Leeman, WA, AU

Screaming Leeman. Wind was light maybe 15-19. A lot people rigged 7s or 7.8 in anticipation for it to kick in which didnt happen until after the race. i rigged the 7.5 and the 125 because the next size down was 6.2 and mistral 91. Wind was very light in the middle of the course on the inside marks. Fell on one gybe due to lack of wind. All Pinnas, Greg, Hooksey, Crimson Flash, Chris Simonds and Boz (yes no accidents today) and I finished today. Great day of sailing even though it wasnt screaming. 14th place overall in 36 minutes.

7.5 koncept, 125 patrik F-Ride, 38 vector weedy.

Green Head, WA, AU

Fun at Leemen with a few of the Pinnas, more later 

What a great turnout of Pinnas for the race day, with some exeptional results for the day from the Pinnas. The day started to look promising with a SW swing early in the morning and by 11am it looked as it was going to fill in nicely. Rigged the 7 to test the waters went out and was happy that apart from a small lull at the shore line, the 7 was powered up for a cruisy sail on both Port and Starboard tack. On the fourth test run I felt the sail slip and thought oh no the curse of racing had come back to haunt me, turned out the extension collar had split and the mast was sittin on the pin. Big thanks to Tom Radis for the loan of collar derigged and reset the sail and all was good. Also big thanks to Ian for the loan of the 29 tribal such a sweet fin didn't slip once

John Norton and myself had a disscussion of the sail size and we both felt that the wind was going to fill in a bit more to make a cruisy sail with the 7's and 98 litre boards, ah well maybe the 116 would have been a better choice in hindsight but had a heap of fun out on the course, as it turned out there was several lighter patches out through the course which the bigger board would have helped. Had a reasonable start and managed to be at the first mark in a good position, a bit of wallowing for about a quarter of the second leg but still all good, third leg power up again and catching up with a couple of the boys in front. I knew when I was in the fourth leg and again struggling to get going when young Kenny "mister consistant" cruised passed me that it was going to be hard to catch up if I kept going off the plane. All the port legs where fine mainted reasonable speed but the Starboard legs not enough sail area to keep it consistant, I would catch up on the Port legs only to loose ground on the Starboard legs, race was all ove on leg 8 wallowed nearly the entire leg had to hop of to clear some weed only to pick up a bit more but managed to jump it off, and as maother nature would have it Legs 9, 10, 11 and 12 huey plays it's final hand and delivered to wind that John and myself had rigged for. So a mini race with John to the finish line was in order we had a blast pacing to the line with both of us gaining a position only 200m from the finish line when one of the competitors in front of us had a harness line snap on him and spetacularly went into the drink.

Fantastic day, great company, put it on your next years calander get up to Leemen and give it a go highly recomended. Some data below for those interested in what the course is like. Oh I think I finished around 22nd or so GPS Results shows 40min race finish, at least this year no broken bones

2 categories

Green Head, WA, AU

Screamin Leeman.  Well not so screamin this year, more of a gentle cruise.

It was nice rocking up to the beach at 10 and seeing that there was already a seabreeze of sorts, which suggested we would get to race.  It built a little, but hovered around 15-18K.  I rigged the M137 + 9.0 Titan + 44 Vector weedy combo, and I was mostly planing on this set-up, so I neglected to rig anything bigger.

We started on schedule at 1pm, and for once I got away cleanly and onto the plane without too much fuss, but I wasn't exactly powered up.  First leg was pretty tight, and Hooksey soon powered over the top of me with clearly superior board speed.  I maintained my position on leg two, but on the second seaward leg I was struggling to get going and lost a few places as lighter sailors zoomed past me.

From then on it was a bit of a procession.  I'd catch up to the sailors in front at the gybe marks, particularly inshore where there was less pressure, only to lose ground again when I couldn't plane after my gybes.

Still despite a few sluggish patches I was mostly planing, and I was pretty happy to complete the course in 38 minutes, coming in 18th place.

I did wish I'd rigged the 9.6, which would've gained me a few places for sure, but at the start in Little Anchorage the 9.0 was fine, it was only when we got around the corner that the breeze faded.

After the race I'd only done 12 mile, and I was still feeling fresh, so I decided to sail back upwind.

It had filled in by this point to a lovely 17-18K and the sail back was delightful.  I was running a weedy, so it took me a bunch of tacks to get there, but I completed the journey in just over an hour.

I finished off with a few runs in and out at Little Anchorage to cap a great day of sailing. It's a magnificent spot and I'll definitely return next year, hopefully to sail in a bit more of the breeze that Leeman is famous for.

Well done to Hooksey who was the top-placed Pinnaroo.  Next year mate 

Ps:  the track below includes my short sail on Sunday, as I haven't worked out how to split SBP files.  It's easy to pick as there was a lot more West in the breeze today.

Screamin' Leeman from Little Anchorage to Leeman.

Windtech 72SB with 35cm Hurricane weed fin. 8.7 KA sail