Feb 11

3425km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO6 7.0, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38. Wind: 15G19 ENE

Weird wind today. Rain squall came through half way through my session time - messed up the wind for too long...

Little-By-Little: on the positive side, my alpha speed is slowly approaching the speeds I recorded last year in stronger winds on my Gorge Gear, so maybe I'm starting to get used to the slalom/race equipment.

Windxtasy commented:

I applaud your regular dedicated practice. You will achieve your goals with that attitude.

I commented:

Thanks Anita! I have found that I have to do regular practice sessions limited to a couple of hours a day. I found the slalom/race gear to be much more taxing on this 69 year old body than the 'cruising Gorge Gear' and my body just can't handle what it did 30 years ago. I suppose I could do the 'gym thing' to really get in shape but, hey, I'm lazy and retired. 

Roo commented:
Keep at it Barton, you're becoming a machine. Muscle memory is the key to nailing jibes, once your body gets used to doing good ones it gets easier to replicate. Getting your feet sorted is critical, try and keep them out on the rail after the switch so the board keeps turning and creating lift so the speed stays up.

I commented:

Thanks Roo, the encouragement helps! 

I have been attempting to use the tip that Eddy Patricelli gave me which is:

If I were to put on my instructor cap, I'd recommend switching your feet sooner in the jibes. Pivot and step sooner -- staying down. It's tough to do, largely because the sensation of carving feels so good you don't want to disrupt it. But my $.02 on planing out of jibes consistently, with lightening fast, easy, magical, non-taxing sail flips, requires the foot switch to come early. Initiate the carve, get low, and as you approach dead downwind, pivot and step staying low.

For the pivot and step, it helps me to pretend as if I'm taking my front foot's heel and stepping on my back foot's big toe. For a split second, it resembles a ballet plie. Doing so ensures your weight stays on the carving rail as your feet switch. 

Done well, the jibe ends on a broad reach on the new tack and - this is important - at full speed. It's that full speed part that makes the sail flips easy. You're running with the wind, often matching or exceeding its speed. The sail rotates easily in this dynamic. No more awkward sail flips that require recovering and muscling that depletes energy. You grab it, drop down -- hanging down on the boom as the battens rotate, and shazam! You move for the straps with energy to spare and yeah, put into your next PR!

Feb 10 - Taty Frans laydown jibe video

* 

3411km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO5 7.8, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38. Wind: 14G17 knots ENE

Back to mellow winds. Winds too much out of the north for any mangrove speed runs. Jibes getting more consistent but still apparently not comfortable leaning as far forward as required to do the laydown. Most jibes probably still more like 50 - 60 degree angle with the water. On the other hand, the alpha speed shows that some of the jibes are at least working as well as my old style jibes. 

Taty Frans was on the water today testing out his new Starboard iSonic 127 and Gaastra Vapor 7.9. Here is a short video I took so I could analyze his stance and laydown jibe techniques: https://youtu.be/0DBja5_gEO4

Feb 9

3388km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO6 7.0, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38. Wind: 18G21 knots ESE

Another workout day. Wind direction was back to 'normal' and with the 107/38 board/fin I had no issues pointing to get to where I wanted to go. The southerly run was still bouncier than I prefer, but better than yesterday. Got a 28.9 max speed but the gust wasn't big enough to hold it for two seconds. Given the conditions, I'm satisfied with the today's numbers as I felt pretty much on the edge during the speed runs and I think the jibes are progressing.

Little-by-Little: Today was a PB for the 7.0 sail for 5x10 speeds by 0.35 knots and my third fastest 5x10.

Tide was a little higher than yesterday so ventured some speed runs into the mangrove. Had one fast run in followed with a nice jibe - I know I must have been dragging weeds for a while but the run in speed and jibe speed were fast enough to slough off the weeds by the time I hit blue water. Felt good  and turned out to be today's Alpha jibe. In analyzing the 'mangrove jibes' in GPSResults, if I had tightened up the jibe exit that was used for my NM, that was the fastest jibe of the day and would have been the Alpha jibe. My jibe focus today in the mangrove shallows was on getting the sail down using Roo's tips and keeping the board balanced when switching feet using some tips from Eddy Patricelli from Big Winds (in the Gorge). It is a good feeling when it all comes together. Now to do it without the weed anchor .

