It has been a while since I was on the water. 6 weeks ago I had a session that I thought might be one of the last for the season. So instead I've been skiing and snowboarding or hiking Blue Mountain 17 times already... but with the rain and warm weather the hills are closed again.
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| My one GoPro on the water shot of the session |
A gentle shift in the 4c wind to NW got me interested in getting on the water. I loaded the car and headed to Northwinds beach, not quite sure if I was really going to go out. When I arrived there was indeed a winger out doing well in the side onshore wind.
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The one foiler out before me - James
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| Decent wind from my iWindsurf handheld meter |
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| My gear transporter |
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Ski / snowboard / hike season to date
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| The 5.0 ready to go… |
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| Pre-session selfie |
I checked the wind and it was 10-13 knots. I got the board set up and was putting on my wetsuit when the other winger came in. He was on a 5.5 and had been nicely powered. We chatted a bit and I thought I'd be fine on my 5. I pumped up the Duotone Slick 5.0 and headed out. Oops, not enough for me to pump up onto the foil. I slogged back and pumped up the Duotone Slick 7.0. That was the ticket.
With the bigger wing it was easy to get going and I headed out. The waves were bigger than I thought and sure enough I blew my first jibe. And my second, and third. I finally got 3 jibes in a row and then a dry but not foiling tack.
A few more runs and more and more time in the water and my forearms were getting tired. I foiled back into shore closer to the breakwater and BAM, hit the bottom with the foil and landed hard on the board. I can feel the bruise as I write this. Nice though, that the limestone rocks are softer than the granite up in Key Harbour, so there wasn't any huge scratch on the foil.
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| My little session with 3 jibes! |
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| I spent quite a bit of time walking, slogging and in the water… |
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| Post-session smile |
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| Warming up in the car before the 10 minute drive home |
It turned out to be a shorter session than I wanted, not because I got cold but just because I was quickly fatigued. Despite my recent physical examination which said I'm in great shape (cardio of a 20-29 year old apparently), I will be working on exercises for my forearms. And I need more time foiling on the waves for sure!
