April 9 - Lac Bay

4,366 km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

2018 GA Phantom 7.1, 2015 iSonic 107, MFC KP-RC 360  Wind: 14 -16 knots

Wind was a tad light for the 7.1, except in the gusts but I wanted to try test the 7.1. First rigging needed more downhaul, according to Taty (and in retrospect, I agree) because the pocket was too deep. Second rigging, later in the day, was better but lost a little of the low-end power. Overall, the 7.1 felt good except that the cams don't rotate a easily as on the 7.8 Phantom. Bottom-line, I'm pleased with the sail swaps from the Vapors to the Phantoms.

Learning opportunity: I was trying to make a run to the rental area to get a better NM but the wind was marginal. On the southerly run, I spun out, not sure if I hit a weed clump, or what. Anyway, was in the water. Got the sail cleared but not enough to waterstart. Then the fun began. As I got tired, I could not clear the clew of the sail because I was also in the area of the bay with the biggest chop, which had a period of maybe a meter. The chop kept breaking over the sail and if I pushed the mast higher, the clew would get buried. Tried uphauling but in the chop the 107 was just too unstable. Drifted/swam until I could touch bottom. Slogged back to the launch area. By then I was too tired to sail and it was almost 5 PM.

March 29 - Lac Bay

4,352 km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

2018 GA Phantom, 2017 iSonic 127, Drake 44  Wind: 13-15 knots

Today was sail test day for me: Tuesday I briefly sailed my 2017 Vapor 7.9, today was the 2018 Phantom 7.8 . The most immediately noticeable difference between the two sails is that the cams on the Phantom will actually rotate without Herculean pressure on them :). They rotate very easily. Big Plus Phantom. As Taty has been telling me for some time now, the Phantoms are more comfortable/easier to sail so I will sail longer with less effort. Plus Phantom.

I did one intentional waterstart and one waterstart caused by hitting some floating seaweed. In both cases, even with marginally light wind, the sail was easy to manipulate and get oriented for waterstarting. In both cases it took a while to waterstart due to the light winds. Because of the narrower luff sleeve compared to the Vapor, the Phantom was easier to clear in preparation for waterstarting. Additionally, because the cams rotate easily, I was actually able to get them to rotate while I was in the water. I found it impossible to do this with the Vapor. Another big Plus Phantom. 

Speed: essentially the same results between the Vapor and Phantom given the margin of error on wind speed measurements.

Bottomline: Winner for me - Phantom. 

Everything that GA-sails said about the Phantom rang true for me, especially compared to the Vapors. I'm glad Taty pushed me to switch sails. I'm now looking forward to more time on the water and more fun on the water. Interestingly (to me anyway) is that when Taty is not slalom training, his preference is to sail the Phantoms because they are more comfortable to sail (hard core racer v. GT cruiser with both having close to the same top end ).

Below is a picture of my upgraded lightwind kit (2018 GA Phantom 7.8, 2017 iSonic 127):

March 27 - Lac Bay

4,352 km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

2017 GA Vapor 7.9, 2017 iSonic 127, Drake 44  Wind: 12-14 knots

Wind was hovering around 12 most of the afternoon. When I finally looked like there might be a wind bump, I rigged. Got in about 20 minutes (or less) before it faded back again.

I think this was the first decent test of the 127/Vapor 7.9 combo. Actualy felt pretty good. Was nice and stable. Biggest problem for me is getting the 127 to turn. Will take some more practice. 

Anyway, got in a sample session on the Vapor 7.9 so I can compare it with the Phantom 7.8 that I am testing tomorrow...

March 25 - Lac Bay

4,334 km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

2017 GA-Sails Vapor 7.9, 2017 iSonic 127 Ultra, Drake Carbon Race 44   Wind: 12 G 14

Had a couple of decent runs before the winds backed off. Shin splint pain mostly gone. Will have to spend more time on the 127 to get used to jibing this super-wide board. That said, for these light winds it worked well.

Later in the afternoon, made the bad decision to try it again, even though the wind was less than 13 knots. Struggled to make it to the sand bar. Made the second mistake of attempting to beach start from the sand bar and fell in. Third mistake was thinking I could waterstart - not enough wind to waterstart but enough to drag me away from the sandbar. Spent the next 30 minutes or so drifting across the bay to mangroves on the west side. Did not attempt to uphaul the heavy 7.9 sail because I didn't want to screw up my back. Just before I made landfall on the west side, the wind picked up a little and I was able to waterstart. Sailed to the north mangrove area and then back to the launch site. 

