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Another great, windy day. I started off a little later than yesterday because I wanted to get some work done. Mission accomplished, I made it to BIB and got on the water about 2pm. I rigged the 5.4, same as yesterday, but decided to go with the F2 Wave. Big mistake. First off I had to repair some dings, which was a pain to do in the hot sun. After that, my first run was like sailing on an ice skating rink. The board was too slippery to sail sans booties, which I used to use. So, I went in to put them on. Then this, then that. I eventually got sick of it all and went back for the Carve again. Sweet choice.
I received some good advice from Evan about control and balance and put it to work. I felt much better overpowered than I have before, and was in much better control. Since I was in better control, I could feel my way through some jumps, and I managed a few small ones. I've done some chop hops before, but not this many and not this comfortably. Hopefully it will all translate into good, big jumps soon.
I also pulled off several really good fast tacks. I read a technique article in Windsurf magazine recently and it helped a lot. I used to pinch upwind until I was out-of-balance and nearly out of power, then carve upwind a little more and gingerly find my way around (almost never successfully). Well, the article said to approach it on a reach, or even to bear off a tad for speed (not too much, or you might as well jibe). Then, unhook, pull your feet from the straps and carve that puppy from a reach, with speed. You fly into the wind and the board is SO STABLE. I hopped to the other side, pushed the nose off the wind and was off again. It was almost as good and a clean planing jibe (I didn't plane through the tack, not even close, but it was pretty cool). I did three like that today, and two yesterday. I'm not perfect at them, but I'm getting better. I noticed Mike M. nailing them today, too.
No one saw any sharks today, but I did see a small cownose stingray about a foot across. Evan saw a big ray, he said about 4 feet across. Maybe that's what he saw yesterday, too. Of course, I was stung by a bunch of jellyfish again. Those things are a pain in the butt. They are everywhere, perhaps explaining why the crowd was so light. Like yesterday there was only about a dozen sailors there. It was fun still, though. I've hit a ton of good jibes the last two days. I think it's finally sunk in and my muscle memory is taking over. Hope I didn't just jinx myself!
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