Autumn unawesomeness

Got a half hour of good fun on the AS then it dropped off and just sucked ass. I could ride the AS but I wasn't having fun.

Fall squalls

Good boosting session for a half hour or so, then light cruising on the AS. Nice. Started off on the SB 14 but it showed a lack of class when the wind picked up, buckling in jumps . . . it's gotta go.

Angry Swallow is happy

Finally, a chance to try out the new 2015 Angry Swallow! Got it real cheap, as it's a two-year old model now but the last of the 5 fin box models. And purple and green trim :)

Now, it's probably the most travelled board in history, without even getting a single drop of water on it. Shop accidentally used my old address and I didn't catch it until after Japan Post had tried to deliver it . . . then sent it back to the US. So, the board went China - Oregon - Japan - Oregon - Japan . . . before it ever got used :o

Which is a shame, cos it's great. I ran it as a quad (love FCS-II!) which was kinda strange after the Duke but clearly has more bottom end.

The differences I noticed:

The AS is a little more slappy through the chop (duh) if you stand with rigid knees, feels less crisp but is snappy rail to rail, stable for dancing around on, tends to sink the tail during a jibe if you're heavy rear-footed, carves smoothly, rips upwind--especially with the board flat.

All seems to make sense, given where the area and volume are distributed for each board. Which is better? Well for our conditions, I can see I'll be on the AS a lot, but will still love both boards. Very happy with the AS, that's for sure . . .

Miyachi had a run on the Duke and didn't want to give it back. Seems to go better for him than the Naish Skater, North thing and the Naish Global too: he struggled to get upwind on them but rocked out the Duke. Heh . . . 

First!

Had to get out with the new board today.

Wind was light, so i thought I needed a foil. Mistake. That made it harder to get going do to the way the kite worked. After the long-ass bodydrag out as far as possible so I wouldn't slam the bottom, I finally managed to get up and riding away from the shore.

Much better with the new board, much easier to ride. Obviously more stable but different enough that I could barely manage heel to toe, and toe side riding.

Then the wind picked up and I thought I'd try the TT but it was barely enough, then newbie guy fell off and got washed into marina bay, without his board.

I secured the board before it ended up in Otsu, then had to body drag back to our beach, but managed to ride back upwind some, which was a surprise, but then the wind died off again and I gave up.

Managed not to destroy the board, but stood on it by mistake and chipped the nose. Le sigh again.

One thing and another

Thought I'd give the LF a run and assess whether it's worth taking it back to NZ in Feb as is, or do some work on it.

Twitchier than I remembered it used to be when it was equally bent...got used to it but it kinda sucked a lot. Might have to risk straightening it and cutting the mast...

Which was all fine and well until the other side of the board broke. Then I discovered the head of one of the bolts holding the mast to the plate has snapped. So there's all that to deal with and think about too. Le sigh.

Rebel rebel

Wind was on and off so it kinda sucked, but the North guy let me out on his Rebel 15 which was actually fun and boosted well when the wind was on. Bar pressure was like a Switchblade so it was bearable...miss the foil.

Another weak-ass typhoon

that failed to deliver. Again. Had to borrow the Naish foil from the shop, and while I initially struggled a bit to get back in the groove, got there in the end. Strapless is hard to get started when the wind is light...