Dec 29 - Lac Bay

4,102 km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

2014 Sailworks Retro 6.5, 2015 iSonic 107, Black Project Freeride Delta 21. Wind: ~ 16 knots

Today was going to be a day for practicing laydown jibes... didn't happen. Looked on the webcam before rigging, saw bundles of seaweed on the beach. Fortunately, I brought my only weed fin, the Black Project Freeride Delta 21 cm. Decided to rig the Retro to make it easier to waterstart when I would certainly botch port tack laydowns. First run across the bay was decent, the BP Delta obviously would not point like a slalom fin, but it held pretty well, no spin outs. The pluses of using the BP Delta was that I could make a run deep in to the mangrove shallows, which I did, and it did a wonderful job with the floating weed patches. Unfortunately, I swung wide on the jibe so only a little part of the jibe counted in the Alpha, but the jibe felt good. Back to the launch area for some minor adjustments and another run, also decent but a little too deep and hit the mud bottom in the mangroves. Turned around and realized I was in trouble. The wind turbine south of the bay usually points between NE and SE, it was now pointing almost S which meant I had to sail directly into the wind to get back. This was due to a rain squal moving through south of the bay. OK, took the indirect route back but the wind was also dropping so it was mostly just a long slow slog. Finally got back to the launch area and waited, and waited for the wind to pick back up. As the graph shows, it didn't. Good for Aron, Amado, and Taty on their foils, not so good for me rigged for high teen wind speeds... Basically, sailing session was over after only two runs...

I stumbled into Kuma's camera frame today. Roo, does the stance look less stiff?

I commented:

CONGRATULATIONS ROO! . Happy that everything (at least sort of) lined up for you and you had decent temperature! And congratulations on your second best 2 Sec Ave posted to GPSTC!

Now, back on the exercise equipment and prepare for Defi 

Roo commented:
Barton stance looks good, try the boom even lower to get out further away from the gear and load it up.

I commented:

Roo, the scary part is that I'm actually starting to think like you ! The part that is deceiving with the photo is that the boom height is set at the same height (and the absolute lowest height) that I can set it for when using the Gaastra Vapors. The Sailworks Retro apparently has a slightly bigger boom cutout, or maybe lower, or, whatever, the point is that I have already set the boom height as low as I can on the Vapors. I only set it as in the photo for consistency between sails. 

I'm a little stumped as to where to go now - seems like the only option is longer harness lines (using 30 inch now). I have a set of Severne adjustable that will go to 32 inch, so I can try that but at some point I think my arms will need to grow longer in order to get any further away from the rig...

I commented:
One point I forgot to mention, the Gaastra carbon boom that I use with the Vapors is actually a couple of cm wider than the Maui Sails boom in the picture. This extra width of course gets me further away from the sail (without stretching my arms  ).

Roo commented:
Longer lines and drop you butt. Can you drop the extension 1 notch so the sail is down lower?

I commented:
re: dropping the extension: Even using the RigWinch I can barely get enough downhaul on the sail now (per Taty's recommendation). There is maybe an inch between the sail pulleys and the mast base pulleys. Unfortunately, the Chinook mastbase pulleys are perpendicular to the GA sail pulleys so the rope needs to rotate 90 degrees and this rotation takes up most of the space. I have been wondering if I should switch to mast bases where the pulleys are in the same plane as the sail pulleys (I think Neil Pryde mast bases are the only ones I have seen like this). I have wondered for years why the mast base pulleys and sail pulleys don't align...

Dec 28 - Lac Bay

4093km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

2017 GA Vapor 7.9, 2017 iSonic Ultra 127, Drake Carbon Slalom 44. Wind: 12 - 14 knots

Very short session today, arrived late. 127 popped onto a plane nicely for the first run across and back, struggled a little on the second run. Still getting used to the massive width and the effort required for directional control.

Dec 25 - Lac Bay

4091km
Lac Bay, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

2017 GA Vapor 7.1, 2015 iSonic 107, MFC KP-RC360. Wind: 15 to 16 knots.

My little-by-little Christmas present to myself today was I'm starting to figure out jibe timing and why I really need to improve my laydown jibes. I had a good success rate today on the few starboard tack jibes and made a couple of very weak port tack jibes.