The jibes at the end of the southerly speed run didn't happen. First jibe was biffed when I was startled by snorkeler - had never seen anybody in that area before. Fortunately, not a close encounter but is messed with my concentration and timing. Biffed some other jibes as well so I would have an excuse to float in the water, rest, and practice clearing the race sail. Guess I need more Cheerios...

Feb 8

3364km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO6 7.0, iSonic 90, MFC KP-RC 36 Wind: 19G22 knots ENE

Got a late start today but that was OK because it didn't take long for me to get worked over by the chop and the gustier winds.

The bay had a different personality today. Add 5 knots of wind with gusts and change the wind angle slightly and my mellow sailing spot became decidedly more feisty. My normally 'slightly choppy' southerly speed run now had washboard chop - no coasting here... The northerly cant to the wind, different board and fin, and beating into some rather large chop made it difficult for me to point high enough to get to my desired mangrove shallows area which was packed with freestylers anyway. This meant only one run into the shallows (first run when tide was barely high enough).

The 36 cm fin solved the spin-out issue from yesterday. Next time we have similar wind I may plug the Drake 38 cm fin in and see if that improves upwind pointing,

From a 'numbers' standpoint, even though the wind was stronger, the increased chop cancelled any speed hopes I had for today. As Roo is fond of saying, 'HTFU Princes Mangrove', and he is correct. Today started to remind me of the Gorge on a mellow day - boy do I have some work ahead of me before I'm 'Gorge competent' .

Roo commented:

I'd call that progress Princess M. You are starting to read the wind and water conditions to understand how to sail them. Now it's time to start tuning for the conditions, every day is different. When it's choppy add more downhaul to get the upper portion of the sail offloading so you can stay sheeted in and loaded up, that's the fast way through chop. You also need a bit more fin in chop so you don't get bounced into spinout. I prefer big sail small board in nasty stuff.

Feb 7

3349km
Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO6 7.0, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38, iSonic 90, MFC-KP 34 and 36. Wind: 17G20, 19G22 knots.

Today the wind was a little weird. When I arrived it was 17G20 so rigged the 7.0 and was looking forward to using the iSonic 90 as a change of pace since I've been on the iSonic 107 for the last 2-3 weeks. Got a good run across and said 'H*ll with the low tide' and did a mangrove run, which worked except for the weeds on the fin and then made one southerly run... but then the wind started to die off to about 15 knots or less so I limped back to the launch area. After a rain squall passed to the north, I switched to the 107. Had some good runs on it then the wind picked back up to the 19G22 range. Switched back to the iSonic 90 but I struggled in the gusts because the fin (34 cm as recommended for a 7.0 on the 90L board) was breaking loose in the chop. Came back in, plugged the 36 cm fin in and had a few good runs before I had to call it a day. Guess I must sail extra heavy on the fin...

Observations: to no one's surprise, the NP EVO6 7.0 was easier to attempt to lay down in the jibes and the iSonic 90 could carve tighter turns than the 107. Unfortunately, with the low tide and the mangrove area clogged up with freestylers, getting a good jibe run over there without cutting off, crashing into, or otherwise annoying the freestylers made jibing practice there a little dicey. On the southerly runs I admit to being, dare I say it, 'lazy' and coasting into the jibes as a way to relax as the iSonic 90 was definitely twitchier than the 107 and required more concentration to keep it in control, especially with the 34 cm fin.

Forecast for tomorrow looks as good as or better than today. Will attempt an earlier launch time so I can get a more robust session - the house construction can wait .

Feb 5 - Jibing tips, speedsailing practice video

3329km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO5 7.8, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38. Wind: 15G18 E knots.

Little-by-Little: New 2 Sec PB for the EVO5 7.8 by 0.6 knots - caught a nice gust . Also a new PB for 5x10 by 0.1 knot. Both previous PBs were set three days ago ...

Making some minor improvements on jibing. Tide is really low now when I'm sailing so don't get to run very far into the smooth water of the mangrove area. Late this afternoon decided to buck up and jibe immediately after exiting the bigger chop - that worked. Next step is to jibe IN the bigger chop .

