Sunday, March 29, 2015

March 29

Lac Bay, Bonaire
17-18  5.5 Retro  MR118

Nicely powered, a few wind holes but generally good sessions.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

March 26

Lac Bay, Bonaire
14-16   7.5 Retro   MR118

Well powered most of the sailing session. Getting better at jibing the big sail and board.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

March 18

Lac Bay, Bonaire
13  7.5 Retro   MR118

Was able to plane but just barely and some large wind holes.

Sunday, March 15, 2015

March 15

Lac Bay, Bonaire
18-20  5.5 Retro   MR118, 8'9"

Started out very well powered on the MR118, almost too much so switched to 8'9" board but it seemed sluggish so switched back to MR118. Jibing the MR118 was challenge after a week on the smaller boards, really need to push on the rail to get it to turn. I feel like the 8'4" Gorge Wave actually handles the conditions better than the 8'9" does. I started out still tired from yesterday. Sailed maybe an hour total. Stopped about the same time the wind started to drop off.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

March 14

Lac Bay, Bonaire
20-22  5.5 Retro  8'4" SVF

Well powered to close to overpowered. Jibes getting better, not quite a carving jibe but made a couple on starboard reach that had decent speed through the jibe. Port jibes getting better but still have a tendency to wait too long to flip the sail.

Friday, March 13, 2015

March 13

Lac Bay, Bonaire
20   5.5 Retro   8'4" SVF

Well powered. Sailed for about 1.5 hours. Getting  better at non-stall jibes (flip sail before switching feet) on both tacks.  The key to the port reach jibe is to jibe farther from the beach out where the wind is still strong (about the tip of the sand bar). Today was able to really 'close the gap' at the bottom of the sail and almost fly over the water.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

March 12

Lac Bay, Bonaire
19   5.5 Retro   8'4" SVF

Nicely powered. Starboard jibes are working nicely with sail flips and constant forward motion of the board. Port jibes I still can not keep myself from switching feet first which is causing problems.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

March 11

Lac Bay, Bonaire
23   4.6 Cam 1  8'4" SVF

Rode the 8'4" Hi-Tech Gorge Wave - excellent board for these conditions. It is the extruded styro foam and is lighter than the glass boards. It is also just enough bigger than the 8'3" that it hops on a plane easier, sails through the holes better, and isn't as much of a sinker. It is light enough that I even did a couple of jumps today. Getting better at jibing where I flip the sail first then switch the feet. Sailed with Daniel for almost an hour, great to have the interaction while sailing.



Tuesday, March 10, 2015

March 10

Lac Bay, Bonaire
21, 25  21,25  4.6 Cam 1  8'9",  8'3" 8'9", 8'3"

Started out optimistic there was enough wind to sail the 8'3", turned out to be probably below 20 knots. Made a run out barely planing across the bay and then slogged back. Came back down wind of the landing area and had to swim the rig in to the beach. Went back out on the 8'9" and had a great session, wind also picked up a little. Then around 1 PM the wind really picked up to about 25 knots. Went back out on the 8'3" and had a great session, FIRST TIME I HAVE SAILED THE 8'3 IN 15 YEARS, even made jibes in both directions. The starboard reach jibes were sometimes  'non-stall' jibes. Flipped sail, sailed reverse foot then switched feet. The 8'3" needs a lot of power to stay on a plane and will fall off a plane pretty quickly in a lull. Wind backed off to about 23 knots and I was nicely powered except if there was too large a lull.



Monday, March 9, 2015

March 9

Lac Bay, Bonaire
19   5.5 Retro   MR118

Wind was up and down today but when it was up the sailing was good. Getting the hang of flipping the sail part way through the jibe and sailing 'reverse foot' until the board is feel stable. Having the most success with this on starboard tack jibes.





Saturday, March 7, 2015

March 7

Lac Bay, Bonaire
21-23  5.1 Race  8'9"

Well powered to overpowered at times. Great sailing, the ride on the 8'9" is very smooth, no jarring. Started trying to flip the sail a little earlier. Made a couple of jibes that were almost not stall jibes. The 8'9" is definitely a 'keeper' board for these conditions on Bonaire. Just have to watch the wind as it quickly falls off a plane if the wind has too large a 'hole'.

Friday, March 6, 2015

March 6

Lac Bay, Bonaire
16  6.5 Retro  MR118

Well powered for the most part. Spent some time dialing in foot strap settings and harness lines. Have pretty much decided that for the Sailworks sails, the boom goes half way between the 2nd and third white stripe in the boom cutout. This is only slightly higher than where I used to sail with the boom located from the tip of my left hand to the bend in my elbow on my right arm. Much higher than that and everything feels weird. Too late to teach this old dog new tricks...






Thursday, March 5, 2015

March 5

Lac Bay, Bonaire
21-23   4.6 Cam 1  8'9"

Well powered. Great day of sailing in over the blue water. Made most of my jibes although they were stall jibes. The 8.9 seemed very long and skinny compared to the MR118 but it handled the bigger chop very nicely, slicing through it rather than bouncing on top of it.