Oct 24 - Lac Bay

3863km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean

Neil Pryde EVO5 7.8, iSonic 107, Drake DW38, Wind: 14G17 (launched at 3:30 PM)

Nibble by nibble. Another non-noteworthy day except I spent time on the water getting some exercise and maybe improving muscle memory by being on the water.

Spent a few minutes sitting on the tailgate of the RAV4, resting and enjoying the view... Difficult to imagine an easier launch scenario .

Oct 23 - Lac Bay

3841km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean

NP EVO6 7.0, iSonic 107, Drake DW38, Wind: 17G19 knots (Launched around 3:30 PM)

Nothing particularly noteworthy today. Muscles still tired from yesterday so just felt like an effort to stay focused. Once on a plane I felt fully powered but was a struggle a couple of times to get going.

Sailed with Bert and Jeff from The Netherlands. They come to Bonaire about four times a year - I think they are building a house here, or are doing some sort of construction. Jeff just got a new Fanatic Falcon 101 and Bert likes sailing his older style Fanatic slalom board.

Roo commented:

Stevenson, WA, USA 19knot E gust 22knot

Surreal day, water was milky brown after 2 days of torrential rain. Couldn't see the whitecaps so hard to gauge the wind strength. Debris everywhere in the water with lines of logs in the channel. Had to throttle it back and engage cruise mode today, going for speed was not recommended by the doctor!

Roo commented:
Had to post some numbers to keep you company Barton.

I commented:

Hey, finally have a day when the numbers 'count' . Thanks for posting!

It is a little depressing (for me), however, to read about throttling back and cruise mode and then see that the numbers would all be PBs for me . On the other hand, this provides me with plenty of aspirational goals .

Additionally, I think I'll pass on logs in the channel and muddy water, and doctors saying the conditions are too dangerous to sail. If I have to have muddy water, I can sail in the mangrove shallows, otherwise, it is kind of nice to see the bottom and see sea turtles swimming around .

Roo commented:
It was pretty sketchy out there today, I don't normally ease up but there was so much debris it wasn't worth it for a few knots. Still did over a race distance so happy with that. Billy no mates here, 3 kitefoilers out and that was it. Looks windy for the next few days so I'll keep sailin and postin! Kiters seem to have adopted me...they all smile and wave. Might be the Slingshot logo on my sail!

Oct 22 - Lac Bay

3826km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean

Sailworks Retro 5.5 downhauled to Roo-highwind, iSonic 90, MFC KP-RC 340, iSonic 107, MFC KP-RC 360. Wind 21G25 knots

More Little-by-little... Wasn't able to make it an all day situation but that was OK as a couple of hours (on and off) of chop bashing was enough of a workout for me . Did manage to add a few more KMs to the distance category from Friday. Started out on the iSonic 90 but after slogging back from the mangroves decided that I could either tune the sail or get on the iSonc 107 - I chose the 107 and was rewarded with a great afternoon of riding. No struggling to get it on a plane.

I will say that out in the blue water on the long runs and the NM run downwind that the chop had a certain Hood River Waterfront Park feel (as I remember it) although with a tighter period and minus the rolling swells. Was certainly enough to keep me focused, especially coming over the backs of the chop on the NM run. If I get enough of these types of days this winter, I'll probably be game for sailing Waterfront this next Summer... Looking at the tracks, it is clear that I was doing some 'avoidance sailing' to keep from getting air off of the chop faces.

Made no real attempt at jibing today. By the end of the long runs, I was ready to float for a while in the 80+ F water and recover for a while before making another run, especially after the NM run . Cramping wasn't a big issue today, at least not until the drive home...

All in all a good day, and the attitude is starting to shift back to 35 yo mindset.

Oct 20 - Lac Bay

3806km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean

Sailworks Retro 5.5 downhauled to Roo-highwind mark, iSonic 90, MFC KP-RC 320. Wind: 21G27

Little by little... Took some diddling to get dialed back in on the iSonic 90 but was a nice ride after I relearned the tricks. Fully powered but in control. Since it will be a day or two more before I'm 'back in the saddle' here, I chose not to 'let the beast loose' as Roo would say. Was pretty bouncy on the long runs so kept the foot straps the way I left them last year - works fine in the chop but I need to loosen them slightly to make jibing easier. Enjoyed the long runs - been a while since I could just lock-down, focus on the chop, and go. Was happy to see a 30+ peak on the dial, been a while.

