Jan 30

3203km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO 5 7.8, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38. Wind: 12G15 E

Wind was maybe a little too mellow today :) . Before the wind died it was maybe 13 -15 knots. During that time I was able to track against another sailor on slalom gear and was essentially the same speed although he got me on every jibe :). His name is Aart Van Loocke, BEL-37 and am guessing he is 18-20 years old. He was on a Severne 7.8 racing sail and a JP 108L Slalom 66 board. If I can get my jibes down better and he stays on Bonaire for a while, we could have some fun. We only had a couple of laps before the wind shut off. With the wind light, my problem was falling off a plane on the jibes and Aart didn't - Bye Bye :).

Jan 29

3186km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO 5 7.8, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38. Wind: 16G19 E

Wind picked up a little today. I was surprised by how much more work it was to sail, especially holding down the 7.8 in 19-20 knot gusts. Got a good workout and made some minor advances on jibes. Had a max speed over 28 but that doesn't count on the charts...

Here is a photo taken by Daniel Bakos showing the extremely rough launch conditions we struggle with, including the incredibly long walk to the water 😀.

Jan 28

3157km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO 5 7.8, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38. Wind: 12G16 knots ESE

Another mellow day. Enough wind to cruise but not enough to really practice lay-down jibes. Fortunately, the tide was high enough that I could cruise over the sandbar otherwise it would have been annoying trying to get back to the launch site in light winds. Got to twice demonstrate to myself that as long as I don't let the luff sleeve start to fill with water after biffing a jibe that I have no issues waterstarting the race sails. :)

Jan 26

3128km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO 5 7.8, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38. Wind: 12G16 knots E

Another mellow day. Did a few laps with Bert - good way to get in some enjoyable distance. 

Jan 25

3096km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO 5 7.8, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38. Wind: 14G17 E

A nice mellow day. Reasonably powered but needed more 19 knot gusts to get moving. Had an annoying obstacle on the mangrove side - a lot of floating ocean sea weed made it difficult to make a good speed run into the shallows, or to exit the shallows-deep water boundary without picking up weeds on the fin. If I could catch a gust on the out I typically could blast through without snagging weeds but had a few runs where I had to stop on the sand bar to clear the fin.  

Jan 19

3067km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO 5 7.8, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38. Wind: 10G14

Pushed the 'wind envelope' and lost. Today was forecast to be the last 'decent wind' day for a week except it wasn't quite enough for me. Got a good 'sucker run' across the bay on one of the few gusts. Ran too far into the mangrove area and hit the bottom on the jibe. Was rewarded with a slog back. Oh well.

Jan 18

3064km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO 5 7.8, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38. Wind: 15 knots and dropping...

Pretty much missed the wind today. Died about the time I got to the bay. Got in a total of four runs today - all nice runs to the north and then slog all the way back to the launch area. The slogging was caused, in part, by snagging with the fin a lot of floating weeds. These weeds are not typical for Lac Bay...

Little-by-Little: Did have one jibe where I had enough entry speed to almost make a 'half Roo' laydown jibe (By this I mean the mast was maybe at a 45 degree angle with the water instead of parallel to it). Got the feel for being more agressive with the laydown but was concentrating so much on laying the mast/boom down that forgot to move my front hand towards the mast so when I pulled the sail up and started to flip it, the boom was too far away for me to grab.

Jan 16

3057km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO 5 7.8, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38. Wind: 16G19 ENE

Up-and-down wind day due to rain squalls. Got in a short afternoon session that was reasonably consistent. Bert and Jeff (part-time Bonaire residents) arrived yesterday. Spent some time sailing with them. Jeff was on a Falcon, Bert on his Fanatic slalom, both on 7.5 sails. Happy to report that I beach started after both had simultaneously jibed in the launch area - was able to catch and pass both of them by the end of the run to the north.

Roo commented:

I see those competitive juices are flowing again Barton....I better watch my back this summer in the Gorge!

