Stupid winter

Great forecast, but the wind died right as I arrived at the beach. Turned gusty (lully) and inconsistent.

Had about 30 minutes on the TT trying to ride, but the only excitement was the micro-gust that took me stratospheric :o needed a heli loop but I was close to the shore.

Got a single powered tack on the Angry Swallow then just gave up on the silly show.

Digging the Draft

Started out light and picked up, but I tried to get going with the Flite first . . . a bit unsuccessful, and when the wind came it just pulled me downwind on the surfboard. Thought I'd give up then remembered the Drafts in the shed and thought I'd have a giggle.

Big giggles! Bar pressure is appalling but my god, it goes big and floats like a foil! What a hoot, I enjoyed that.

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 . . .