Mike G (11070km):
4530 days ago Today was the first time that I've encountered the so called "death chop" at West Kirby. The wind was at the same broader-than-broad angle all day so there was no just escaping it. The only option in such conditions is to pick up speed towards the wall (100m), slingshot off the wind (another 100m) and then slow down if you wish to avoid a certain crash!
I opted for my 4.7m due to the wind strength in the morning; a debut outing in the UK. It was pretty much the right size whilst I tried to get to grips with the conditions and it felt pretty good considering it hasn't been tuned. Later on it was probably too small (perhaps 5.1m or 5.5m would have been better) but it was good to use my smallest race sail in the UK!
Before seeing the conditions, I was hoping to improve on my PBs but a few peaks in the mid-42's were all that I could muster today. Given the conditions, I'm pretty pleased with that anyway and it was nice of Ian to say that my runs were looking good. Surviving was kind of an achievement for me and I only had one crash, although it was a good one at 40 knots... skiding along the water on my back for around 10 meters, lol.
Many thanks to Paul Burgess for the loan of the board. I think that I will have to invest in a 20cm C3 Slingshot as it felt great on the water today. It was sad to see that Richard Hobson's GT-31 didn't record his efforts to break the big four-o. Better luck next time!
Spot / Conditions: West Kirby (England), 40 knots gusting 50 knots (WNW)
Kit: Carbon Art Sp 40, 4.7m NP RS:Racing EVO 2, C3 Slingshot 20
Tech Details: Navi GT-31 V1.4 (B0803T), GPSResults v6.96, Doppler, Cubic Spline.
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