Independence Day Sailing on Woodside

July 4th (in U.S.) and strong ESE Winds in NZ (from about 120 deg) meant perfect conditions at Woodside. Surfdale was too sheltered.

4.7 on the Kombat and some major swell in the Tamaki Strait! Of course no one else was on the water. It was a bit cool and I wore my triathlete (full body) wet suit for the first time just in case I had to spend any time in the water. Luckily the equipment, wind, and body held up for about 5 or 6 reaches into the channel.

Prediction is for continued strong winds through Thursday...

June 11th, 3 to 5pm: The front moved over and now blowing strong from SW. 5.4 / Kombat at Surfdale for some perfect conditions at high tide. Rudy stopped by, but said I was the only one crazy enough to be heading out today. Well worth it though! A squall at the end provided a freshwater rinse as the sun went down. 2 for 2 in 2 days. Tomorrow promises more squalls and SW flow. The water is getting cold by the way.

Onetangi Onshore: Another first

3pm to 5pm, June 10th: 20kts from the North led me to Onetangi (Oneroa was too sheltered). Onetangi was a bit challenging to get past the shore break with onshore winds, but the 6.0 and Fanatic had enough power and volume to finally (after 25 mins) get past the break and provide about 8 or 10 long runs along the length of Onetangi. A kite surfer was attempting to get out but never got past the break. Highlight: racing along with hundreds of birds a few feet above the water--perhaps a fish boil somewhere along the way. The foot held up with some athletic tape. A perfect confidence building day back out (2nd time out since the injury)

Other water sports

Two months now since the foot injury and still recovering. Luckily the Hobie Cat and winds were favorable for an island hop to Motuihe while Anne was visiting. We got caught in a downpour once back into the Blackpool bay, but there was still enough wind to crawl to shore.

The wind hasn't been too tempting as my foot convalesces so I've been trying my hand at fishing. Here are a few of the trophies caught on squid. The best so far has been a 45cm snapper.

SW 25 knots due to a "disturbed" flow slowly moving up from the south meant time to try out the foot again. Ace bandage used to hold stiff foot insole to bottom of foot with a piece of plastic on the top of the foot for additional support. Then a final wrap of duct tape before jamming the appendage into a neoprene bootie. Overall it was a reasonable evening of sailing on the 5.4 and Kombat. After 5 or 6 runs and a few wobbly jibes the foot felts like all circulation was gone (which it was). No one else was on the water--maybe they had a chance earlier in the day as it was steady most of the day.

Ankle-Day: A new windsurfing holiday celebrated March 12th

March 12, 2010 "ANKLE DAY, NZ"

Strong winds from the SE required a 4.1 m^2 sail today. More remnants of a cyclone that is clobbering Fiji. I had to borrow the small sail from Mike Giselle as my 4.1 sail needs to be modified at the head to fit my mast. Luckily we had some redundancy in the combined quivers. Pete, Rachel and "Baby-A" arrived this morning from Boston and Pete caught some nice photos of Mike, Rudy, and "Ace", now AKA'd as "Ankle-Ace" after a day-ending injury following a bad landing off a wave :(

Turns out the X-ray facilities on the island are only open 3-days / week, so after a quick visit to the local emergency care the swelling foot and I took the ferry and a cab to the Auckland Hospital ER. After a couple X-rays, followed by a load-bearing X-ray, then finally a CT Scan, it looked like there were no broken bones, subluxation, or dislocation. The weight-bearing X-ray suggested possible spreading of the 1st and 2nd metatarsals indicative of a Lisfranc injury that requires surgery, hence the desire for a CT scan. So from 6pm to 2am I was back and forth from waiting room to radiology 3 times, then finally "plastered" (the term for placing a plaster cast on the foot) and put in a bed to meet with the orthopaedic specialist in the morning, who confirmed that I could be released.

Windsurfers BBQ finally materialized on Saturday March 6th. A great time with Rudy, Marc, Mike, and Ole, and two more kids (Brin and Alex, I think)

The next day didn't follow through with enough wind, but I gave it a go at Woodside Bay, but was absolutely unable to get out of the bay into the channel on the Kombat and 5.4 (I forgot the mast for the 6.0 and the 6.4 is still ripped). Fabio showed up and sailed a little on an 8.0, but said it was sub-planning at times in the channel and only stayed out 45 min or so. He missed the party due to a wedding on the mainland--so we'll have to hold another bbq soon!