Given this experience, and previous discussions with Taty, I talked with Alexander, who had mentioned he wanted a better sail, and sold him the 7.9 Vapor. Taty has been pushing me to switch to GA Phantom sails (detuned Vapors with 3 Cams) because they are lighter in weight and easier to sail. May give up some top end speed potential which I will never realize anyway. So, swallowed my ego and will be going to the 'Granny Sails' in the Fall. Taty and I agreed that I will get 2018 7.9, 7.1, and 6.4 Phantoms. I still have the NP EVO 5 5.8 and the Sailworks Retro 5.5 for the few stronger wind days on Bonaire. The three Vapor sails were in my quiver about four months - a record for the shortest time I have had a set of sails.

March 22 - Lac Bay

4,328 km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

2014 Sailworks Retro 6.5, 1985 Hi-Tech 9' Carbon Slalom, Wind: 20 knots

Back on the water with tentative steps after a week of being hobbled with shin splints. Some shin pain still but a good rest after each single back and forth run was enough to allow a future run. I think I'm now on the healing side of this latest medical issue. 

Felt good to be back on the water! The Hi-Tech isn't fast compared to present slalom gear but it is a comfortable ride when your legs hurt . Actually had one of my better jibes of the year today. Unfortunately, swung a little wide and KA72 decided I missed the exit gate... Don't care. It felt GREAT . Good enough to get me back out on the water to try again.

Still lots of floating seaweed in the water. Will definitely be bringing a batch of weed/speed fins back from Oregon in the Fall.

March 11 - Lac Bay

4, 321 km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

1990 Sailworks Cam 1+1 4.6, 1990 Hi-Tech 8'9" Rounded Pintail, Wind: 25 G 35 knots

Not your typical  Bonaire windsurfing day - windwise. Initially rigged the Retro 5.5 with extra downhaul and plugged it into my favorite Gorge Board, a 1988 Hi-Tech 8'3" rounded pintail. Unfortunately, I was a) fully to overpowered and b) too fat. During my peak windsurfing days I weighed about 140 lbs. I'm now getting close to 180 lbs. Those additional 40 lbs turned what was a 'sinker' board into a submarine. Had to acknowledge defeat and retry. Having recently sailed the 8'9", I knew it could keep me above water once it had a little forward motion. Rigged down to the 4.6 since it was gusty and I was already tired just from attempting to sail the 8'3". First observation on the 4.6 is that it is incredibly light compared to my new sails (maybe half the weight). Also, the cams rotated SO easily. If Sailworks made this sail today, it would be my entire quiver. Being a 27 year old sail, I figured all the mylar panels would blow out so I stayed in the shallow, rental area. I don't like this area because of the disorganized chop created by all the sailors, but figured that if the panels blew, it would be a lot easier getting back to the car.

Because of the number of sailors on the water, some moving, some not, beam reaches were about all that was possible so speeds were low, but given the conditions the sailing was surprisingly comfortable and fun. The 4.6 gave me good power but only a couple of times did I feel fully powered. May have to try my old Sailworks Race 5.1 tomorrow. Did do a couple of 'sort of' broad reaches and picked up slightly more respectable speeds. Not having been on the water for over two weeks, I was again greeted by my old friends, Mr. and Mrs. Leg Foot-Cramp. Hopefully they will be no-shows for tomorrow.

Feb 22 - Lac Bay

4,312 km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

2017 GA Vapor 7.1, 2015 iSonic 107, MFC KPRC360

Today's postings are the perfect demonstration of the performance of the expert and the duffer. 

Misjudged the wind, rigged too small. Made two runs across with marginal success. Then got suckered out on the tail end of a rain squal and paid the price. Had a good run to the north but the wind faded enough that I struggled to get back to the launch site. This all happened a little after 4 PM. Managed to dump the rig part way back. Not enough wind to waterstart and I'm too feeble to successfully uphaul the race sails. Floated/drifted forever but finally made it to the shallow area where I could beach start and putter my way back. In the meantime, the expert, with the correctly chosen sail size was zipping around having a grand time...

Feb 19 - Lac Bay

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

2014 Sailworks Retro 5.5, 2014 Sailworks Retro 6.5, 1990 Hi-Tech 8'9" rounded pintail

Misjudged the wind this morning and ended up slightly underpowered. Made pointing upwind difficult. As the wind started to fade, I ended up having to walk the board upwind in the mangrove area in order to make a downwind run to the launch site. Wind was light for most of the afternoon but got a bump around 4:30. Fortunately I had re-rigged to the Retro 6.5 and nicely powered.

Today was a much needed day on the water for me. I was getting close to bagging the entire windsurfing activity as I have been struggling with feeling any sort of  competency on race boards and race sails. The Gorge Gear was a perfect contrast. Easy to ride, fun to ride, and I was making jibes again. I may have been slower than on the race gear but I was having WAY MORE fun for a lot less work. It is clear to me now that as the winds approach 20 knots, it is time for me to get on the fun Gorge Gear. I'm not mentally or physically ready to get hammered at speed in the chop but I do still enjoy being on the water, actually making jibes for a change and just basically cruising - instead of 'on the the edge of my control' kinds of rides which make me very tired, very quickly.

