I had to repair the third batten on my 7m Tushingham X15 and tried to use it on Tuesday, the repair did not work and the batten shortened itself again when under tension. This caused me to overtension the batten below it and I damage the sail a little. It now has been taped up and the batten repaired with epoxy and bound with nylon thread to stop it slipping. This meant I had a short session and only clocked around 10NM. It was a nice little after work session but I went home a bit annoyed with myself for damaging the sail, my most used sail!
Wednesday I used my new 7.6m Tushingham X15 and it was great. Not overpowered at all in the gusty easterly winds.
Local legend Pete gave me a few lessons, I tried to follow him a few times but when he bears off there is no stopping him. It is almost like the water flattens itself in front of him, where I am busy trying to wrestle control from the board he just accelerates away.
Upwind I caught up with him and he would not let me past, he showed me a few tricks I cannot wait to use against my work colleague who keeps trying to pass me downwind while I am cranking upwind.
I was quite surprised at 23NM today, it really did not feel like I was on the water that long. The wind died a little so I came in, perhaps I could have stayed out a bit longer though. Next time I have made a promise to myself to stay until the light or wind completely fades.
Its now time for some south west winds and the flat water that comes with them. The past few sessions I have developed my board control and even managed some good speeds and gybes over very rough water.
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