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Sandy Point, Vic, AU

BEST DAY for a long time!!

30-45 WSW and at the right time.....well nearly. Daffy, Neil and I were ready to hit the water by 10.30 but the wind hadn't arrived.

Mmmmm skunked again was starting to creep into the conversation when at 11.30 the wind arrived. And did it arrive 

Got the first run of the day with the 5.0 up and did a sheeted out 40kt run just ahead of a big hail and rain front. The slowing down bit hurt as the hail hit. I couldn't see any more than 10 mt of the bank walking back. It took awhile for the other two to do a run 

The second run was ok but the third was smoking and sooo easy to sail. Got a kick at the right time and just flew down the run. More of these please  Neil was on the same gust and had the same impression. Just easy to go quick.

4 and 5 runs were nicely in the 41s but hard work finding the gaps in the gusts to slip through. The walks back were a killer and we had to stop and just hang onto the gear. A bit of a rest period was happening at the start end as more and more fronts came along.

Run 6 was short as I tailwalked into the course and crashed in front of Daffy. Easiest crash ever 

No more runs for anyone after that as the tide was moving in , Wind had increased and moved a bit Sth and we all had run out of energy. 

Had a thought of going for a surf at home but the waves hadn't quite wrapped far enough around the point to make it worth while getting wet for a second time.

Ca40, Ka/Loc 21.5, Koncept 5.0

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Primbee, NSW, AU  fun day primbee  poor dale    he is getting better slowely    good to sail with all the primbee crew  again    a lot warmer then that place were the Duck sails

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Primbee, NSW, AU Was going to sail Sandy Point but ended up at Primbee NSW. Left at 4.30am to pick my daughter up and drop her off at school then onto Primbee. Lake Illawarra did not dissapoint with a not to strong breeze which turned into a gail. To strong for most of us both the brave soldiered on. Issac was looking a bit puffed at the end of the runs. Its nice to know i can beat a world champion on the day in distance, thanks Kato. I hope Daffy can bump the average back up.

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Sandy point, Vic, Aus

What a day! 

got my five runs in, somehow managing not to crash. I guess I just wasn't trying hard enough. XD

thanks Daff and Kato. days like these are what we do it for!

W44 starboard. lockwood weedy 21.Servne 5.7m 

4 categories

Sandy Point. Vic.

Whooohoo! Biggest wind I have seen in years! Too strong for best speed for me even on the 4.7m. I was out of control most of the time on 3 of the 4 runs I managed. Just could not get that last run after the wind kicked and was constantly over 40 knots and went a bit too tight. So my result is actually 4 runs with my first 500m after launch before I got slammed on my first attempt counting as my 5th. 

Six of the Seven forecast models I studied said the wind would swing WSW right around 10am.  We were rigged and waiting but Nada. The seventh model said it would swing right around midday, and it was the only one that got it right!  First run just before Noon. Kato jumped in ahead of me on his 5m and I was not sure if he would have enough wind to get going so I waited and watched. He got half going a few times and it wasn't until he got out quite a way past the wind shadow of the dunes that he got going properly.

11.55am: I decided I should be OK on my 5.2m so off I went. Got about 500m and a massive squall hit. I got lifted and SLAMMED. Severely! (That acutually counted as my 5th 10 sec run - 29.7kt.)

I tried to lift the sail to waterstart and barely got it out of the water before I was slammed down again. By now the water was white mist and I knew there was no way I could start so I dirfted for a few minutes.

11.59am: It eased a little and I managed to waterstart for the first full run. Scary, out of control the whole way down, barely sheeted in. 42.6 peak,  and 41.02 ten second! Holey Moley. I wish I had brought down my 4.2m Koncept!!

I was actually surprised to see that Kato had made it to the end of the run when I got there, as he must have copped the big squall right in the middle of his run! 

But I had rigged the 4.7m so I walked back and got it while the others were contemplating their next move. 

By the time I got back the other guys had worked up enough bottle to try another run. The wind seemed to have eased sightly but was still a relentless 35+.

12.37pm: Pretty good run this on with peak over 43 and 42.25 2 sec and 40.1 10 sec. Still felt like I could not get settled but not too bad. 

Walking back was slow against the gale fore winds. A couple of times I had to stop and hang onto the sail with both hands! Kato come past in a slight lull and looked like he was flying on his best run, and well under control. 

12.57pm. This run was straight away when I got back from the previous, so it took 20 mins to walk back. Best run. Wind slightly better angle and not quite so out of control. Except for the moment half way down when my front foot started to come out of the strap. That nearly casued me to s@@t myself! Had to sheet out and try to jamb it back in which stood me up and nearly caused me to crash. The guys walking back thought it was great show!  43.4peak, 42.61 2 sec, 41.86 10 sec. 

Walking back this time the wind REALLY notched up. Definitly 45-50 gusts! Smoke and mist on the water. Could not see where the bank ended and the water started. I had to stop numerous times and just hunker down clinging to the sail with both hands and jambing it into the sand so it didnt self destruct.

Waited a while and it seemed to ease slightly.

13.42pm. Getting desperate for 5 runs so tried again. I got slammed on the first start attempt. Finally got going but was totally out of control and couldnt see where the edge of the sand was! Trying to feather the sail without getting lifted off all the way. Just insane! Peaked at 40.4, 2 sec 40.01, 10 sec 38.3. That was a PB for how slow in that much wind! LOL!  Quite a bit slower than the average wind speed I recon! 

After that it was just insane. Water willy willys, white mist, sand blowing 20 feet in the air and we could not see the course a couple of times. We waited for nearly an hour for the wind to ease enough to try a run but although I thought it had a few times, but as soon as I tried to get in position to start It was very clear to me it was hopeless. I was shattered that I didnt have a 5th run, but when we finally downloaded I realised I had actually got a slow fifth run at the start of 29 knots just before I was slammed.  What sealed it was the wind swung SW, so the course was too tight anyhow, and the tide was rushing in. Time to abort!

A big thanks to Kato and Neil for the company and the laughs.  Also to Neil for dragging my other sail back to the start at the end. I was starting to worry that I would not be able to make it myself. 

This was one of those days when nature slams you back into your place! Just in case you are getting a bit cocky. Nature 1, Daffy 0. 

I loved every minute of it though. This is what we live for. I bit of terror is good for ones soul occaisionally. 

if ya wern't there, YOU MISSED IT! 

One other thing we learned today is that the Yanakie wind meter was useless. It must be surrounded by trees now! 

On the other hand. The Prom had gusts over 70 knots and long periods over 50. 

CA40, Tribal 18cm assy, 2019 KA Koncept Speed 5.2m and 4.7m. No lead in the vest as I found I am wearing the 3 KG around my waist. ??