3 categories

Another fun day at the Pit with Daffy and Pete. Amazing autum so far.

Ca 40, Koncept 5.8, Ka/Loc 20 Assy and 8kg of lead

Nice day at the Pit with a few regulars, some Southerly Busters, and a few newies and some good squalls. Great to blow out the cobwebs.

Glad to break the 40knot hoodoo which seems to have hung over me, but disappointed at being so off the pace of Daffy and Kato. I'm certain that those Busters were taping weed to my fin!

F2 Missile XS w KA Assy 20cm and 5m KA Koncept.

3 categories

Another great day speeding.

We arrived just after dawn to find an extreme high tide and we could not get into the inlet. We finally got in at about 9.45.

Everything looked very good and the wind looked 35+. I went with the 5.4m 2015 KA Koncept and the Tribal 16.5 assy anyhow. As Craig said, "go big or go home"! 

I got an easy start from the top of the course which is a really good sign because the dunes protect this area a lot now making it hard to start unless you are really powered up.

Turned in under full power after the dunes and it was a case of just 'hang on'!

Got the the best angle just as a big gust arived. The accelleration was great but it was super rough and I was quickly in trouble with the tiny fin and it let go. Thankfully these fins are really we behaved when they ventilate and the board crabbed at very high speed over the chop for 40-50m before I realised I was not going to get it back so I bailed out. I wondered why the landing was so violent until I saw the 46 peak on my GPS! I might have got a glimpse of the possible benefits of super ventilation fins! LOL!

The next runs were in less wind and there were a string of 43 peaks and 42 10's. My timing was terrible now as the wind eased back. There was a squall almost every time I was walking back and then it was soft for the runs.

After about 7 runs I decided to do some tuning and experimenting and downhauled the sail a LOT more (2cm?). It was interesting. Easy when on the run-in but switched off suddenly when broad and didn't seem to have the lift I was looking for at the end of the course. I backed it off about 1cm and it still felt nicer on the run in, but was pulling better on the course and I was getting about 1 knot higher peak speeds. It think I have found the sweet spot.

I also tried the 20cm KA assy fin for comparison and it was very easy to power when tight but didn't seem as slippery at the best angle at the end of the course. By now the end of the course was a lot less rough but am sure it would have been better eariler in the extreme chop. In hindsight, I think the 18cm Tribal assy may have been the best compromise choice today.

I rigged my 5.4m on my normal 4m (slightly bottom cut) rdm today, but used a 15cm tip extension instead of base extension. The head twisted better and the sail felt faster and sweeter with a lower COE and reacting to the gusts better. I think this setup suits my weight better. (+5kg in the vest).

There was a lot of walking in that 27kms and my legs are feeling it tonight! 

EDIT: I guess the wind was around the 30 knots most of the time after the first run, but there were occaisional squalls to 35 if you could be in the right place at the right time, which I mostly wasn't! 

Great so sail with PeterJ, Kato, Dazza, Andrew and a couple of others new to the 'Pit' today. It was a classic speed day of the type we just live for!