Biffed a jibe on the southerly run and decided it was time to truly find out if I could clear a race sail with a fully loaded luff sleeve in water too deep to touch the bottom. Let the sail fill with water. Initially the camber was popped downward and I quickly decided that needed to be corrected. Once the camber was popped upwards I swam the mast tip into the wind and slowly started lifting it out ouf the water. This took a little time but soon the sail was clear of the water and easy to waterstart. So, the technique worked great in Lac Bay in relatively calm water. Out in the choppy area it would be more of a hassle but doable. Doing this in the Gorge? I'll probably hyperventilate the first time I would try it. Fortunately, for now, I have no race sails in the USA... but I may need to get a 5.8 or 6.4 Race which seemed to be the sail Roo used a lot last summer... Sail recommendations?

Roo commented:

Thats better, getting to grips with the race monster and taming it. 6.4 is a sweet size, the NP EVO 6 set up for RDM works a treat. I would look for something that rigs on a skinny. Should be able to find you something when you get back in town. Me thinks you are starting to get serious about going faster!

I commented:

I'm afraid this 'speed' thing is a disease . I think I am cured and then I get back on the water and the first thing I try to do is 'put the hammer down'. One of my Canadian friends down here that windsurfs (a year younger than me) keeps looking at me like I'm crazy and says I'm going to hurt myself. He could be correct on both accounts, that is why I opt for as much protective gear as possible .

I posted one of the sailing video segments to YouTube and my wife saw it today ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nEgnc6fNfs ) (she hasn't felt well enough to go to the bay with me so hasn't seen the race sails). Her first comment was that I needed to get more colorful race sails. We did a quick web search. She approved of Gaastra and the new NP EVO 9 and thought the Sailworks colors would also be acceptable . How is that for focusing on the fundamental requirements of the equipment?!

Peter commented:

Nice numbers and great video, Barton! You're looking fast!

I'm working on improving my jibes on slalom gear, too. One thing I noticed in pro videos is that their timing: they step forward at the same time as the clew goes forward. Matt Pritchard once told me "imagine a line between the clew and your foot - the clew goes, your foot goes". In your first jibe in the video, you are stepping a bit late, when the mast is already back. That puts all the weight in the back. You can see that this sinks the tail, which kills speed. Try stepping as you open up the clew.

I commented:

Peter, thanks for the tip from Matt Pritchard - makes sense and when the jibe works (like the second jibe you can barely see), the timing was much closer to Matt's tip. 

I have to admit that on the first jibe I was 'coasting' a little bit as I had already 'outsailed' the wind and was in the ever-present wind shadow in that area if I sail too far.

My goal is the laydown jibe, which I am a long ways from hitting. There are enough good sailors here on slalom gear that every day I get to see how a laydown should be done. At the end of the video there is a young Bonairian fellow (maybe 15 yo) on a NP EVO5 5.6 sail - he does amazing laydowns...

On the positive side, on the second jibe in the video, at least the mast was partially layed down .

Thanks again.

Peter commented:

Barton, laydown jibes are very cool, but like duck jibes, they belong more into the trick category. One could argue that the duck jibe is easier to plane through, but you almost never see it in slalom competition - even the Bonaire guys rarely do it :-). The same is true for the laydown jibe (mast almost parallel to the water). I have heard it was functional or even necessary on old gear (like 1990s), but you'll rarely see it with modern gear in competition.

I don't mean you should not learn it - it is a very cool move. Working on it can also help to get the mast more into the turn; jibe learners and improvers tend to keep the mast too vertical. For illustration, here's an image of a jibe by Phil McGain at the Maui slalom races a few years ago:

For comparison, a laydown jibe by Peter Volwater (not in competition):

Roo commented:

Your jibing problems have nothing to do with your feet, your hands are the problem. Two moves will sort them out and have you blazing out of every one. Will tell you when you get back. You should be able to switch you feet at different times depending on the conditions and water state. I think I would take my advice from someone who can rip out alphas above 26 knots! The laydown will come when you get your hands correct.

Roo commented:

The laydown is a funtion of speed, the faster you go the more the sail lays down to be able to do a tight turn. For wide arcs don't lay the sail down as much. The beauty of a laydown is it depowers the sail and engages more rail to allow a tighter turn at high speed. It also loads the rail so it doesn't bounce out in chop. It stronger winds and nasty water the laydown is invaluable for maintaining control and turning quickly.

I commented:

Thanks Peter and Roo for your interest in helping me improve.