Grant due at 1pm--windsurfing by 3pm!

A bit of a busy week after being in Dunedin the previous, so not much time to finish an NSF proposal due March 3rd at 5pm MST. Of course I took it to 12:56pm NZT on March 4 to make the deadline with 6 min to spare. Why do I do this every time?? Not a bad proposal, but some obvious spelling errors and the bibliography was just a mess. Next round for this RFA is August. It was especially hard to work on this while the wind just kept building all day! Looking off the deck toward Blackpool during the morning revealed many whitecaps and one ginormous sailboat off the point. Multimillion-dollar vessel not bothering to seek shelter from the 20 to 30 knot winds. But also not bothering to raise the sails! Quite the site to see on the edge of the island this morning.

Luckily it was still cranking at 3pm when I was ready to get in the water at Surfdale. 4.7, Kombat, perfect. Rudy showed up on the water, and I didn't recognize him since I haven't seen him in the water since the Sting-Ray incident. Jenn and kids walked along the Esplenade to go to guitar lesson at 4:30pm, so they borrowed the car while I kept going. Nik caught a video around the "Ray" rock:

Ex-Tropical Storm Conditions Prove Too Good

"Long range weather maps show Cyclone Rene will head towards New Zealand, arriving at the end of the working week.

The storm currently battering Tonga is currently rated as a category four - just one less than the highest rating.

WeatherWatch head analyst Philip Duncan says at this stage it poses no threat to New Zealand.

He believes the Cyclone will only brush us with cloud and perhaps strong south to south east winds.'

On Thursday Feb 18 the Ex-Cyclone still had some kick and was 30 gusting to 40 at Surfdale. It was downright intimidating. I texted Marc and he was stuck on the mainland working. VHF was reporting 50 kts in the outer Channel. The 4.1 sail was put to use, and doesn't quite fit the mast :( So it was a bit squirrely. The AHD proved even squirrelier with the gusts and required too quick of a transition from out of harness and straps to fully powered up that it was just burdensome. So the Kombat proved to be the better board, but it was still just a major workout and day to be careful not to have an ugly crash. So I only completed one jibe, most of the time just opting to dismount and rest a few on the edges. It was incredible just trying to get the board and sail out of the water. I was done by noon. Later in the day I saw a sail (Mike G from Canada) going for it alone. Not sure where the rest of the crowd was!

Crossing the channel (a few times)

12:45pm: Strong westerlies meant not much wind at Surfdale, so I drove to Whakenewha Park and went out on my own (I texted Marc to let him know the conditions were good). I took the trusted 125 L Fanatic Shark with pointer fin and the 5.4 m^2 sail. The wind was steady inside the bay, but it was a good 10 kts stronger (20 gusting to 30) in the open channel and stayed strong on the mainland side. So I made 5 laps (10 crossings), including a break for a freshwater shower at the yacht club at Mareatai on the last crossing to the mainland (I was quite thirsty and salty). Upon returning (4:45 pm) Marc, Jens, Hermano, and a couple others were in the Whakenewha Park bay--Marc was on the 5.7 and his friend on a 6.5 on an obscenely wide Mistral board. Ole showed up at the end but did not put in--he's such a wind snob. I do admit it was a bit disappointing in the bay after being in the open channel all day!

Acquiring more and more gear...

I've accepted that I am a wind junkie, making up for all the lost time spent in grad school and during tenure. I listen to the VHF and check Metvuw (http://www.metvuw.com/forecast/) obsessively. At least I'm buying used gear, which is good since I'm still having some fantastic crashes that have not only lead to a ripped sail but a crack in the nose of the 75 L AHD board. The 96 L Starboard Kombat came with some good dings and a repair to the mid-deck. The Fanatic is bomb-proof. Solid German construction. Gib's andere aus Deutschland? The three boards cover all wind conditions now. While the Kombat is the "middle board" in volume it is actually a couple inches shorter than the AHD, but makes up for it in width. I can tell it is a great all around board for sail conditions of 5.4 m^2 and lower. For light wind days I prefer the Hobie 16 with my boys. Both Isaac (6) and Nik (9) are proficient at working the jib sail and are real trapeze enthusiasts. I may (just maybe) buy a kid's board from Marc that has a 2.5 m^2 sail and is super wide and stable. Do I dare introduce this sport to the next generation? Both Jenn and I have constructed swear-words prio unbeknownst to us during the early learning phase. But maybe the better equipment now available will reduce the frustration and pain?

