Nov 30

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO 6 5.8, iSonic 90, MFC-KP 320, Wind: 23G26+

Today I violated a primary windsurfing rule - have a plan B. I was so sure, for some reason, that I knew what the conditions were going to be that I failed to bring any Plan B gear,  in this case 'gorge gear'. I am not (yet) competent to sail the iSonic 90 in completely overpowered circumstances when the water condition is .5 - .7 meter washboard chop. I was able to hold everything together on the outgoing run, while working hard to depower the sail, since it was a slight broad reach. But on the return run pointing into the wind I had a lot of difficulty keeping the board from being airborne off of each chop face. Eventually I stacked it and relearned how difficult it is to re-fly a race sail once the luff has filled with water. Drifted in to shore where I could apply more outhaul, fly the sail, and limp back to the launch site. I hung around for a while but it was clear the wind wasn't dropping so I packed it in.

Because I had other commitments during the day, I didn't have time to make the hour round-trip drive home to get the proper gear. This slammed the door shut on any chance of USA-West making a dent in USA-NE for November. Sorry Roo. Bummer. Don't know if Marc sailed today - didn't see him out while I was there.

Nov 29

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO 5 7.8, JP Magic Ride 118, 40 cm Ride fin, Wind: 14-17 knots

Afternoon started out with a bummer when the Sailworks JoyStick 460 mast snapped while rigging the sail. Second time this mast has broken in six months - No more Sailworks masts for me...  Afternoon got significantly brighter when I was able to acquire a used Neil Pryde 460 Matrix mast (which should better fit the curve characteristics of the EVO sails). Rigged the 7.8 - worked great! Wind was light when finished rigging so went out on the Magic Ride, got a couple of nice cruising runs then the afternoon wind bump kicked in to where I was fully to over-done on the 7.8. Tide was high so I could practice jibes over the sandbar area.

Nov 27

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO 5 7.8, iSonic 90, MFC KP-360, Wind 13 - 14 kts

Diddle around day. Barely enough wind to sometimes get on a plane (about 50% of the time).

Nov 22

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO 5 7.8, JP MR118, iSonic 90, Wind: 15 knts

Was hoping that the 7.8 was enough for the iSonic 90 in slightly less than 15 knots - nope. Got a sucker run across the bay and a wobble sail back. Switched to the MR 118 and it was wobble both directions. Waited an hour or so and the wind maybe got to 15, enough for the MR. Sailed a lap or two with Marc - same sail size but he was on an iSonic 118 (?). Being a better sailor with the right size/type board he left me behind each lap. Presently wondering if the iSonic 107 would be enough to get me through these types of conditions... Had aspirations of making a dent in at least one of the numbers to pull us even with the USA-East coast but didn't happen, thanks Huey. Maybe tomorrow...

Nov 17

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO 5 7.8, iSonic 90, MFC KP-RC 360, Wind: 17 kts.

Roo, don't panic, Marc sailed today and should have some decent numbers to post :).

I misjudged the wind, big-time, when I left the house it looked like a repeat of yesterday so rigged the 5.8 when I got to the bay. Then the wind dropped off just enough so all I could do was wobble across the bay. Waited for the afternoon wind bump to occur - of course didn't happen today. If I hadn't already talked with Marc and seen him do a couple of NM runs, I would have been in more of a hurry to re-rig.  Finally rigged the 7.8 but was too late in the day, wind was already backing off - for the evening. Managed one run and called it quits.

Nov 16

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO 5 5.8, iSonic 90, MFC KP-RC 320, Wind: 22 E

If the chop in the bay gets any bigger, I'm going back to my Gorge gear for a while. Did a lot of 'tail walking' the board bouncing over the chop. First major stack at speed today. Good news is that everything that is supposed to be waterproof survived the impact. I was particularly curious how my Sony Sbh70 Bluetooth headset would deal with an impact - no problem :). Was a little annoyed that my DaKine impact vest unzipped on impact. 

Nov 15

Bonaire Lac Bay. Neil Pryde EVO 5 5.8, iSonic 90, MFC KP-RC 320, Wind: 21 knots

Happy with today's session. 1) the 5.8 is fixed and it is probably my favorite sail :). 2) I finally understand what Taty Frans told me yesterday about how to get into the back foot strap on the iSonic. Do the normal hook-in, front foot in, then bear into the wind and lean back against the sail. At this point you can quickly insert the back foot into the strap without fear of being catapulted. Then, quickly push with the front foot, pull with the back foot to get the board to fall off downwind and pick up speed. He wasn't this detailed so it took some pondering on my part. Pretty sure this is what he meant because it worked great for me. No longer concerned about getting catapulted each time I start when sailing 'overdone'. :). Never had this issue before because I could always depower the sail - not so easy with a race sail...