Roo, your second comment about laydown and speed resonates well with me. At the end of the southerly runs when I'm in a wind shadow and slowing down, attempting a laydown feels very uncomfortable. OTOH, in the mangrove shallows where I'm entering the jibe at 25 to 28 knots, attempting to lay the sail down feels very comfortable (and even necessary). Your further comments on the laydown are exactly why I thought it would be good to learn as I consider most of the Gorge to fall into the 'stronger winds and nasty water' category .

I'll going to send you an email as I have the 'sail itch' and want your opinions - Thanks.

Roo commented:

Happy to help mate. Once you master the laydown the duck jibe is easy. The first half of the turn is just the same. The key to a good jibe, laydown or duck, is speed; the slower sailors tend to have trouble doing them.

Peter commented:

As I said, nothing wrong with learning the laydown jibe. Maybe Roo knows better why the Pros are not doing them. Check, for example, the PWA final from Fuerteventura last year - https://youtu.be/gyoe4Uxlqfo. At 40 seconds and 2 minutes, you get a pretty good perspective. The most common mast angle in about 45 degrees. They had about 30 knots and quite a bit of chop. They also typically reach top speeds of 35+ knots in races. But their objective is maximum speed with control through the jibe; if your objective is tighter turns, laying down the sail more may be the way to go.

If you find yourself in a jibe where the mast is closer to 45 than 90 degrees (let's call it a "slalom jibe" to differentiate it from the laydown) in chop, there are a couple of things that will help to reduce bounce. One is to make sure that the mast goes forward and into the turn, not just to the side. The other is to conciously increase mast foot pressure by hanging or pushing down with the front arm. The downward pointing elbows in the pictures above are an indication that Phil and Peter are doing just that. Try it out, I find the effect quite remarkable.

I commented:

Wow, all sorts of help today, and Roo just changed his avatar!

Thanks Roo. Way back in 1997 we had a vacation trip to Aruba where I actually became proficient at duck jibes (in flat water). Never seemed to have quite the same success in the Gorge - probably was too slow in the Gorge chop... At the time, I envied the guys doing duck jibes in the Gorge as they looked so smooth, quick and easy. 

Peter, I have wondered about the 'slalom jibe' as in the PWA videos, but also pro practice sessions on Bonaire, they are not going full laydown. On the other hand, when they are not 'practice racing' on Bonaire the laydown becomes much more evident, maybe because it is more stylish and extreme for the tourists on the beach .

My objective for the laydown is survival . Actually it is tight turns so I can complete the jibe on the face/trough of a single wave, be in control and not be bouncing all over the place. 

Roo commented:

When you are doing downwind slalom at high speed tight jibes aren't required as you have lots of room, once the course is tighter in choppy nastier conditions they come into play. In the video you can see the huge wide arc they take. On wider boards and sails that is what works in PWA racing. In other videos you'll see a lot of pros lay the sail down for a second or two to engage the rail then stand it back up to finish the turn. A good sailor uses the right manouvre for the conditions. Here's a good example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JlKei3UcHw from 1:58 to 2:03 you can see them use a variety of jibes at the same mark. You need to master all the different variations to be able to use the best one at the most appropriate time. Lots of variation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cIfarz8Amw

I commented:

Roo, the TWS video is GREAT. Interestingly, they made a point of bending the knees/getting low just after unhooking from the harness. I don't recall that being stressed in the other videos. When I jibe in the mangrove shallows, I found I absolutely had to do this to maintain control and had been wondering if it was something I should be doing...  I'll be a happy sailor when I master this jibe . Thanks!

Peter commented:

Dasher emphasizes bending the knees in his 12-step jibe video: "The more you bend your ankles and knees, the more jibe foregiveness you shall receive". Once you hear him say that on the video, it's hard to forget...

In Alan Cadiz' jibe video (it's a bit older, but apparently still sold at http://hstwindsurfing.com/jibing-with-alan-cadiz/), he shows a lot of jibe variations. He says something like "first learn to sheet in, then oversheet, then laydown". I sure agree with Roo that learning different jibe variations is a worthwhile undertaking - it's fun and gives you more options. You might find the "slalom" jibe a bit easier to start with, especially in typical Bonaire conditions with big sails. But there's nothing wrong with playing around with different variations right away - learning is not always a linear path. My jibes always get better after ABK camps, when I work on 360s, push tacks, and similar stuff, but not on jibes.

