4,197 km
2014 Sailworks Retro 5.5, 2015 iSonic 107, MFC KPR360. Wind: 15-18, Gusts to 22 knots. Launched around 3 PM.
First consistently windy day in a long time. Rigged the 5.5 as I didn't want to get pounded/jarred too badly. I did something during the sailing session on the 16th that has caused my upper ribs to be very painful, starting the day the evening of the 16th. I managed to get in some runs and to practice a couple of clew-first exits on the southern jibes. The clew-first exits were actually easier than I thought they would be. Now I need to be able to sense when I have enough speed to do a normal carving/laydown jibe sail flip and when I have slowed down to the point where the clew-first exit makes sense.
The last couple of runs started to become painful as the wind picked up and the chop became larger. The last run back to the launch area was essentially survival mode for me due to the rib pain. The wind had picked up to the low 20's and normally this would have been a great adrenalin run back but the ribs hurt too much. So I sheeted out and limped back to the sandbar, made sure the water was deep enough, and sailed back to the launch site sheeted out. Derigging and loading up was a slow process. Hopefully I will recover for tomorrow as the wind looks to be good again. I think I'll be taking the Hi-Tech Carbon Slalom board to the beach tomorrow :).
A comment on the Retro sails: I had considered them to be pretty bullet proof given the thickness of the mylar panels so was surprised to find a 2 inch rip in the lower clear panel of the sail when I was derigging. The sail now has a duct tape patch. I guess nothing is bullet proof here on Bonaire...
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