Unexpected session in the cold easterly winds.

I packed my kit bag last night in hope that the forecast would not change again. Easterlies are usually still a bit too cold at this time of year but all day the sun was shining and the wind increased through the afternoon. It was windier than I expected when the meeting finished after work. Three of us raced down to the harbour to rig up, it felt really cold on the hands at first but once moving it was fine.

I could not decide between my 7m race sail or my 6m fun blasting sail, in the end opting for the smaller one as it was forecast to pick up more. I rushed the rigging and had to come in to shore after a few runs as it was clear there was too much downhaul on the sail and it was too flat. It felt really different, this is the first time I have used a rotational sail since October and it felt underpowered. Perhaps I am now used to the extra power than the cams in racing sails give, and I missed it a lot. It was good practice sailing more efficiently but I found it strange to gybe, and did not make it round a single one. The board was perhaps a bit wide for choppy conditions though.

One bonus was I rigged smaller than my mate, and had a much wider freestyle type board compared to his shiny new isonic speed board. He was still a good knot slower according to the gps. I cannot wait to race him in a real south westerly with mid to high tide with 25+knot winds.

I only managed 11nmi today, making the total 108nmi. This puts my 8 miles into my 150 target for this month, so please let the wind blow. This is my upper target so I am not worried at all, if I achieve my upper target I will have done 1000nmi by June/July.