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sailingjoe
Joined: 06 Aug 2008
Posts: 1087
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 Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:45 am Post subject: Cape Cod Roller Coaster Sailing |
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Last edited by sailingjoe on Fri May 01, 2009 6:18 am; edited 2 times in total |
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pueno
Joined: 03 Mar 2007
Posts: 2807
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| Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 10:27 am Post subject: Re: Cape Cod Roller Coaster Sailing |
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| sailing manure generator wrote: | Yesterday's winds definitely offered a wild ride to anyone who dared to challenge them. The early afternoon seemed like it was going to be another mediocre one. Upon arriving at the secret beach, I was met by three young gals and their children who were sitting on a blanket enjoying the bright sun and exceptionally warm air temperatures. The breeze was strong but tolerable for them, and all seemed to be having fun. The cute little baby girl was wearing a fancy bonnet which blocked the sun and entertained us all. She didn't seem to mind that it was fluttering in the wind. The boy was building a castle with moat. The anemometer gave me an average reading of 15.4 m.p.h. with gusts to 19, nothing to get excited about. I rigged a double cambered N.P. V-8 with average downhaul. By the time I had launched the blanket party had left, but a few people had arrived to walk the shore. Nothing seemed to indicate that Mumsy Nature with a knowing smirk on her face was about to krank and the silence was ready to howl. Once on the water I put in a long upwind reach out of the straps to position myself well on the water. Then I came back in the straps. Already the winds had come up dramatically. Lulls with quick bursting gusts of considerable duration and strength became the norm. I was grossly overpowered, putting in wild, upwind close reaches. Thinking that perhaps the winds would abate, I stayed out for a while. However, there was no relief. I was exhausted and couldn't sail back to the launch to change the equipment. Once I could reach the shallows, I did wade back dragging the rig. At the launch I rigged a 6.5 with three camber inducers. Two kiters showed up, and we discussed the situation. Once on the water, probably around 5 p.m., I now could handle these exceptional conditions better and put in a couple of nerve calming rides in the straps. Nevertheless, the elements were determined to be unforgiving and unrelenting. The power of the gusts picked up. I was overpowered once again. The kiters seemed to be doing well but boosting often. They remained in one end of the bay while I found myself at the other end. My last reach became a ride of a lifetime, I found I was travelling at twice the speed of the kiters, blowing by them like they were standing still. The Icon has incredible speed. The tide was low and the water somewhat flat so I could manage such a large board. I can't say that I was having a lot of fun, but I don't regret the experience. At this point I was so exhausted I had trouble holding on to the rig. One kiter put up while I struggled back to the beach. The other kiter, a younger robust fellow, came in and took out a smaller kite, an 8.0. The older kiter, a lighter gnarly guy, told me that he was out of control with a 7. The anemometer gave me an average of 21 with gusts to 27. At that point, around 7, another local windsurfer drove into the parking lot. He had been at Kalmus and saw gusts to 40, he said. Overpowered with a 5.2, he had decided to change his beach, one closer to home. Nevertheless, he didn't rig and left. He said he was too exhausted. To top the evening off, the second kiter, quite skilled with a directional which has to be gybed like a windsurfer, looked like he was having a ball. When I was finished rigging and the brilliant sun was setting, he told me he didn't need me to land the kite and was going to remain in the water until it was too dark to see. I wondered if he would still be there this morning, albeit in tatters, but I found his report on a kiting website.
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At times I can't believe my eyes. |
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JFred
Joined: 02 Jul 2000
Posts: 116
Location: ~~BLA BOYZ~~
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 2:41 pm Post subject: |
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| You guys are weird. |
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fearnobeer
Joined: 30 Nov 2007
Posts: 78
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| Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 11:01 am Post subject: |
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Kinda curious about rigging practices;
Do most people rig for current conditions or rig for what is forecasted?
Or do most people sit on the beach and wait until the wind reaches what has been forecasted? |
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WaterKook
Joined: 10 Apr 2000
Posts: 1713
Location: The Dude abides!!!!!
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sailingjoe
Joined: 06 Aug 2008
Posts: 1087
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| Posted: Sat May 02, 2009 6:54 am Post subject: |
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| When there are people on the water bringing in reports or a group at the beach, most people will rig what everyone else is rigging. Now, I would think that checking with those sailing about conditions effects the rigging but shouldn't determine it. There's also the difference that individual differences in physical make-up should make. (20 lbs of weight difference in sailors should mean a 0.5 or 0.6 difference in sail size.) When alone, it's a different situation. Rigging to the forecast can be disappointing if the forecast doesn't match the actual conditions. Observations of the conditions can be spotty (which is why I own a good anemometer). Nevertheless, as I found yesterday and last tuesday, rigging to a forecast of increasing winds can be prudent. |
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DanWeiss
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Posts: 2296
Location: Connecticut, USA
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| Posted: Sat May 02, 2009 11:41 am Post subject: |
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| sailingjoe wrote: | | SNIP Rigging to the forecast can be disappointing if the forecast doesn't match the actual conditions. SNIP |
What an insightful statement. Must be the wisdom of the years. |
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fearnobeer
Joined: 30 Nov 2007
Posts: 78
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| Posted: Sat May 02, 2009 12:21 pm Post subject: |
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| I have done the rigging for the forecast thing and been disapointed. I've also done the rigging for the now thing and been blown off the water in 20 minutes. It's kind of a hit amd miss thing. If there have been people on the water I can get reports from them when they come in and rig according but sometimes I get to be the wind dummy. |
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andymc4610
Joined: 19 May 2000
Posts: 684
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| Posted: Sat May 02, 2009 3:57 pm Post subject: |
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| rig for what it is, worst case you get a few reaches and then need to re-rig or change boards. Do not sit on the beach and ho-hum it's a waiste of time. Changing boards is easier than sails. I mostly carry an 80L and 110L boards. |
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sailingjoe
Joined: 06 Aug 2008
Posts: 1087
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| Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 5:54 am Post subject: |
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| andymc4610 wrote: | | rig for what it is, worst case you get a few reaches and then need to re-rig or change boards. Do not sit on the beach and ho-hum it's a waiste of time. Changing boards is easier than sails. I mostly carry an 80L and 110L boards. |
Here's one for you and the Weissguy. Friday I arrived at the beach right before two kiters who I know. We had a discussion about the wind, I put up the anemometer and began to prepare to sail. One of the kiters launched before I chose a sail. The meter was giving us strong readings, but when he came in he said that the wind had died. The forecast was for increasing winds at that time. He changed his board and went back out. I picked the biggest sail I had with me which I figured could carry me through the long lull and perhaps be the right sail when the winds picked up. Once on the water, the winds picked up but I could hold onto the sail in my favored tack, the port, and ride in the straps. The other tack was another story. Now at this point the wind and sail size weren't the only factor I had to consider as to why I was having trouble. There was my former injuries to my right leg, the kind of sail I was using, my technique, etc. I also started seeing sail choice a lot like cross-country wax choice. Once you prep your equipment and become active in your sport, you have no enthusiasm for stopping and going through the labors of changing things. If you don't get the right wax, you can still ski albeit with difficulty. The same goes for sailing with the wrong sail, fin or board. Often this leads to interesting results, especially when TOW is the ultimate goal. Eventually I rigged down as did the kiters. However, although I was more comfortable on the smaller sail, I didn't do all that much better. |
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