I commented:

I sometimes surprise myself at my level of covert competition :) . I pretend I'm just getting a measure of my current skill level but I have to admit there is also a satisfaction component to being faster as well :) . That said, I have nowhere close to the required testosterone level for you to have a any concerns, although I might try :) . 

Sort of on this topic, a friend took some videos of me jibing the other day. It is amazing the difference between your 'minds eye' view of what you think you are doing and what you are actually doing. My mast needs to go down by about 60 more degrees to qualify as a 'laydown' :). Back to the practice sessions...

Roo commented: 

This may help you with the laydown, from about 6 years ago. A 26.96 knot alpha day in the Hood River. https://dotsub.com/media/cf554882-9ce5-4a42-bdef-406dc09b813f/embed/eng

I look forward to some healthy competition this summer in the Gorge.

I commented:

Hmm, I tried your link and it took me to a page that looks like it should be a video but clicking on the play buttons (on image and also bottom of the page) would not start the playback. Any ideas?

edit: I also went directly to dotsub, searched on 'sandbar' and found the video but it still will not play. Is an account required? Will try that next...

edit: now have an account but still can not play the video. Is the video also on YouTube?

Roo commented:

Does this work? https://dotsub.com/media/cf554882-9ce5-4a42-bdef-406dc09b813f/embed/

I commented:

I can see it now. My problem was that I had Flash plugins disabled. When I enabled them for the dotsub domain, the video will play. 

Yes, this video will help. VERY NICE JIBE. Once again, you have set an aspirational goal for me. :)

Roo commented:

Glad it worked, that was one of my messier jibes but fast. They look much better now!

I commented:

You have the privilege of being critical if you chose... I would be thrilled to be consistently executing fast jibes like that :) . Thank you for the assistance!

Jan 15

3035km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO 5 7.8, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38. Wind: 16G19 ENE

Good cruising day. Arrived a little early and got in some extra kilometers for a change. Tide was high so runs into the mangrove shallows were not a problem except I could have used a few more strong gusts :) . Wind had a northerly component so could jibe close to the launch area except for a wind shadow close to shore. Still getting re-used to the 7.8 so was a little concerned about clearing the sail if I biffed a jibe. Waterstarted twice, no problem.

Rigging note: harness lines centered on 4th dot on boom.
Posted jibe video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dxCLQ_9FIk

Jan 13

2995km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO6 7.0, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38, Wind: 10G17 ENE

Another up-and-down wind day but with some sustained gusts that provided a couple of good jibe practice opportunities. Wind had a strong northerly component which allowed jibes in the relativelyprotected launch area. Fortunately there were only a couple of other windsurfers out today so the launch area was wide open for jibe practice.
Posted a jibe video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trlZ5WukRxo

Jan 12

2971km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO6 7.0, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38. Wind: 10-15 G 20 

Weird wind day caused by multiple rain squalls. Wind very up and down and swinging almost 90 degrees - but I'm NOT complaining, Roo, 'cause I got to sail :). 

Most memorable runs were just as one squall was approaching and the wind picked up. Was hang on time but the interesting part was as the wind picked up and I leaned more to windward to help hold down the sail, I reached a point where the sail was acting more like a wing than a sail and the board was my rudder, although it was mostly flying as well. This happened a few times on one reach - very exhilarating :) .

Daniel and Toni are back on Bonaire along with their daughter, her husband, and two kids.

Jan 8

2958km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO6 7.0, iSonic 107, MFC Weed 34/45degree, Drake Carbon slalom 38. Wind: 15G17 dropping to 12G14 knots

Yesterday I mentioned 'attitude check'. Today I had more attitude, but of a different variety. Today's attitude was the type one gets when after rigging the wind dies... Got a few 'sort of' runs in but basically nothing noteworthy. 

