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.