Lac Bay, Bonaire
20-22 5.1 Race, 5.6 Race 8'4" SVF
Rigged 5.1 Race at 20 knots - powered but barely. Re-rigged to 5.6 Race was nicely powered and then became fully to overpowered as wind increased. Made my jibes and had a couple of fully planing jibes on starboard tack.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Saturday, April 25, 2015
April 25
Lac Bay, Bonaire
19-21 6.5 Bravo, 5.1 Race MR118, 9'
Started out with 6.5 on MR and was fully powered (19 knots), after 20 minutes swapped boards to the 9' and was again fully powered but more manageable. After another 30 minutes the wind was 21 knots and switched sails to the 5.1 Race. This combination worked well until the wind backed off to about 19 knots which was marginal. Managed some almost planing jibes on port tack while on the 5.1/9' combination.
19-21 6.5 Bravo, 5.1 Race MR118, 9'
Started out with 6.5 on MR and was fully powered (19 knots), after 20 minutes swapped boards to the 9' and was again fully powered but more manageable. After another 30 minutes the wind was 21 knots and switched sails to the 5.1 Race. This combination worked well until the wind backed off to about 19 knots which was marginal. Managed some almost planing jibes on port tack while on the 5.1/9' combination.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
April 23
Lac Bay, Bonaire
16-20 6.5 Bravo, 5.5 Retro MR118
Started out on the 6.5 and was fully powered but sailable. Made some fast reaches, was actually able to transition back to the big board and made the jibes. Wind then picked up, I re-rigged to the 5.5 but was still too big for Magic ride. Interesting that I felt overpowered on the MR but previous days the 5.6 Race on the 8'4" SVF felt just fine in 20 knots ...
16-20 6.5 Bravo, 5.5 Retro MR118
Started out on the 6.5 and was fully powered but sailable. Made some fast reaches, was actually able to transition back to the big board and made the jibes. Wind then picked up, I re-rigged to the 5.5 but was still too big for Magic ride. Interesting that I felt overpowered on the MR but previous days the 5.6 Race on the 8'4" SVF felt just fine in 20 knots ...
Monday, April 20, 2015
April 20
Lac Bay, Bonaire
20 5.6 Race 8'4" SVF
Nicely powered. Got in a good 2 hr session until I got tired. Tried a duck jibe but wasn't carving the board enough and got backwinded. Regular carving jibes are getting better. Met Eric from Sweden and his mother (?) Marine(?). He just finished his masters degree thesis. Has been coming to Bonaire for 5 years, knows Toni and Daniel.
20 5.6 Race 8'4" SVF
Nicely powered. Got in a good 2 hr session until I got tired. Tried a duck jibe but wasn't carving the board enough and got backwinded. Regular carving jibes are getting better. Met Eric from Sweden and his mother (?) Marine(?). He just finished his masters degree thesis. Has been coming to Bonaire for 5 years, knows Toni and Daniel.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
April 19
Lac Bay, Bonaire
22-23 5.6 Race 8'4" SVF
Well powered initially and then the wind picked up to overpowered by the end of the session. Great sail/board combination for the conditions. Spent some time over by the mangroves, by myself, just doing short runs and jibing. Good practice but tiring. Went upwind and made a couple of runs in the 'rental area' but the water was so choppy from the other sailors that it was not fun. Sailed back into the 'blue water' where the waves were consistent and predictable. Made a fully powered downwind run to the mangroves from the rental area and then back to the launch site - was close to 'white knuckle' because of the speed. Two hours of almost constant sailing and I was exhausted.
22-23 5.6 Race 8'4" SVF
Well powered initially and then the wind picked up to overpowered by the end of the session. Great sail/board combination for the conditions. Spent some time over by the mangroves, by myself, just doing short runs and jibing. Good practice but tiring. Went upwind and made a couple of runs in the 'rental area' but the water was so choppy from the other sailors that it was not fun. Sailed back into the 'blue water' where the waves were consistent and predictable. Made a fully powered downwind run to the mangroves from the rental area and then back to the launch site - was close to 'white knuckle' because of the speed. Two hours of almost constant sailing and I was exhausted.
