the 5.6 Idol and the Fanatic Stingray 140 with the 99cm Slingshot foil. I even remembered to take the GoPro. And the Spot so I could send a message back to Jen.
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| Find me spot GPS signal - this is where I am Jen… |
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| Garmin GPS trail of the session. Lots of decent jibes. |
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The 99cm slingshot foil is never fast
But still 10.75 km in 55 minutes |
There was a short downwind slog but as soon as I got out of the wind shadow I was foiling. I went all the way up along Germain island, alternating jibes and tacks to get upwind. It wasn’t actually that gusty either. Most of the jibes were smoother than I expected. I headed downwind enjoying the feeling of effortless gliding. I didn’t fall once, even when sailing one handed; videoing and taking photos. I wonder if my wingfoiling will ever be good as my windfoiling so I’ll be able to head upwind on a north wind day? If I think back to 4 years ago when I thought windfoiling jibing would be impossible, well maybe wingfoil upwinders in a gusty north will be possible too?
I got back just as the sun was setting and in time to see two sandhill cranes take off. And my left knee didn’t hurt one bit. What a fantastic and surprising session.
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Sun setting over the Launch Pad
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| The view from inside the Launch Pad |
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| Sand Hill Cranes |
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| Nice sunset |
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| Wow it takes a long time for the sun to set in early June |
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