3905km
Lac Bay, Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean
NP EVO5 7.8, iSonic 107, Drake DW38. Wind: ~ 17 knots. Launched about 4 PM.
Today was a mini-Christmas for me. Just as I finished rigging, Taty arrived with my new-to-me 2017 iSonic 127 board and Drake carbon race 44 fin. In addition he gave me a set of 28 inch harness lines
. We discussed foot strap locations and spacing and made the following adjustments: on the iSonic 107, the back straps stayed the same (all the way forward) but the front straps were moved from the farthest back setting to the middle setting. The thought being that this would widen my stance and allow me to get slightly lower. On the iSonic 127, Taty put the back and front straps in their middle location, again to widen the stance and the back strap location might make the board a little livelier.
With those changes completed, I swapped out the 26 inch harness lines for the 28 inch lines. Wow, what a difference! I am amazed that a 2 inch difference in harness line length would make such a difference in ride comfort and gear controllability (true, I also changed the front footstrap location so that might also have contributed to the improvement). Whatever, the impact was being able to get a little lower and farther from the rig which resulted in a much more comfortable and controllable ride. I no longer felt like I was constantly on the edge of getting pitched forward with each gust or bit of chop. I then spent a little time adjusting the harness line locations resulting in a much better balanced rig and a lot less stress on the arms. All in all a successful tune. Did it improve my speed? Hard to tell with the short session I had but it doesn't matter because the sailing was a lot more fun
.
I returned to the launch area about 5 PM with the intention of giving the 127 a quick go. Fortunately, I checked my phone first and learned that medication that Claudia really needed had finally arrived at eZone. So, a much faster than normal for me derig had me at eZone 10 minutes before they closed - another success!
*** Breaking News*** For now I will just leave this teaser... We may soon have a very skilled sailor as a team member on The West Coast Speedsters.
Roo commented:
Sign him up! Sorry couldn't back you up today, wind went feral! Gusting to 85mph so Hurricane strength, didn't feel like getting my arse handed to me so I abstained. Wouldn't have mattered, tide was 2.5 feet above normal so not much sandbar to be had. Hopefully calms down a bit tomorrow.
Get all the other young guns signed up as well, they'll love trying to get the fastest speeds.
I commented:
No issues about backup. Tomorrow looks pretty light, may get a chance to try out the 127, or may get more work done on the house...
I was thinking about the young guns and realized they have enough critical mass to have their own team, and have the pride of the team being Bonairian... There is a logo going around here (and in the Netherlands), started I think by Taty and Amado called 'The Island Boyz' and it is becoming very popular. Decals, hats, clothing are popping up everywhere on Bonaire with the logo... This island has a lot of local pride.
Young guns on a team might be fun to watch but wouldn't help our West Coast USA membership much... I haven't heard back yet from our 'potential member' and am thinking he may have had the same idea (about a local team).
Peter commented:
Barton, good to see you're having fun on the water again. Have you checked the slalom tuning section in the new Tricktionary? Written by top-level sailors and very useful. Also, consider getting adjustable race harness lines. Optimal length depends on conditions and gear. Fixed length works well enough for freestyle and freeriding, but for speed, length adjustments when conditions change can really help. Longer for chop and strong winds, shorter for lighter winds and flatter water (according to Andrea Gucci, Point-7 founder and PWA sailor, and Vincent Langer, multiple World and European slalom and formula champion and 2nd at this year's Sylt PWA World Cup, in the Tricktionary 3).
I commented:
Peter, thanks, yes I'm starting to have fun again :). Regarding harness lines, the ironic thing is that I looked at some of my old 'gorge gear booms' and every boom has adjustable harness lines, all of them cinched up tight to the shortest length. Unfortunately, these were all designed so that the polypro protection cover could not be replaced without re-sewing the lines. I was just going to borrow Taty's 28 inch lines thinking that either I would not notice a difference or they would feel very un-natural, but now I'm sold on using longer lines, and he gave me the pair. Hard to loose in that situation. Since conditions don't change much here on Bonaire, I could probably get away with fixed length lines, but may order an adjustable set from BigWinds... What you described regarding line length is strikingly similar to what Taty told me yesterday. Imagine that . I'll check out Tricktionary 3.
Roo commented:
It doesn't matter how many tips people read or are given, if they don't have the right attitude and can't get over the fear factor most of these people will never go faster. They make excuses for everyone else going fast but never improve themselves. They read everything and watch every video, giving out endless advice but they are still slow! Barton I suggest you hang out with Taty and the young guns down there and copy and learn. You're happy and comfortable in the warm island waters and mellow breeze so suck up as much knowledge from them as possible. Much easier to go faster when you see someone else doing it right in front of your eyes.
I commented:
Roo, I plan to do a lot of 'shadow racing' and maybe some actual head-to-head with these guys this year. If I can get them involved in a GPSTC situation, so much the better for everyone. You are right, nothing inspires copying someone else's technique than when that person blows past you on the water :).
Fear factor: I'll probably always be slow, unless the change in harness line length helps me feel like I have some control margin - which it might. I've always been a belt and suspenders personality - pushing myself sailing is a little out of the norm for me. That said, if I'm able to increase my confidence level, I expect my speeds to increase as well. Will I ever be pushing you in a speed challenge? I can't imagine that happening but I can imagine maybe hitting mid-thirty knots at some point before my body disintegrates.
Roo commented:
Distance is your friend! Being light and short getting as far as possible away from the rig will give your more leverage. Longer lines will help with that. Drop your boom height as well and rig with lots of twist to bring the power down low. Go to the supermarket and buy some big melons to shove down your boardshorts. You'll then look as if you have the big balls to go all out!
I commented:
Not sure I'm 'light' any more - I haven't been able to avoid the 'automatic' weight gain attributed to Prednisone use. I haven't gained a lot of weight yet but is sure has been redistributed - I look like I really like beer, even though I haven't had any...
Boom height: unfortunately, I have already done this. The only way for me to get it lower now is to take a knife to the luff sleeve
. I do rig with lots of downhaul - try to mimic what I remember your sails looking like.
Being belt and suspenders I wear .5 mil long john wetsuit bottom and long sleeve rash guard to protect from the sun. The only part of me not covered is the backs of my hands and the open part of my helmet. Not much room for mellons with my present attire - and I already get enough weird looks with the full face guard helmet that I don't need any more attention
,
. Haven't talked GPSTC with him recently, will see how he feels once he gets the watch.