The following is a note to myself regarding jibes: As per most people having jibing issues, I'm late to the party on the jibe and am flipping the sail a couple of seconds too late. This was not really an issue on the Gorge gear because I wasn't concerned about Alpha speed and was generally not carrying board speed greater than wind speed into the jibe. With the slalom gear, I'm entering the jibe significantly faster than wind speed and without a good laydown technique I have ended up having to coast through the jibe or end up back-winding myself when I flip the sail. Of coarse, this just means a very slow jibe. I'm improving on the starboard tack laydown but I'm not leaning forward enough, nor am I sheeting in enough to completely dump power from the sail. If I can improve the jibe entry by dumping power and with a tighter carve I can then start the feet switch and sail rotation much earlier while still having some board speed. If i am understanding the timing correctly, the sail flip will happen as the sail goes from completely depowered (and no backwind possibility) to powering up on the new reach direction, thus allowing maximum possible board speed.  

Positives for the day: I had some epoxy so 107 is good to go until I whack it again... Jibes felt like I was FINALLY starting to get a clue on how to jibe the slalom gear, so I'm stoked to have a longer session in a day or two. Tomorrow looks like lighter wind, but Wednesday on is looking promising for now...

Roo commented:

Good to see Santa brought you a couple of good jibes, poor old RooDolph is stuck here in the snow!

I commented:

Kean, you sure do get good mileage out of 'Roo' . I've been watching the Oregon weather, wondering if/when you were going to freak out...

Yes, Santa was nice today, and I'm going to be greedy and empty his sleigh of all the rest of his jibes. Too bad the people in the rental area aren't going to get any . 

Dec 24 - Lac Bay

4074km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

2017 GA Vapor 7.1, 2015 iSonic 107, MFC KP-RC360. Wind: ~ 15 knots. 

Registered some Time on the Water. Nothing memorable, but did get wet. Wind was variable (17 - 19 knots when I arrived, 12 knots after I rigged, 15 knots an hour later when I could sail). The wind gauge at the airport appears to read a couple knots high compared to the realtime reading at Jibe City. Futsed around rigging when the boom clamp rope broke on the Maui Sails boom. Fortunately still had some of the line Roo sent me a couple years ago . First time rigging a GA sail on that boom. Fortunately had not mounted the adjustable outhaul on the boom yet as the pulley system on the boom doesn't mate well with the design for the adjustable outhaul. May just bag the adjustable outhaul on that boom. 

Had some decent runs, reasonably powered and could get locked in. The northern part of the bay still had some sea weed fragments but didn't cause too much of an issue. Hopefully today will be the last of the sea weed for a while...

Christened the 107 with a beginner's failure. Last jibe of the day I didn't get a good grip on the boom during the sail flip. Mast smacked (and slightly cracked the front of the board). Hopefully I've got some epoxy in the shop 'cause it is two days before the stores open up, due to Christmas...

Taty arrived while I was derigging and did a short freestyle session. Unlike most days, when he is surrounded by an entourage, he was by himself so we had a chance to have a nice, relaxed chat. During the chat I proposed that if he had time, and it wasn't too distracting for him, that it would be very interesting for the rest of us if he would wear the GW-60 and post his race sessions. He thought that would be very likely (I think he is kind of curious to see the data himself). He started to apologize that the races might not be the best from I speed standpoint, to which I replied that that wasn't the point. The point is to see, from a "datahead's perspective " what is going on during the race. Sort of like looking at the data from an F1 car during the race... If it works out, this could be a fun Summer looking at Taty's, Amado's, and Aron's PWA slalom racing tracks .

Dec 20 - Lac Bay

4058km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

2017 GA Vapor 7.9, 2017 iSonic 127 Ultra, Drake Carbon Slalom 44. Wind : around 12 knots from 2:30 to 5:10.

This afternoon was a 'pft' day. Wind just enough to tease but not enough to sail (unless one was foiling). Only attempted three runs, first two were basically slogs across and back. The last run, at 5:15 would have actually been a decent run except for the floating weeds on the far side which were immediately collected by the fin, making for an interesting reach back to the launch. The wind was light enough that I didn't feel like stopping, clearing the fin and hoping I could waterstart... So, not much time on the water. Normally we don't have a weed issue on Bonaire, but periodically, a mass of this stuff will blow in from the open ocean. 