Roo commented:
Wow this thread took off! Best thing is to get someone to video you then analyse what you are doing. It's hard to improve if you don't know what you are doing wrong. Break the jibe down into segments then perfect each before stringing them all together. Once you have it mastered find the nastiest bit of chop and jibe in that, if you can still do what you have practiced in a worse case scenario then you have owned the manouvre. Jibing and speed are my favorite parts of the sport, the satisfaction coming into a turn hot, laying down the sail and ripping a perfect jibe then blasting away is an incredible feeling that few get to experience, especially when you are overpowered and in nasty water!

I commented:

Peter, thanks for the help. I guess, by default, I've been creeping up on the 'slalom' jibe. Soon, I hope to blast past the slalom and on to the laydown .

Roo, your last comment is perfect coaching, thanks! 

I completely agree on what makes this sport satisfying. I still remember and savour the days twenty years ago of sailing the river mouth in Florence Oregon, when I had jibes nailed on my Hi-Tech 8'4", sailing in 25 knot winds on a 4.5 on an outgoing tide with nice swells, doing bump and jump across the river followed by a good jibe -SWEET . My goal is to recreate some of that experience with speed sailing and then maybe some Gorge bump and jump. Thanks again for the guidance and help.

Eddy Patricelli (Big Winds) commented:
Wow, Barton. This is great stuff. Love the blog. And your stance looks great on video. The jibes are good too - especially the aggressive one displayed on the run back out. 

If I were to put on my instructor cap, I'd recommend switching your feet sooner in the jibes. Pivot and step sooner -- staying down. It's tough to do, largely because the sensation of carving feels so good you don't want to disrupt it. But my $.02 on planing out of jibes consistently, with lightening fast, easy, magical, non-taxing sail flips, requires the foot switch to come early. Initiate the carve, get low, and as you approach dead downwind, pivot and step staying low.

For the pivot and step, it helps me to pretend as if I'm taking my front foot's heel and stepping on my back foot's big toe. For a split second, it resembles a ballet plie. Doing so ensures your weight stays on the carving rail as your feet switch. 

Done well, the jibe ends on a broad reach on the new tack and - this is important - at full speed. It's that full speed part that makes the sail flips easy. You're running with the wind, often matching or exceeding its speed. The sail rotates easily in this dynamic. No more awkward sail flips that require recovering and muscling that depletes energy. You grab it, drop down -- hanging down on the boom as the battens rotate, and shazam! You move for the straps with energy to spare and yeah, put into your next PR!

Feb 4

3302km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO5 7.8, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38. Wind: 12G15 ENE

Mellow day, wind took the afternoon off. Got in a few decent runs when the wind was sort of blowing. Spent some time watching Amado and Oda doing some foiling. Amado has it nailed pretty well. I think this may have been Oda's first session. They were using Oda's Severne Reflex 7.8 sail. I went out for a couple of runs while Amado was foiling. On the run back to the launch area he jibed in front of me and then got it up on the foil. Speed-wise we tracked pretty closely.

Eric and Johanna from Germany are back for three months. They are Phys Ed teachers with a 2-3 year old and a very young one. Last on Bonaire in the Spring of 2015. 

Feb 3

3287km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO5 7.8, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38. Wind: gauge down but estimate 16 knots.

Just call me Princess  . 

Decent workout. Wind was cranking in the morning but I had some work to do on the house. Forecast was for strong wind all day but of course it died when I arrived in the afternoon. Started picking back up about 3 PM so rigged up and made a few runs. My friend Daniel used my Sony 4K camcorder to get some video of me so I can analyse sailing stance and jibes.

I was a little too cavalier about the 'crash protection' in the mangrove area. While it did slow me down, I was leaning too far forward into a jibe when I hit the weeds/mud. Ended up face-planting on the boom (thank you Kayak creeking helmet for the protection and no damage) because my right foot was caught in the footstrap. Ended up with a strained right foot and renewed caution about venturing too far into the mangrove shallows at speed. :) .

Roo commented:

Princess Mangrove it shall be. Rolling around in the mud like a little piggy is not speedsailing. Hopefully they got the crash on video!