Observation for the day: the MFC Weed 34/45 degree fin is marginal for the iSonic 107, felt like I was sailing sideways a lot of the time, and it wasn't just because of the light winds - I felt that way yesterday when I was overpowered. Will give it a shot on the iSonic 90 as I don't recall having this problem in Oregon when sailing on the Goya Bolt 90 FreeRace board. Put the Drake fin back on the iSonic 107 and all was OK again...

Roo commented:
You need an attitude adjustment mate. Paradise, warm breezes, turquiose waters, gorgeous island girls serving you pina coladas on the beach.....suck it up sweetheart!  Blown off the water here, 60 knot winds, liquid smoke, 22 degrees F and snow on the ground.

I commented:
Uhm, touched a nerve? :) . Except for the island girls and pina coladas you were pretty close - I sail from the low-rent "locals launch' area where we have to bring our own amenities...

I have noticed that my house in Corvallis is covered with that white stuff - guess I'll have to stay here a couple more months :).

OK, perspective adjustment complete, no more whining, at least for a while...  Did I mention that it has been raining a lot here (dropped the temps clear down to 75F at night) and the wind has not been as consistent as last year? (tongue out).

Roo commented:

Yeah the frozen nerves in my toes! Dying for a sail, looks as if ARooBar will switch on again later this month. You've sailed 5 days this year all ready and it's not consistant. Can't wait until you dunk your head in the chilly Columbia this spring and wake up!

I commented:

'consistent' was meant to be somewhat of a joke, although other local sailors have expressed this view. Last year January was rocken. The ten day forecast released today is pretty much zippo. 

I hope ARooBar kicks in for you, seriously.

I'm not particularly looking forward to the cold shock of the Columbia. I think it was some time in July last year before I thought it was getting acceptably comfortable. That is why I'm trying to focus more on jibes - less time freezing and hyperventilating. :)

Jan 7

2942km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO6 7.0, iSonic 107, MFC Weed-34/45degree. Wind: 17G23 ESE up and down

Little By Little: Yippee Skippee, cracked the 2 Sec 30 knot barrier for Bonaire :) . PB for EVO6 7.0 for 2 Sec.

Very short session. Wind was 15-16 when I arrived. Looked like a good repeat of yesterday. By the time I was rigged it had cranked up a few notches to low 20's. Even though I suspected the board and sail were too big for the conditions (for me), I went out anyway. Very bouncy, jarring, hard ride on the northerly tack. Things got exciting once I hit flatter water and Chatty Cathy was singing 29s and 30s in my ears. Unfortunately, the last gust caused the typical, slow motions over-the-handlebars-while-hooked-in dismount resulting in me being slammed on top of the sail. No injuries to me but turns out I put a 1.5 inch tear in the mylar of the sail above the boom. After collecting myself I sailed back to the car, conditions had let up slightly so made another run. Had probably my best jibe to date on the iSonics but swung too wide for it to count in alpha. Was too late in the day to rerig for the conditions plus would really have preferred to just cruise on the Gorge gear at that point... Bagged it early.

Time for a attitude check. I'll never reach Roo's ability level so what am I doing 'white knuckling' my rides across the bay just tempting a crash that could do significant damage to this 69 year old body when I could be enjoying some bump-n-jump fun rides on the Gorge gear? I think my answer for Bonaire is slalom gear in 17 knot winds is fun and 20+ knots will be Gorge gear... 20+ knot winds on FLAT water would also be fun for slalom gear (HR Sand Bar). We will see how long it is before I get sucked back into the 'speed chase' :).

Roo commented:

Congrats on the PB Barton, attitude is everything. You've been pushing yourself this season and that's why you've improved. Time to take a breath, regroup for a while then step back up. No point comparing yourself with anyone else, just try to improve your own PB's. You forget I'm just a crazy old beach bum that loves ripping chop a new one and has bigger balls than brains.

I commented:

Thanks Roo - Good Advice! I suspect after a couple of 'Gorge Gear' sessions I'll start to get bored again... Yes, attitude is everything and sometimes my belt and suspenders are noticeable :) 

Jan 6

2937km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO6 7.0, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38. Wind: 15G17 ESE

Good session.