Back on Waiheke

20+ kts at Tamaki from the SW (so says the VHF) meant good conditions at Surfdale. Sailed the Kombat on the 5.4 from 5pm to 6:30. A great board for jumping the waves. A couple cases of spinout were easily corrected with foot pressure (and no worries of catching the leeward rail since the rails are very soft (unlike the 90 degree edge of the Fanatic). Definitely a good acquisition.

Another New Used Board

I'm a junkie. I just had to have a middle sized board between the 125L Fanatic and 75L AHD. So through TradeMe I have added a 96L Starboard Kombat. We picked it up in Devanport on the way to the Bay of Islands. I tried it out on a low wind day with a 5.4 sail and discovered it does not point well, but does keep me afloat. A day later I tried it on the Waitange River (again on the 5.4). I only had 6 or 7 solid runs across the mouth of the river (We were heading to the Waitange Treaty Grounds, but I had to excuse myself to try out the board on planing conditions). The board took a little getting used to (being short and wide), but it was forgiving on the jibes and planed fast--a good acquisition!

3 solid days

Started the new year right and was on the water at Surfdale on the 6.4 shortly after noon--everyone else was asleep or hung over, so I had the water all to myself until Marc showed up and had a go on his 5.7 and mid-size board. I landed poorly off a wave and was slung into the sail, followed by a "pop" as the main Mylar panel ripped (ouch). An auspicious start to 2010.

Jan 2: Decent wind, but very gusty. Tried the AHD with the 5.0 (dual cambered beast, then the 4.0 Neil Pryde (mono-camber). Both sails are a bit dated, and the 5.0 is a slalom sail, whereas the AHD needs a wave sail. Marc tempted me afterwards with a couple sails he is liquidating...

Visitors from Auckland for the weekend, so a good day to go on the Hobie Cat with a 260 pound ballast in the form of Bryon Wright. Great sailing. The boat handled our combined weight with minimal creaking (I'm a trim 170 lbs these days). I was worried the trampoline might rip apart, but the "new-used" trampoline and 6:1 main sheet blocks are working great.

Jan 4: BIG WIND. Strongest yet. Gusting to 40 kts all over Hauraki Gulf according to the VHF. The <80 L AHD board was in order. I also purchased two Neil Pryde wave sails (4.2 and 4.7) and a mast from Marc, since the 5.4 was too big for the AHD, and the 4.0 and 5.0 that I brought back were not adequate--they'll make nice sunshades. I was encouraged that I was able to land 5 starboard and 1 & 1/2 port jibes. Unfortunately...during a case of high-speed cavitation I caught the leeward rail and flew forward, and the mast must have hit the nose of the board, opening up and extending an old wound that hand been previously repaired. So after several hours of blasting I returned home exhausted, and turned the oven on fan-bake with the door open and the nose of the board propped up to the open oven for several hours. Next morning I sealed the crack along the edge with a glue gun (we were out of duct tape). The 6.4 sail still needs repairing--I'll do the sail correctly with Mylar tape.

Jan 5: Bigger wind than anticipated based on VHF. By noon it was time to quit reviewing an M.S. Thesis and investigate. A few kite-surfers were there. Marc rigged his kite since the wind was not strong enough for the small boards. I left the AHD at home, and rigged the 6.0 on the Fanatic for 3 hours of solid blasting and chop hop--the board handles well for 9'6" and 125 L, but it is not meant for jumping in 20 kts of wind with higher gusts. I picked a small wave that was already breaking to use as a ramp, and somewhere off the ill-defined peak I lost control in a bad way--and again--was catapulted forward, but lucklily no sail rips, although my left shoulder said "enough", and I called it a day after 2 more runs. Since I'm starting 2010 off with gear collecting, I just purchased a 2008 Starboard Kombat 96 L board with 2 fins and a board bag for $800NZ on TradeMe. The Fanatic Shark will be good for Jenn or visitors and I can use the Kombat at the same time (might need another boom...Marc?!)