Will take some time to get back into sailing shape - fortunately the next couple of days look like repeats of today. Goal is to significantly improve distance. Still dealing with the stupid cramping although today it was mostly in the hands. Coming off of high levels of Prednisone back to more normal dosages so this should help. Looking forward to hopefully starting the next steroid sparing medication trial the end of next week if the Bonaire doctor is willing to follow on with OHSU doctor's suggestion.

Roo commented:

Great effort Barton, 2 days in a row. Be careful with those kids, they wont know what hit them when you unleash the beast!

I commented:

Uhm, yes, I will be careful. Thank you for the warnng.  I hope they don't hurt themselves from laughing too hard . 

I had great plans of doing three days in a row but a tweaked shoulder from trying to move too heavy dog kennels by myself at the airports and the stupid cramping forced a change in plans. Still good wind forecast for Sunday so will try to make it an all day event with multiple sessions.

Drifter commented:
Barton, lifting heavy objects is a mugs game. These days I don't lift anything heavier than the combined weight of a windsurfing board and rig.

I commented:
John, I'm a little slow at times but finally starting to come to grips with the issues of age-and-heavy-objects . For me the issues seem to have had a fairly rapid onset. Things that were not an issue a couple of years ago can now quickly become a major pain in the butt. Thanks to you, 'Mugs game' just got added as a label for my 'activity filter' .

Oct 19 - Lac Bay

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean
Neil Pryde EVO5 5.8, iSonic 107, MFC KPR360, Wind: 22G27 knots

Finally back on the water for a short session.

Taty arrived shortly after I started to rig. We had a nice chat. He is looking good but rightly a little tentative about the condition of his leg. He said he has sailed once and straight-line felt OK but jibing was iffy - the right leg felt like it wanted to buckle easily in the jibe. He wants to go to New Caledonia but maybe not as a racer... this will depend upon MRI results in Holland in November to see how well the muscles are healing. No sense ripping everything apart by being too agressive. He said that after the accident, the area around the back of the right knee was basically numb - fortunately, he now has feeling/pain in that area so the nerves are healing.

Today was one of the windier days I have experienced on Bonaire in the past couple of years. I think today was only the second time I've rigged the EVO5 5.8. I was basically close to my control limit for the couple of runs I made across the bay before I needed to derig before darkness became an issue. Fortunately, no crashes, some adrenaline rush, and a small increase in confidence that maybe I can still do this activity... Yesterday, while thinking about sailing, I realized that sometime during this past Summer I slipped from the mindset of a 35 year old dealing with an aging body to the mindset of a 69 year old dealing with an aging body. The second mindset is not conducive to continuing sailing, at least for me. Fortunately, I'm back at a location that will allow me to transition back to my previous mindset. On the positive side, a young (17 yo) up and comer racer here on Bonaire wanted to race – I managed to hold position with him in the drag race – felt good. He was on a GA Vapor 6.4, iSonic 90 something and probably weighted 30 lbs less than me. Slalom racing has captured the interest of a number of high school age locals here so there will be plenty of drag racing opportunities for me in the after school time-frame :).

Roo commented:
You big bully Barton, stop picking on the young guys!

I commented:

Uhm, I think there was a problem in the US English to Aussie translation... I wasn't picking on the young guys, they are the ones that are looking for additional sailors to humiliate . These guys (haven't seen any girls yet) have really upped their games in the last year. Last year they were mostly just putzing around. Now they are cranking high-speed laydown jibes and appear to be having fun jumping their iSonics. One can only guess where the inspiraton source for the equipment came from - since almost all of them are riding 2017 GA Vapor sails and a couple year old to 2017 iSonics :).

This is the young guy that was picking on me yesterday . https://www.facebook.com/jayanthony.nicolaas

Drifter commented:
There is Nothing like the company of younger sailors to change your mindset Barton.

I commented:
Drifter, absolutely correct! It is fun to watch them have so much energy, doing both slalom and freestyle, full power! I'm looking forward to getting more involved with them, assuming I can keep up, and/or they are willing to tolerate me . The great part is that a couple of them have actively requested that I participate in their drag races... cool.