Little By Little: PBs for the EVO6 7.0 for both 2 Sec and 5x10. Exceeded previous numbers by at least a knot in both categories

Proved to myself that I can clear the race sails and waterstart, even when the sail starts out with clew in the wrong direction and cambers in the wrong orientation. Slowly getting some stamina back but need to learn that not every instant I'm planing I should be 'locked in', doesn't give the body time to rest.

I also demonstrated that I have no self-control. Today was going to be 'work-on-race-sail-jibe' day which meant jibing before hitting wind shadows or mangrove muck. But Chatty Cathy sucked me deep into the mangrove shallow area on every run. The tide was low enough that even if I did make the jibe, I couldn't sail out with a ton of weeds on the fin. So, I would have to slowly sail to water deep enough that I could dismount, clear the fin and start again - kind of killed alphas in that direction. On the southerly runs I wasn't aggressive enough to make decent-alpha jibes, plus rode the wind too far into the wind shadow hoping to see what the NP EVO would produce. Tomorrow will use the 45 degree weed fin and attempt more self control :).

Jan 5

2914km

Bonaire Lac Bay. Sailworks Retro 7.5, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38, Wind: 14G16 ESE

Mellow day today, just what I needed. After grouting tile floors and clearing brush along a fence, I wasn't looking forward to getting worked sailing, and the conditions were perfect for my needs. Winds ESE so not quite the normal sailing tacks, but no matter. Water had minimal chop, more like big ripples. Decided to mix it up a little and do some NM runs - from the tracks it is clear that I barely had enough room for a straight run.

Little By Little: PB for the 7.5 Retro on NM by about 2 knots.

I had the added fun of sailing with my new GW60 GPS watch. Really enjoyed the higher contrast display and the ease of reading the numbers. Had it mounted on my right wrist with the GW52 mounted on my right bicep. Below are the numbers that KA72.com produced from each GPS. A little surprised at the difference between the 2 Sec Peak numbers. Comparing the data files on GPSResults, GPSResults produces the same numbers as KA72 and does so by choosing data points that are 0.4 sec offset between the two GPS's. Oh well, close enough for me...

Sailquik commented:

Thanks for the comparison Barton. :)

Most of those numbers would be well within the SDOP error range but not all. Probably just the different mounting position and movement. Still good results. 

It looks like a very pleasant place to sail. :)

I commented:

Andrew, thanks for the comments. For my purposes, the GW60 appears to be ideal. Much more convenient than the GW52. I combine it with the GPSLogit/Android phone and I have the data this old sailor needs to slowly improve.

Yes, Bonaire Lac Bay suites my needs nicely - warm water, usually consistent winds, easy access, not crowded (where I sail) and enough chop to keep life interesting...

Jan 1

2883km

Bonaire Lac Bay. Sailworks Retro 7.5, iSonic 107, Drake carbon Slalom 38. Wind: 16G19

Little By Little: PB's for the 7.5 in 2Sec and 5x10. 

Good session today. While the Alpha doesn't show it, the lay-down jibes are improving.

Had a good session sailing with Adam, his first real time on the water since last Spring. 

Roo commented:
Great start to the new year Barton, little by little all your numbers are increasing. You're already 1 session ahead of me for 2017, magic number is 101 this year. 

I commented:

Thanks Roo.

I'm slowly getting more confident and comfortable holding down more sail area than I used to. Previous to this Fall, I probably would have rigged the Retro 6.5 for today's conditions. It makes the sailing session more of a workout as there is little time for 'coasting' as I feel like I'm always pretty close to my control limit. OTOH, after a southerly run, just making it past the chop at the sand bar is a good feeling :). I am still in awe at the speeds you were logging in the chop at Waterfront Park last summer.

Forecast for this next week is more of the same (maybe slightly less) so guess it is time to go back to the race sails and see what happens.

In 2015 I sailed 127 days. Only managed 93 for 2016. Will shoot for your 101.