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| The wind snuck up on all of us this time. The forecast models had earlier predicted strong winds but in recent days the predictions had dropped to around 20-24 knots during the period of low tide around 1pm. 20-24 was just enough for me to take the day off work and head down with the expectation I would be testing some light wind equipment. Recently my light wind performances had improved substantially and I was keen to see what could be done now, and to hopefully confirm once and for all that my V6 design had overcome the hoodoo of a speed ceiling around 42.8 knots. When I arrived at Sandy Point about 9.30 am the tide had just receded enough to get in, and it was clear before I even got out of the car that the wind predictions were all wrong with the wind already blowing 25-30. I decided to wait a few minutes to see if it was just a squall and back down enough for me to use the 5.5 Stealth which I am confident will work best with my Missile in the 25-30 knot winds I was hoping to get. Chris Lockwood was already rigging when I arrived, and many other sailor arrived at this time including Peter Dans, Craig Spottiswood, Tony Wynhoven and Shelby. It had been a long time since I had seen Peter, and many months since seeing Chris, although we talk over Skype all the time, so there was much greeting and hand shaking going on. After that we got about rigging our sails and a bit of concern started to creep in when a massive gust went through that would have been 45 knots. It was clear that it was going to be a special day and no-one needed to rush. If we hit the course too soon we would have the sharp chop to deal with because the tide had not dropped sufficiently to allow the sailors to get close to the bank yet. By the time I had rigged the 5.0 and got ready with two GPS's, prescription goggles, helmet, weight jacket etc, it was obvious I couldn't use the Missile today, so almost reluctantly dragged out my 2m speed board. My major concern was that it would wear me out very quickly as I have little sailing stamina. But figured I might be in with a chance of a couple of good runs before I wore out. I also had some nagging doubts about its speed potential at the top end and was just hoping it wouldn't let me down. It certainly had some things going for it. Most notable was its short length which made water starting difficult but once going would at least be very stable on the water in very high winds. It was unlikely that this board would get any kind of lift off, which is exactly how it transpired. Finally it was time to go. The wind was blowing around 30-35 with some bullets coming through much stronger. Shelby had already done a run or two and wasn't too stretched so I figured it should be OK. I tried a water start and surprisingly the board just planed straight up out of the water and took off. A good omen. I settled in and was very comfortably set on the board. Hey this was easy. I took the board down to the choppy zone but not too far into it as I didn't want to risk anything in these conditions when the best was yet to come. The board glided beautifully and I completed the first run without any fuss. I checked my GPS... 44.2. Holy shit that was a glide, I wasn't even fully powered. OK! so quickly started the walk back up the course thinking this was going to be a very special day. By the time I got back up the course the wind had built substantially. But I figured I was on the Stealth 5.0 which was going to handle anything. Unfortunately it was not to be. Again I got going very easily, this time with my back foot in the strap before I got going, but the wind was howling and I was already in trouble before I even cleared the sand dunes. Then a massive wall of wind hit me and the sail bucked and carried on and I was lucky not to be plucked off the water. I managed to find that balance between disaster and calamity where I was in trouble if I sheeted in any more or any less and stayed on my board for the run, but this time it was only 39.9 on the GPS. Bugger. I started the long walk back again which I was to do many times that day. For the next few runs the wind just never relented and I did not get comfortable at all. The sail would flog if I sheeted out and I could barely sheet in enough. I was running out of strength in my hands and arms and starting to get cramps when water starting. Really not good. On my walks back I was struggling with my rig trying to keep it from flying away or flogging in the wind like a flag. Every now and then another sailor would venture down the course. But it was Chris Lockwood that was really on fire this day. It was good to watch him power down through the sand haze with his board sometimes getting big air and long tail walks, but he managed this with no trouble at all and never once span out that I saw. Some of his runs looked very fast and as I arrived at the top of the course Chris sailed past for another run and yelled to me 48.2!!!! I was not surprised given the speed he went past, but that was very bloody fast. Epic fast. Speed sailing was not going to be the same again kind of fast. Now its a contest! I continued to plug away with each run taking about 20 minutes to walk back, and each time the water conditions improved, particularly down the bottom of the course. But also the wind that had been a perfect angle of about WSW had swung tighter to around SW which was more difficult in terms of wind but improved the water conditions. And there were moments where the wind was backing down a bit and many sailors took their runs in these lulls that were about 30-35 knots. On one such moment I was walking back when the bunch came down the course in this lighter wind, then when I got to the start of the course the wind was back to full strength. Damn! Then finally on one run the wind had backed down a bit, and I got a clean shot where the wind had moderated when it was normally howling about halfway down the course. I got into a comfortable stance and managed to get right down the course into the chop, which was quite short and easy to manage. I was quickly coming up to Chris standing on the bank adjusting something and buttoned off the gas just before I got to him in case I got into trouble with the chop during the wind down. I checked my GPS ... 46.5!! I told Chris and he said "What!?? just now?". Yep, and felt very easy, though my hands had virtually no strength left. The board once it got down the bottom of the course was just gliding with no need to drive it through the water. A brilliant feeling. I did another run that showed 43.8 on the GPS but the wind was back up again with a vengeance and the tide had turned. And I was totally exhausted after walking over 11 kms through soft sand and 40 knots of wind. So called it a day after that run.
I returned back to the car park, and after a chat with Tim Daddo from the Maquarrie Innovation team, Andrew Daff flies in to the car park with his gear in tow. Andrew is a teacher and could not be there during the middle of the day, and the frustration was showing on his face. Bloody hell, everyone is packing up! What, 48.2 knots...Bloody hell. He got a bit frantic and quickly rigged his 4.4 and hit the water, along with Andrew MacDougall from KA Sails who arrived late also. but realistically it was all over. The tide was coming in and the water was getting rough again. Not much chance of very fast times now. So my fins are finally starting to showing some of the potential they have displayed in XFoil with a very slippery feel once they reach the right operating conditions. The peak speeds in my track points don't show any problem with the fin reaching a hard ceiling which had been a major issue for me earlier in the year. And I did not get anything like the best performance out of the gear today, so very encouraging for next time when the conditions are better suited to the gear I have. And I will bring an old 3.8 Gaastra Proto with me next time just in case Sandy Point pulls another swifty on me. Trackpoints (1.8mb): |
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