Saturday, April 18, 2015
April 18
Lac Bay, Bonaire
18 - 19 6.5 Bravo 9'
Good session. Well powered most of the session and fully powered when wind picked up to 19 knots. Had a mini-race with a guy I met a couple of days ago (a freestyle trick guy, Eric from Sweden). He asked to race - we did a round trip starting at the mangroves. We were essentially equal in speed. At the launch side I was able to do a very nice carving jibe and maintained a plane on exit. The 9' Hi-Tech jibes so much easier than the MR118...
18 - 19 6.5 Bravo 9'
Good session. Well powered most of the session and fully powered when wind picked up to 19 knots. Had a mini-race with a guy I met a couple of days ago (a freestyle trick guy, Eric from Sweden). He asked to race - we did a round trip starting at the mangroves. We were essentially equal in speed. At the launch side I was able to do a very nice carving jibe and maintained a plane on exit. The 9' Hi-Tech jibes so much easier than the MR118...
Friday, April 17, 2015
April 17
Lac Bay, Bonaire
15 7.5 Retro MR118
After three weeks of sailing 'gorge' boards, the Magic Ride felt like an aircraft carrier! Took me the whole sailing session to relearn how to jibe this board. Didn't help that I felt close to overpowered the whole time… other than that, great session :-).
15 7.5 Retro MR118
After three weeks of sailing 'gorge' boards, the Magic Ride felt like an aircraft carrier! Took me the whole sailing session to relearn how to jibe this board. Didn't help that I felt close to overpowered the whole time… other than that, great session :-).
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
April 15
Lac Bay, Bonaire
17-18? 6.5 Bravo 9'
Nice sessions. Almost no one at the sailing sites. Was moderately powered but could have used more to make jibing easier. Spent some time after sailing talking with Dr. Steve - great guy, easy to talk with.
17-18? 6.5 Bravo 9'
Nice sessions. Almost no one at the sailing sites. Was moderately powered but could have used more to make jibing easier. Spent some time after sailing talking with Dr. Steve - great guy, easy to talk with.
Monday, April 13, 2015
April 13
Lac Bay, Bonaire
20-22 5.6 Race 8'3" DIMP
Rode the 8'3" Dimpled Hi-Tech for the first time on Bonaire. At 22 knots and the 5.6 sail I was nicely powered. At 20 knots it was still OK but getting close to marginal. The 8'3" Dimp sailed just like the other 8'3" - I still can not tell any difference with the dimples in the back of the board. In any case, it sailed very nicely with the 5.6 Race, jibed nicely.
20-22 5.6 Race 8'3" DIMP
Rode the 8'3" Dimpled Hi-Tech for the first time on Bonaire. At 22 knots and the 5.6 sail I was nicely powered. At 20 knots it was still OK but getting close to marginal. The 8'3" Dimp sailed just like the other 8'3" - I still can not tell any difference with the dimples in the back of the board. In any case, it sailed very nicely with the 5.6 Race, jibed nicely.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
April 12
Lac Bay, Bonaire
20-22 5.1 Race 8'4" SVF
Moderately powered. Except for rental sailing area, the place was deserted. Spent some time over in the mangrove area making short runs and practicing carving jibes. This area is good for this if the wind is strong enough. You have just enough time to get on a plane and get settled in before doing the jibe. Can get a lot more jibes in before you get tired.
20-22 5.1 Race 8'4" SVF
Moderately powered. Except for rental sailing area, the place was deserted. Spent some time over in the mangrove area making short runs and practicing carving jibes. This area is good for this if the wind is strong enough. You have just enough time to get on a plane and get settled in before doing the jibe. Can get a lot more jibes in before you get tired.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
April 11
Lac Bay, Bonaire
22-24 4.6 Cam 1 8'3", 8'4" SVF
Started on the 8'3" with 24 knots ( gusting to maybe 28) well powered to overpowered. This was a good sail/board combination for these conditions. Had enough wind that the 8'3" would stay planing in the jibes. Sailed for about 45 minutes then the wind backed off. Switched to the 8'4" SVF and had some good runs. It sails through the lulls better and stays on a plane longer in the jibes. Spent some time sailing short runs on the far side of the bay practicing jibing. Would have been perfect but the sun was behind clouds and in the section of water that turns milky white due to waves, I could not see the water surface differences so jibing was difficult.
