Coal Point, NSW, AU. 7.5 Ezzy 120 Simmer. Wasn't going to rig but the heat got the better of me. Wind was pretty bad as it was but then it dropped, so really not worth posting but from what I can gather me posting may do something????

patchy 15-23kts WSW Lake George, SA, AU

5m OD - 80ltre iso - 38BP50weedspeed then 23 gun weedie then back to the 38cm..

I've been feeling pretty run down lately and really in need of a decent sleep..It wasn't to be..4am the front hit at c 40kts and the tent decided it would try and flap itself to death..  With the help of a fellow camper there was a mad rush in the dark putting bugger pegs in  and extra guys plus oarking extra vehicles to try andblock the wind.. I had to wake him to move his car so I didn't get down there till 9.45am odd.

That was the last straw..I've now booked a house for the next week..Bliss..

Rigged the iso50ltre  speed board but it was too gusty trying to start so i decided to just go the 80ltrre..

Stuck with the big fin as I love the way I can get upwind but then it bogs down in the weed..Tried the 23cm later and it was much better in the weed but the wind had got patchy so it was harder to get upwind..

Sailed like a gumby today..

Gybes were Rs .it may have been remnants of the `1/4 sleeping tablet I took as after an hr of listening to to a weird roaring noise I realised the boom cam was off the mast.. I couldn''t fix it out there so did so later.

 It was getting more patchy so I went the 87ltre and big fin..I'm much more at home with that combo..I suppose I have had the board longer..Hopefully tomorrow I can get my act together and will enjoy it more....

5 categories

Lake George, SA, AU

I had the alarm set for 5am. But I was awake much earlier as the front came though around 4am and the van was swaying in the wind keeping me awake. I got up and had breakfast and encouraged Kato to get up. Got down to the lake around 6am but it was too dark to work out what to rig. I got the speed board out and full wetsuit on as it was not exactly warm. I was thinking 6.3, but Kato was planning on 5.8, so I reconsidered and rigged the 5.5m. The long run out across the lake was great, nicely powered up on the 5.5m. As I reached the far side of the lake the sun started to rise, this will be a long lasting memory from LG.

The whole lake was fairly choppy by Budgie standards, so I couldn’t see myself getting any great top speeds, so I focused on nauticals. But the wind was patchy in the flatter areas, so I couldn’t hold good speed for the full distance. Eventually I decided the only way was to go deep right through the middle of the lake, truly terrifying on an 18cm fin I haven’t used before. Came in and checked my results on the laptop, I had the PB so time to think about distance. I had done about 80km.

Hopped on the isonic with the BP 40 degree, it felt super comfy in the chop compared to the speed board, but the fin was catching weed in the shallow areas, so changed to a 20cm Kestrel. Which was good for the weed, but harder to stay upwind. Late morning the wind dropped back and I came in and rigged the 7.0m. This was even harder to keep upwind, but slogged on to about 200km. By this stage most sailors were packing up. Keen to push on I dragged out the trusty Carbon Art 110 litre. It felt so smooth I should have been on this all day. Each time I returned to near the carpark there were fewer cars. At 260km I came in, Kato offered a few words of encouragement and promtly went to the pub. Shortly after the last spectators packed up and left.

I was all alone on a very big lake. The last 60km was really tough, at times not enough wind to plane, at other times it was comfortable blasting. At times the cloud would come over and the lake seemed dark and foreboding, then suddenly the sun would break though illuminating my truck miles off in the distance. Several times the wind dropped and I thought it was all over, only to return again 5 mins later. At 280 even my GW60 had had enough (I had been topping it up during breaks). I grabbed my old Garmin so I could follow my progress for the last few kilometres.

Finally I came in and downloaded the GT31, 320km that’ll do.