On the plus side, Adam, Lynn and AJ returned from The Netherlands to spend Christmas with Adam's father, Archie. I mention this because last March, shortly after I returned to the USA, they arrived on Bonaire. The first week Adam was sailing in Lac Bay, got catapulted, landed on the boom and broke 4 ribs. Took him six months to mostly recover... Another reason I really like my DaKine Surface Vest .

Dec 19 - Lac Bay

4052km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

2017 GA Vapor 7.9, 2015 iSonic 107, MFC KP-RC360  Wind: 15 - 16 knots (and less during 10 - 20 minute lulls).

Another execise day. Was willing to push it harder today but the wind didn't cooperate - big lulls meant time on the beach. Was hoping for a little more wind as I feel like I'm starting to get my head around laydown jibe timing but at my skill level, laydowns are difficult in light winds. 

I almost nailed a conch poacher today. Two of them were snorkeling just north of the tip of the sand bar. I was returning to the launch area, underpowered and barely on a plane, with little ability to make significant course corrections. I saw one of the poachers on the surface and was able to sail behind him. Just as I passed him, the second poacher surfaced from the bottom, about five feet directly behind me. Three seconds sooner and he would have had a race fin in his head... I have seen these guys before. They wear black and spend as little time on the surface as possible, and are  directly in the main sailing channel. I have contemplated reporting them to STINAP but doubt anything would result except future trouble for me. I talked to one other sailor that in the past had confronted them while they were in the water - they through a hammer through his race sail....

The Three Amigos showed up with their foil gear (some of it fresh out of the box). A trend is developing regarding their involvement in GPSTC - I am now expecting a minimal level of postings, to none at all. Time will tell.

Dec 17 - Lac Bay

4039km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean

2017 GA Vapor 7.9, 2015 iSonic 107, MFC KPR360. Wind: 15 G 17 knots

Taty returned from Holland yesterday and delivered my 'new to me' Vapor 6.4 sail . Almost a full quiver now, get the Vapor 5.6 in February. Taty also picked up a GW-60 for himself and Amado so the new team members are fully instrumented now . Got a chuckle out of Taty about the GW-60. I had sent him a message telling him what firmware he needed, which version of the download utility to use, a useful configuration setting, etc. He handed me his GW-60 and said "fix it", .

Today was a marginal exercise day. Wind was good enough to get on a plane easily and be well powered on the reaches, but I was just physically dragging. 2 km at a time was about all I could deal with. 

Taty, Amado, and Aron spent the afternoon foiling. Aron wore his GT-31 so hopefully will see a posting from him. Last year at around this time, with relatively light winds, all three would have been on freestyle gear - apparently foiling can be addictive .

Dec 15 - Lac Bay

4027km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean

2017 GA Vapor 7.9, 2017 iSonic 127 Ultra, Drake Carbon Slalom 44,  Wind ~15 knots

Happy 70th Birthday to me , Got to try out the 'new to me' 127 L iSonic and give the 'new to me' Vapor 7.9 another go. Spent a bunch of time waiting for wind after a big squall came through and messed up conditions for over an hour. Once I was on the water, the first noticable difference between the older iSonics and the 2017 is the foot straps. While the new footstraps are nice, flexible, and comfortable, they collapse VERY easily which made it a challenge the first few runs to get my back foot in the straps. Over time this got better with the last three attempts being a success on first attempt. The second noticable difference is this board FEELS AS WIDE AS A HOUSE DOOR . Pops on a plane easily but I feel like I'm trying to steer an aircraft carrier... Again, over time I'll hopefully get used to this. On the last run, at least I made the jibe. On the plus side, it looks like it will do exactly what I purchased it for - allow me to not be slogging in light winds.

Amado's Tracks

I commented:

Here is a short video of Amado foiling (video taken by his mother, Nancy Vrieswijk-Janssen, from the boat dock - nice job!) https://www.facebook.com/AmadoVrieswijkNb20/videos/1472198026220127/

Windxtasy commented:

Happy Birthday Barton!

Very impressive foil gybing by Armado. I can't gybe like that on a regular board.

He gets dangerously close to the beach...

I commented:

Anita, Thank you!