22-24 4.6 Cam 1 8'3", 8'4" SVF
Started on the 8'3" with 24 knots ( gusting to maybe 28) well powered to overpowered. This was a good sail/board combination for these conditions. Had enough wind that the 8'3" would stay planing in the jibes. Sailed for about 45 minutes then the wind backed off. Switched to the 8'4" SVF and had some good runs. It sails through the lulls better and stays on a plane longer in the jibes. Spent some time sailing short runs on the far side of the bay practicing jibing. Would have been perfect but the sun was behind clouds and in the section of water that turns milky white due to waves, I could not see the water surface differences so jibing was difficult.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
April 9
Lac Bay, Bonaire
18-22 5.6 Race 8'0" SVF
At 18 knots was powered up but the board would fall off a plane very quickly in the jibes. At 22 knots the board jibed better although still fell off a plane earlier than the 8'4". The board takes some 'horsepower' to get up on a plane. It was fairly easy to do a stall jibe and then bury the nose when sheeting in the sail. Not nearly as forgiving as the 8'4" SVF board.
18-22 5.6 Race 8'0" SVF
At 18 knots was powered up but the board would fall off a plane very quickly in the jibes. At 22 knots the board jibed better although still fell off a plane earlier than the 8'4". The board takes some 'horsepower' to get up on a plane. It was fairly easy to do a stall jibe and then bury the nose when sheeting in the sail. Not nearly as forgiving as the 8'4" SVF board.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
April 8
Lac Bay, Bonaire
16-17 6.5 Bravo 9'
Another great session. The 6.5 Bravo worked great, had enough power, and was easy to jibe, flipped easily. Cams rotated easily. I'm making 95% of my jibes now. Starboard jibes are usually always 'moving' jibes. Maybe 50% are close to planing. Port jibes are now 'moving' jibes as long as I make sure to 'pull across to the right' with the left hand when flipping the sail.
16-17 6.5 Bravo 9'
Another great session. The 6.5 Bravo worked great, had enough power, and was easy to jibe, flipped easily. Cams rotated easily. I'm making 95% of my jibes now. Starboard jibes are usually always 'moving' jibes. Maybe 50% are close to planing. Port jibes are now 'moving' jibes as long as I make sure to 'pull across to the right' with the left hand when flipping the sail.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
April 7
Lac Bay, Bonaire
18-21 5.6 Race 9'
Great session. Very nicely powered at 21 knots, still sailable at 18 but would have liked more. Jibes are coming nicely in both directions. The pulling with the left arm on flipping the sail on port jibes fixed the stalling issue, also allowed me to grab the boom with the right hand after the flip rather than grabbing the mast below the boom.
18-21 5.6 Race 9'
Great session. Very nicely powered at 21 knots, still sailable at 18 but would have liked more. Jibes are coming nicely in both directions. The pulling with the left arm on flipping the sail on port jibes fixed the stalling issue, also allowed me to grab the boom with the right hand after the flip rather than grabbing the mast below the boom.
Friday, April 3, 2015
April 3
Lac Bay, Bonaire
18-21 5.6 Race 8'4" SVF
Very nicely powered at 21 knots, maybe slightly more power at 18 than the 5.5 Retro. The 5.6 Race jibes very nicely, I have no issues with this cam'd sail. It feels lighter than the Retro and while the Retro has this 'pull' on the sail when powered up, the Race is deceptive, no real pull but the power and speed are there... On Port reach jibes, I need to be more aggressive with the left arm in pulling the sail across when flipping it. If I do that, I think the jibes can become carving jibes rather than stall jibes.
18-21 5.6 Race 8'4" SVF
Very nicely powered at 21 knots, maybe slightly more power at 18 than the 5.5 Retro. The 5.6 Race jibes very nicely, I have no issues with this cam'd sail. It feels lighter than the Retro and while the Retro has this 'pull' on the sail when powered up, the Race is deceptive, no real pull but the power and speed are there... On Port reach jibes, I need to be more aggressive with the left arm in pulling the sail across when flipping it. If I do that, I think the jibes can become carving jibes rather than stall jibes.
Thursday, April 2, 2015
April 2
Lac Bay, Bonaire
18-20 5.5 Retro 8'4" SVF
Barely enough power at 18 knots, nicely powered at 20. Jibes are getting better on starboard reach.
18-20 5.5 Retro 8'4" SVF
Barely enough power at 18 knots, nicely powered at 20. Jibes are getting better on starboard reach.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)