Finally, I don't have to work AND the wind is blowing AND it's not pouring rain... but I have to head south to the coast. Which means choppy water :( oh well, it's gotta be better than nothing.
An hour on the highway later...
Mmm, I measure 7 to 10 m/s at the beach - nice! I decide on the Speed3 15 cos I can't be assed pumping up the Crossbows. Toddle off looking for a section of beach free of detritus... best I can do is a patch with grasses and funny little twiggy ground bushes, with a patch of sand to weight a tip. Carefully lay out the lines... easy launch! Pah, who said untidy launch sites were a hassle? Ooh, nicely powered... going to try out the 'radical...
And we're off! No problems riding upwind! And the wind is supposed to peak at 3 - neat! Of course, the water is choppy... but we start with a decent jump and that's just fine by me.
Dunno what happened next, but I tooled off down the 'other' end of the beach where the club has their little area and well, well, well - whaddya know? Nice water down here. So I hang out down there, riding between what I guess is the river mouth and the pier at 'our' end. There seems to be 2 semi-flat spots and some decently shaped waves...
I boost some decent jumps but spend about 30-60 minutes getting used to the hang-time of the Speed3 again :D too-early redirects put me on my ass a few times. Once I get into the swing of things, I'm riding the waves, gybing, riding toe-side, and boosting really big airs :D
So it was a great day. Was back in the car at 4:30pm, so maybe 2 and a half hours on the water.
Moment of the Day was boosting a good one, having a pole dancer shoot under me pumping his fist going "Loop! Loop! Do a loop!"... with a huge margin of safety. FYI.
Mood of the session was grateful, psyched, exhausted.
It sucks when you're trying to gybe, weight the front foot too much and fall on your face just as your mouth is wide open, sucking in a big breath of air. No actually that's not true - I can live with that. It sucks when you're getting so psyched and having such a buzz out there... but your body just can't cope. Because old.
Song stuck in my head was Oh My Dayum by Schmoyoho feat. Damn Drops... via Cheezycheese.
Weather was reported as 16-18 knots from 2 to 4pm with gusts to 24 at 3. 29°C at 79%.
Wind felt like 9% almost underpowered 90% perfectly overpowered and 1% uncomfortable.
What I learned today...
• I've been kiting at the wrong end of the beach for all this time...
• Need to check the tune of the 15's lines. Just in case. And check that bridle line.
• Cracked my Flydoor some time in the past... need to send pictures to FS and get a diagnosis.
• Nice fat gybes are the ticket - trying to do them too tight means my knees drag and I loose speed and drive? out of the turn.
• Having fun in the waves... do I really need a Nugget?
• I HAVE to learn riding toe-side and gybing the 'other' way.
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