Feb 18 - Lac Bay

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

2017 GA Vapor 6.4, 2014 iSonic 90, MFC KPRC340

Made one run, felt completely out of control - probably because I was over-powered. Bagged it.

Feb 12 - Lac Bay

4,284 km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

2014 Sailworks Retro 5.5, 1990 Hi-Tech 8'9" rounded pintail, Wind: 18 to 20 knots.

Today was 'cruising day' and I loved it . Pulled out the 'Gorge Gear' today. For my weight, the 8'9" is a semi-sinker (as long as I have a little forward motion it doesn't sink) so I need to use it on a day that has consistent, decent winds. Portions of today filled that bill. Compared to yesterday, today was a relaxing walk in the park. Sure, the speeds were not as high as on the slalom gear, but some days that is just fine. And besides, my slalom speeds are not that high anyway so who am I trying to kid? On this board, I was still able to pass some freestylers, giving my ego a tiny boost, while not having my body pounded to pieces. Sure glad I shipped my eight 'Gorge boards' to Bonaire when we moved. I plan on mixing it up between Gorge Gear and slalom gear a lot more in the future.

The wind faded in the afternoon, cutting my session a little short - first time in a long time I was actually looking forward to going back out on the water after a rest stop... The wind for tomorrow morning looks promising - maybe I'll do a repeat. 

Feb 11 - Lac Bay

4,269 km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

2017 GA Vapor 6.4, 2015 iSonic 90, MFC KPRC340, Wind: 15 - 20

A day of struggling/learning... Wind was strong enough (in the gusts) to be fully powered on the smaller gear. Unfortunately, everything felt different today. The chop was bigger, of course, the board was smaller which was good in the chop but fell off a plane very quickly when trying to jibe. Also, was using the GA carbon boom I got from Taty, which I like but I was struggling to stay in the harness lines. Took me a couple of runs to remember that Taty decided to force me to use longer harness lines by including 30" lines with the boom . Once I finally remembered this, I adjusted my grip on the boom and didn't have as many 'disconnects' of the harness popping off the line.

On the positive side, I got more proficient at surfing the chop (baby swell) faces to keep from getting launched off the face. Probably slowed me down some but not as much as getting launched would have... I had a couple opportunities to try waterstarting - doesn't take much of a wind fade to make that more difficult than on the bigger gear. I'm now heavy enough that the iSonic 90 reminded me of the old Gorge days of almost sinking the board if I didn't have the proper weight distribution when doing a 'light wind waterstart'. The good news for me is that I don't freak out any more if the wind isn't strong enough and I have to float for a while when waterstarting. Also, GREAT news for me was that the Vapor 6.4 was really easy to clear for waterstarting. Not nearly the issue I remember having with the older Neil Pryde EVOs.

The introspective reflections for today were that I need to accept my present windsurfing reality and abilities. Watching Taty and the young guns blasting around it great fun to watch but also a downer to recognize that they are going 5 to 10 knots faster than I am in the same conditions. More specifically, I need to accept that I really don't want to be going any faster in the chop, at least not until I increase my skill/confidence level. Today was enough of an E-ticket ride, I don't need anything more. And, I was the only 70 year old out there (and on slalom gear no less ).

Feb 9 - Lac Bay

4,254 km

Lac Bay, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

2017 GA-Sails Vapor 6.4, 2015 iSonic 90, MFC KP-RC340  Wind: ~ 15 knots

When I arrived at about 10:30, conditions looked good for the 6.4/90 combination. The Vapor 6.4, being brand-spanking-new took a little longer to rig and adjust (with Taty's help) than it will in the future. Taty was pleased with the sail/GA 430 mast combination. 

About that time, Yoeri arrived with his GW-60 that he had loaned to Juvannie yesterday. Turns out his GW-60 still had the original firmware, which was not compatible with the GW60AR_Util software. Fortunately, the GW52_Util software worked for downloading the .sbp file. We then updated Yoeri's GW-60 to the latest FW. Upon inspection of the data, it was clear that there were some 'car tracks' data in the file that were fortunately easy to remove. Unfortunately for Juvannie, his data won't look as good as he thought it would... After that messing around, it was time to go sail, except by then the wind had faded significantly. I made a couple of attempted runs, enough to know that when powered, I'm going to really like the 6.4/90 combo. Today ended up being a good 7.9/107 day except I kept hoping the wind bump would happen around 4:30 (it didn't).