1 categories

Rathies, NSW, AU Force 5 and 93 Hybrid. Crazy jump session. Now feeling really confident off either tack getting some air. Awesome fun

Marmong Point, NSW, AU

Exocet RS4, TRX 6.3, JP 40 - Wind SSE 15-20 knots

Awesome southerly today at Marmong.  Pretty powered up on the 6.3.  Stacks of fun smashing across the chop and swell.  29.7 knots but it felt lots faster.  Sweet to sail with Russ, Mick, Hugh, Walshy and Ian plus a bunch of other sailors and a few kiters.   The southerlies have been great over the past few weekends.

6 categories

Budgewoi Lake, NSW, AU

falcon 115, S2 venom 6.3 , delta

couldnt get out till late blowing on shore and every where but the flat water was very frustrating underpowered sail.

2 categories

Marmong Point, NSW, AU

5.6 reflex sl91 34bp rs

another bumpy sail on the lake, got to use me new sail witch was

sweet. 100% 400 masts are great, so light & easy to through around.

heaps out there 10 15 ppl at the club.

2 categories

Budgewoi Lake, NSW, AU

Very patchy Southerly. Not a speed board day.

CA44, 6.3 and FF165

Very nearly didn't go down to Buffo, but I was keen to try out the Fangy 165. Nothing on the drive down and thought I had wasted my time. But just as I arrived the front came through. Various sailors were struggling back accross the channel to change to smaller kit.

Quickly rigged the 6.3 and put the FF165 in the CA44. Struggled accross the channel, with the boom way too high in 25kt gusts. Just got up wind enough to step on to the flats and then walked up wind to the sailing area. I worked up to a suitable point for a bareaway and at that moment someone turned the wind off. The next two hours was 5-22 kts. Very few powered up runs.
The fin fitted the board well, I was getting no weed stuck in the gap and was pretty pleased with my polishing efforts until I ran into a log and pushed the fin back, leaving me with a 1 mm gap. Which I could not close for the next hour until Byron produced a screw driver.

Getting started the fin felt pretty similar to any other fin in a speed board, at times grabbing weed, but often getting a clean start without any need to bareaway.  Its pointing ability was not great, but to be fair the wind was woeful at its best. I was wishing I had something a little bigger, but the fin is clearly not designed for days like today. It appeared to not have any thing like the lift of the other Fangys but again I needed a lot more wind. I didn't think about it until now but it did not spin out once.

In summary the fin handled predictably, but the wind did not allow for any tuning.

I was hoping that this piece of Fangy metalic magic would turn a gusty 5-22 kts into a nice constant 28-30 but sadly that is not in its repertoire.

10-20kts S then 20-28kts + S /SSE Buff Pt Budgewoi Lake, NSW, AU

7m M1 0D - 87ltre iso- 16cm FF

 then 70ltre Patrick - 5.7m OD - 16 cm FF 

then 80ltre iso - 5.7m - 16cm FF

zzzzz..I'm not as fit as I thought..

Very tiring. Rigged the 7m and 87 and went out for about 50mins. The angle was a pain to get to the flats ..You almost could have launched at Brandon. Once I got to the shallows i just walked up. Not a lot of weed there and sandy. The bergs weren't as bad as I expected..there was just one area you had to be careful of.  My gybes started off woeful but I got a few ok ones before I got too tired to try anymore. I do love that feeling when I get a gybe right in the glass..

It kicked in big time..I got 32.6 on the 87ltre but decided to head in.. Brownpants run back in across the channel ,crouched really low with the sail pulled back  over me so I didn't get launched. Made it ok but I was buggered by now with trembly legs..

Got the 70ltre ready with the 5.7m. Got across ok but there was a dead area in the shallows and when I did get a gust i was hopping along the bottom as it was so shallow. My ankle has been playing up a bit lately but it got plenty of hydrotherapy walking in the flats today..

Lots of swearing and I decided to go in and get the 80ltre. I got the 2 sec with the 80ltre. I didn't even get a bearaway with the 70ltre..

I usually worry about falling in the channel but I got plenty of waterstart practise today.. One second it was survival gusts then nothing..then survival gusts.. I haven't got my spring steamer back yet but the 5-4-3mm was perfect today.. It's still surprisingly cold , windchill etc.

 Really buggered by now but went back out and that combo went well.Too tired to try much gybing.. The 16FF spun out a fair bit today but it was driver error.. I hadn't tightened the front screw enough and it was picking up weed moustaches..Once I cleared it things were fine..The patricks don't seem to like them though..??? Although it held well off the wind in chop reaching in the flats the tail just slid sideways...it could have been weed so I'll give it one more go..

Just Norm & I at first then Troy and later Andrew, Matt , Byron, Greg and Nick..Nick went out with the 50ltre when it was practically over..amazing to see him balancing up to his waist in water in the lulls..makes me tired just thinking of it.. 10/10 for dedication! 

1 categories

Budgewoi Lake, NSW, AU