3 categories

Coodanup, WA, AU

Learning and trying different combos today

Melville Beach, WA, AU

Short n sweet light wind sail at Melville. Good to see Jim, Tim and a few more of the regulars at Melville. reflex7.8, mistral112, leading edge 38 weedy

3 categories

Melville Beach, WA, AU Was planning on Coods to test the new 3D printed Fangy Flex skunk works fin but just a few mins down the freeway traffic was nearly at standstill with the GPS trying to get me to do rat runs. Of course everyone else was doing that so that was not going to work.   Wasn't in the mood to spend all afternoon sitting in traffic so abandoned that plan and headed to the local.  Seems like everyone else decided to sail today with car park full. Had to use Reg's stealth launch spot which was probably a good thing to keep the new fin away from prying eyes as loaded with new tech and electronics plus in built lights (a little late for xmas).  The other reason was this was the first 3D printed fin without a transfer plate in order to simplify design and save space to pack the tuttle with electronics.  This means the entire fin load is held by a little plastic and epoxy so the chance of total fin failure was much higher...thus better to stay in the shallows to be able to walk back.  Fin seemed to work well though, let go a few times at very low speed (10kts) but seemed solid at higher speeds and in chop.  Pointed upwind well.  

Because Fangy has an identical fin minus some of the new features the plan was each do comparison runs on each fin so after 10km stopped to swap boards and fins and loose all the camera gear to ensure fin survived for another day.   Fin and electronics all survived but the usual pesky Meville wind doesn't make it easy to judge really how well fin worked.   Had been a bit underpowered but changed to smaller board and fin in order to play in the flats away from everyone.   Wind of course decided to drop a little so was bad call as should have gone bigger as Cannonball was doing much better on his bigger sail. Sailed intermittantly for a bit then decided time was better spent reviewing footage of the new fin.  iSonic 97, KAR 7, FF21.400.264.11 FTE FB XLv1.  (FTE - Fexible Trailing Edge, FB - Flexible Bulb, XL - Xmas Lights  (really just testing batteries, charging, latching electronics etc inside a fin under high loads in order to power other stuff in future).   These are the Flex add ons to Fangy's new toy.    Will leave it to Fangy to discuss the secret sauce in his latest fin in due course.  Would upload photo but still can't, don't posses the magic that Boz's crystals have.

Coodanup, WA, AU Lovely day in the sun with all the usual suspects. So many there today to mention all....I had a ball even though didn't do anything to write home about. Carbon art, Severn turbo 6m fangy fin. 😃🌞💨

85 Sonic, 6.2 Koncept, 22FF 15 - 18 kn

Working on alphas today but the body wasn't really cooperating, with sore arms and cramp in one calf muscle.

Maree says I made some progress but for me it was one step forward and that changes everything else, so still a lot of work required.

Minimum speeds were better so that is a start.

Session started badly with the drive to Coodanup taking more than twice as long as usual with big strecthes of "freeway" going only 10 km/hr, and ended badly with my two piece mast being almost impossible to part. Thanks Reuben and Rob for the assistance, I eventually got it apart with the two boom method again, because I couldn't be bothered tying it on the roof. Fortunately the traffic was a lot better on teh way home, but I was so tired I had to stop for a nap halfway.

The company was good at least, and little Dabbles got to show his windsurfing prowess too. Excellent guck gybes. 

Coodanup, WA, AU

Long drive down because of the traffic

Not as much wind as expected, and that was more southerly than usual.

Never got comfortable, the shallows were very shallow.

105 rocket, 5.8 Koncept, 20delta

Good to see Fingers and Finback, Gloria and Anita