The chop is getting kind of hairy in the middle of the bay for the NM, keeps things interesting...

Nov 14

Bonaire Lac Bay. Sailworks Retro 5.5, Hi-Tech SVF 8'4" Gorge, True Ames fin, Wind 22 kts

Sailed most of the time on the 'Gorge Gear' to see how it felt compared to the iSonic and race sails - obvious answer: more forgiving, but slower. The surprise was that when I switched to the iSonic 90 at the end, I wasn't any faster than on the Hi-Tech. Part of the issue today may have been the chop - about 50% bigger than 'normal' size.

Off-topic: spoke today with Taty Frans, PWA sailor and Starboard team rider. He is not a fan of the iSonic 90. Says it is quick but difficult to jibe. He much prefers the iSonic 87 and really likes the iSonic 107 for lighter winds. Guess I should have done more research, although the 90 was the only board I found available for sale...

Nov 13

Bonaire Lac Bay: NP EVO 5 7.9, iSonic 90, MFC KP 3600, Wind 15 kts E

Another short session, got in a couple of runs before the sun set and wind backed off. Feeling more comfortable with the 'back foot in footstrap' first approach but still feels very unnatural.

Nov 12

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO 5 7.0, iSonic 90, MFC KP 340, Wind: 15 knots

To use Aussie vernacular, was way underdone today. Might have been doable with the 7.9 but I think 15 knots at the airport (a couple of miles away) was being generous. I shared the bay with one other person attempting to get on a plane. Got a 'sucker run' across the bay right out of the chute and then spent almost all of the rest of the hour wobbling back and messing around in the shallow area adjusting foot straps, practicing pumping, walking the gear back to the launch area -  basically having an hour of exercise that was more fun than being at the gym.

Nov 11

Bonaire Lac Bay. Neil Pryde EVO 6 7.0, iSonic 90, MFC KP 340, Wind: 20-22 knots

First day with the new gear when something didn't break or mess up :).

My limited sample size of one (me) clearly demonstrates that sailing on the edge of overpowered with race sails is very strenuous for this old body, especially after a couple of catapult dismounts while trying to get into the footstraps. Had to change my technique from hook in, front foot, back foot to back foot, hook in, front foot. Speed numbers were not any better than with wind a couple of knots less because of the extra focus on trying to keep some portion of board or fin in the water while traversing the choppy bay. I feel like an old fogey driving a Ferrari at speed - danger, danger, watch out. Looking forward to getting my EVO 5 5.8 sail fixed so I can cruise a little :).

Nov 9

Bonaire Lac Bay. Neil Pryde EVO 6 7.0, iSonic 90, MFC KP 34, Wind: 17 knots

another day fighting equipment... What was supposed to be a 2.5 hour session turned into an hour session... This time it was the mast tip and sail mast cap - Same issue as on the EVO 5 7.8. I was led astray by the spare sail mast cap in the bag of the 7.0 - this one fit the Sailworks JoyStick mast perfectly. I thought NP wised up and used this cap in the sail and provided a spare. No such luck. This time was much quicker removing the old sail mast cap and replacing it with one that would work. Unfortunately in the process the Sailworks mast cap came off and apparently a small amount of Bonaire powder sand got in the top half of the mast. So at the end of the sailing session the two mast sections are firmly frozen together... :| .

Nov 8

Bonaire Lac Bay. Neil Pryde EVO 6 7.0, iSonic 90, MFC KP 34. Wind: ESE, 17 kts

Wind died shortly after I finished rigging... Wind was SE which made it difficult to get back to the launch site after going around the the sand spit.

Nov 7

Bonaire Lac Bay. Neil Pryde EVO 5 7.8, iSonic 90, MFC KP 36. Wind: 18 knots

Short session but first real time on this gear. The sail rotation issue of yesterday is getting solved - the bottom two batten tensioners were jammed and would not loosen as designed. Freed these two tensioners so they work properly. Still have a little issue with the first batten above the boom... but sail rotates MUCH easier than yesterday.

Still getting used to the rig but I like the way the board handles. Twitchy but can withstand a LOT of back foot fin pressure. Also appears that once I get more comfortable with the gear that jibes will, surprisingly, be easier than on the MR 118.

Nov 6

No numbers today, forgot to turn on GPSLogit... but did place the order for a GW-52, to be shipped from Germany on Monday.

Bonaire Lac Bay. Neil Pryde EVO 5 7.8, iSonic 90, 36 cm fin. ~ 17 knots

First day on the my recently acquired gear. Seems fast, and a little twitchy :), wish I had been less focused on the gear and had remembered to hit the record button on GPSLogit...

Still having an issue getting the sail to rotate properly. Downhaul and outhaul seem correct, according to our new team member Marc van Swoll. 

Roo commented:

Doh