Amado is enjoying foiling, big time . He placed 9th overall in 2017 in the PWA Foiling Exhibihition races with a first place finish in the final race in New Caledonia. With that skill comes confidence and a leve of risk taking when getting close to the beach . Amado and Aron (his posting will happen soon, hopefully) spent the afternoon foiling. A quick chat with Amado at the end of that day garnered a couple of tidbits:

1.  board size actually makes a big difference in the performance of the foil (upwind/downwind, and overall 'twitchyness') which is why for 2018 the PWA is standardizing on ONE foil board size. 
2. On Amado's last run from the mouth of the bay, he was just cruising along when I saw him explode in a huge crash. Huh? Turned out he almost ran over a turtle. Saw it at the last moment with not enough time to turn away so the only alternative was to jump it. He did, missed the turtle but got launched in the process. Fortunately, no damage to anyone. Way to protect the environment, Amado !

Roo commented:

70 candles Barton, that's a big one!  Many hippy happy hoppy returns. Now you need to do 70 at 70, that's kmh not knots, your'e only 7 knots off.

I commented:

Thank you Roo!

'Only 7 knots' , and pigs can fly too! . I'll be VERY happy if I can get to 33 or 34 knots. Maybe using the longer harness lines and more practice... However, it is nice to have an aspirational goal .

Dec 9 - Lac Bay

4019km
Lac Bay, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean

GA Vapor 7.1, 2015 iSonic 107, MFC KPR360. Wind 17 - 18 Knots

Little by little. The 36 cm fin worked well except in the expected situation of very low board speed and pointing upwind very hard - then it tried to spin out. Otherwise, worked great! Thanks Roo for hammering on me about fin size.

The 'getting low' is still a work in progress, but getting there. It was pushing my comfort zone to be low, in chop and see a gust approaching and to NOT back off but instead stay locked in and go for it. . And, of course, it workd as per Roo . Three of my best 10 sec averages were in the worst chop. Given all the variables, hard to say whether there was any true speed difference but the trend is in the right direction. Today had 0.4 knot faster 2 sec, 0.5 knot faster 5x10 and 1.3 knot faster NM . Of interest to me, and something I would never have personally guessed without the GPS tracks is that Taty's 10 sec average segments were all in the WORST chop on the bay - Go Figure .

Also, 4 cm less fin means 4 cm more margin for some of the coral tops in the rental area .

Sailed back to the launch area for a break and was then going to work on jibes, but got sidetracked as Taty, Amado and Giovani did some laps. Fortunately to the GPS on Taty before he went out. When they came in, I signed up a great new member to The West Coast Speedsters . Per Taty's suggestion, I have one more immediate recruit to ask...

Taty's Tracks.

Roo Commented:
Thatta boy Barton, I like to see it all coming together for you. Now you've got your head around what it feels like you can keep pushing it. Sometimes chop is faster, it's just the way it lines up with the available wind. Some days I can hit 37 knots in the chop in the middle of the river, next and 34 is tops!

I Commented:

Thanks Roo!

Expect a 'team member' request coming your way soon!

Roo Commented:
All sorted, he's in. Keep this up and you'll get a recruiting bonus!

I Commented:Next step, GPS purchases. Will be a about a week before Taty's return from Holland with the GPSs. Then, hopefully, the fun begins , and I loose all my jellybeans...

I Commented:

Here is a link to a slow motion video I took of Taty and Amado jibing. Turned out pretty well considering it was taken using my smartphone...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL3CGilboac

Peter Commented:

Barton, nice job signing up Taty! I'd say tell him he'd be welcome in our team if he ever wants to leave - but a "Bonaire Boys" team will make more sense once you got them all hooked to GPS speedsurfing. It's amazing to see what kind of speed he gets in the light wind, especially the alpha! Would be cool if he'll post speeds from PWA slaloms next year.

I Commented:

Peter, Yes, Taty's speeds are amazing and Amado's and Terence Bernabela's are extremely close to his. Then there are the Bonaire Young Guns . Will be interesting to see if they get hooked. I mentioned a Bonaire Team to Taty and the agreement was 'little by little'...

I definitely agree about posted tracks/speeds from the PWA slalom events. Would add a whole new level of interest - I haven't opened that topic yet 

Windxtasy Commented:

Beautiful synchronised gybing.

It is humbling when Taty's alpha is almost as fast as your 2 sec, isn't it?

I Commented:

The sychronised gybing was inspiring to watch!

Anita, I had almost gotten past that  . Like in high school, I've decided I'm going to be the team equipment/resource manager...

Windxtasy Commented:

and chief talent scout and recruiter. A very valuable role.