Windfoil, Foilville WA

Kenny made the call for a foil today. Was probably the better option as the wind was a bit dodgy until the storm front came through.

Quite a few out there 

JPHF135, SV M2 7.0, 800/110/cust50cm

Melville Beach, WA, AU

Light wind, warm water, great to get wet after the last week s of no wind and likley same for next week or so.

7.3 Loft Switchblade (only second time sailed), 125 Rocket, 40 pointer

Good to see Scot getting some speed and Tim doing wading practice.

That was an adventure....a trip to the chook pond.  After the hike to get there I was somewhat knackered but enjoyed the venue in not the most idael conditions.  Anita, Flex and Ant were zooming across the slightly bumpy water.  I was trying my new Tribal weed speed on the iSonic 90 and 6.2 Mach 2.

5 categories

Boundary Island, Peel Estuary, WA, AU

Fun session in the chook pond with Reg,Flex and captain Anita. Couple of big white out rain squalls whith some strong gusts in it. Plenty of power on the 7.0 NX,98 Falcon,29 ws.

2 categories

Coodanup, WA, AU   Was trying to decide whether to get other stuff done and sail Melville when I both Reg and Anita said they were heading to Coodanup..  Luckily I also I remembered my daughter was outdoor ed canoeing with the school at lucky bay today in the afternoon (picked their time it seems) so maybe an area best avoided for multiple reasons.... so Coodandup it was.

Arrived to not much wind but Reg, Anita and Antman all turned up within 5 minutes and then much discussion and procrastingating. Was tempted to go big as Anita's anemometer was reporting 12-15knots.  However, water level was way lower than previous sessions so had to go with my butchered Fangy Fin.  Then I remembered Fangman had a 28FF ready for me with Powerbox already cut so called/texted him to see on the off chance he was planing on sailing.  No response...its really nice to know people out there that aren't glued to their devices....  Everywhere was turning green arrows so I rigged for the hope/foreast, not for the conditions...was a good call.  Might have been out of my pay grade had I gone bigger.

Anita and I headed straight for the pond and wind started building but nothing special. I tried to get all the way west but all the birds were hanging there and less than 50m space (to gybe) meant it was basically pointless.  By the time Antman came across it was better still and the three of us enjoyed the best of the wind...no sign of Reg...what was this guy up to?  The Bantam missing out on the pond named after him.

There was a bit of lightning and was ready to ditch and dive but was nothing.   Not much flat water to be had other than a tiny spot right near the walk track lookout. Then the wind shifted more westerly and there was a 1/2 hr where some good runs were to be had...since I took the gopro this time (as was so good last 2 sessions), I spent more time trying to film the others so numbers propbably could have been better.  Will try and post vids later here in comments if any good.

Reg finally joined us but by this time the wind was dying...of course the flying chicken did his thing showing you can plane in no wind..I attempted to film him but just couldn't keep up..this guy is seriously good in no wind.

Was really quite enjoyable, even the rain seemed fairly warm....wind died big time around 4ish but we all hung around hopefully...I bailed first as Cinderella time was upon me..despite a gust 50m from the car park and tempted to continue I think was good call as by the time I had packed up the others were coming in.

120 Tabou Rocket, 6.7 RRD Move, 22 Fangy fin..highly butchered, twice anodised but thankfully worked great...solid as in relatively choppy water, except in the gybes where my technique has to be adjusted.

Foilville, WA, AU

Foil with Lunny, Ben and the mayor of Foilville. Not as nice as a seabreeze but still fun. Was all the way down at melville when the wind went light and the thunder and lightning started. Managed to pump onto a gust and rush back to foilville.

6m Wing, GT

Coodanup, WA, AU is111, 6.2K, 24FF

It seemed super high tide at Melville and moderate wind, or perfect tide at the chook pond with more wind were the options today. I've never sailed the chook pond, and I had the whole day free, so it was a good day to go exploring. 

Checked out the clearer wind at Dudley Park first - 12 - 16 kn. Oh well, it was supposed to build.

Went around to Coodanup to find Flex, and found Reg instead. Flex soon turned up, followed by Ant. The wind was moderate, but better than anything we have had lately, and the water was nice and flat so I rigged the big gear and headed out. Flex showed the way to the pond. Not such a trek on the way in, but quite a trek when you are tired on the way out. The rain soon started and brought more wind, but it was warm enough in my 1mm summer wettie. Sometimes it was quite surreal in almost total white out. There was one enormous gust where I had to bail out, but the wind was very variable in both strength and direction, starting NW and becoming W. Mostly I was a bit underpowered, but wished I had chosen board with a bit more acceleration.

It was lovely to have thigh deep water with a firm bottom all the way, and the company was excellent, even if the speeds were less than hoped for. It is hard for me to go fast on that big board. The elbows held up but it still hurts to gybe on starboard tack.

Ant was giving us a masterclass on speed runs in the pond and then showed how easy it was  to get back to base with two long downwind legs. Reg was giving us a masterclass on going fast when everyone else was struggling to get going at all. Flex was taking lots of video, so that will be interesting. On one run he indicated he was filming as I went past, and the distraction caused me to forget to unhook before I gybed... luckily I managed to avert disaster and salvage the situation.

What started out as a few  upwind tacks to get to the pond ended up being a direct downwind run to get back ( the wind had shifted 45 degrees). After dragging the gear across the samphire I was too tired to sail downwind to get back. I thought I could just sit on the board and float back, but the sea anchor sail made it very slow progress, so I decided to walk, towing the gear. It was further than it looked, and by the time I got back it was raining and almost dark. Thanks Reg for helping me pack up. 

There was still one more "adventure" to come. When I stopped for fuel (in the dark and heavy rain) on the way home and went to pay, I found that my credit card had been inactivated due to fraudulent activity and wouldn't work. It wouldn't work in the ATM either of course, and I didn't have enough cash with me. Luckily I must have looked trustworthy, even though I was wearing my post sailing black knitted beanie, so after a bit of paperwork they let me go, but I will have to make another trek to Coodanup tomorrow to pay.

Overall, a worthwhile experience. Thanks for the company, guys!

Melville Beach, WA, AU

Good to be back on the water ... light NW but just enough for the 7.0. Made for land when the thunder started and sat through the rain hoping for some more breeze but not to be. 

Tim, Ricey, Vince, Kenny and Lunny all out on various setups.

AV 72.5, S2 Venom 7.0, 36 Pointer