I commented:

Nope, not on video. Wasn't anything spectacular, just a fall forward stretching body parts that were not meant to stretch. Fortunately I learned my lesson from the Gorge about my cellphone/gpslogit as the case latch popped when I hit the water (even with tape over the latch) - thank you Ziploc baggie :) . 

Feb 2

3266km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO 5  7.8, iSonic 107, Drake carbon slalom 38. Wind: 15G17 followed by short segment of 19G21 knots E

Good workout today. Most of the afternoon I was comfortably powered up and had fun working on the downwind run and on the mangrove runs trying jibes further out in the deeper water (no bottom weeds) and just foregoing 'speed' on these runs. And Then, the wind picked up for about 1/2 an hour. Tried to maintain my discipline but after getting a 27+ knots on the downwind run, to h*ll with discipline and I did a couple of runs into the mangrove shallows. Hit 28.18 but only 27.78 for the 2 sec. On this run I stayed locked in a little longer than I normally do and figured I was in for a bailout before hitting the trees or breaking the fin. Fortunately, the mangrove area provided the perfect catch mechanism for run-away-windsurfers. The mud/weeds was just dense enough to provide a gradual deceleration. The only drawback was trying to get out of the knee deep mud and back on the board to slog into deeper water where I could clean the fin :). 

Little-By-Little: The 2 sec is a new PB for the 7.8 sail by .5 knot and 5x10 was also a PB for the 7.8 sail. The previous PBs were on January 29, 2017 and then the next best speeds on the 7.8 were almost a knot slower on 2 sec and 1.5 knot slower for 5x10 and occurred almost a year ago in March 2016. Hopefully this means I'm improving and getting more comfortable with the race sails. I'm pretty sure a year ago I would not have felt comfortable on the  7.8 in over 20 knot winds - today it was just exhilarating and I even spent time trying to keep my grip loose on the boom while bouncing over the chop :) .

Roo commented:
About bloody time for some more PBs, I was about to delist you for getting lazy. You've been down in the tropics for months and taking it easy doing island times. HTFU princess and start churning out some decent speeds. Now you're comfortable on the race sails its time to turn it off the wind and get bitching betty all excited. Congrats on the improvements and keep it up!

I commented:

Maybe it isn't clear from the track image (which is oriented N-S) but I AM turning it off the wind. The wind is sorta from the East, maybe a few degrees N of East. On the southerly runs, I start bearing off as I approach the sand bar. Today Chatty Cathy usually went from 18-19 knots to typically 25, maybe 26 knots on the Southerly runs, until the wind picked up. As I said, on the Northerly runs, I'm trying to improve my jibing so wasn't doing speed runs. I need the stronger winds in the mangrove area to help me practice laydowns - my goal is to be doing something that could be at least mistaken for a laydown by the time I return to the Gorge... 

For example, my best Alpha today, while not up to your standards, felt pretty good. Entered the gate at 20 knots in chop, peaked at 22.7 knots as the water became smoother, jibed and ramped back up to 20 knots in chop before hitting the exit gate. Stayed at about 20 knots in the chop across the bay and then ramped up as I turned off the wind, peaking at 26.7 knots. As an aside, friends on the beach gave me unsolicited compliments today that I had really improved over the last year...

Maybe it is time for some more tips from the Guru as I'm not sure what else to try on the Southerly runs. Arms are straight, trying to get away from the rig and stay low. Forward foot has slight up-lift combined with rear foot pressure to slightly raise the windward rail. Staying rigid when hit by a gust to translate that into speed. Thoughts?

Roo commented:
Time to get low and go low. Drop the boom height, move the mast foot back the same amount and go low and deep off the wind. You want the board to be on the edge of flying out of control. Move the mast foot back until that starts happening then drop the boom height to bring it back under control. You may have to adjust your harness line length and position to open the sail up a bit to get more power.

Feb 1

3231km

Bonaire Lac Bay. NP EVO 5 7.8, iSonic 107, Drake carbon Slalom 38. Wind: 13G16 ESE

Fun day. Did the long run for NM, not quite a PB but came in second (was a PB for the EVO 5 7.8). Surprised to see where my best Alpha for the day occurred - normally this is not where I do my better jibes, maybe I'm improving :) .

I was startled by almost running over two snorkelers out in the blue water area. Not your typical snorkeling area - I suspect they were conch poachers.