Las Sunday we had the ideal conditions to run the winduro: 15 to 20 mph SSE all over the Seattle area. Well, it was not my day. I rigged a loaned Sailworks Retro 8.5, on my F2 Lightning. I didn't know the sail, and how to tune it right, so I did the best I could and launched. The first leg of the race is downwind under the I-90 bridge. I was not able to point the board deep enough, so I had to do several reaches to get to the bridge. I was falling a lot, and the harness lines felt very long, so my arms got really tired. After going under the bridge, I hit a big buoy in the middle of the channel, and my rig snapped from the board at the U joint. I was able to retrieve the rig and board, and make it to shore, but by then my arms were done. I fixed the rig and sailed back upwind to the start point.
To me, the big difference between riding bump and jump, or waves, and racing long distances was that in short reaches, for short time, you can compensate for any rigging issue by adjusting your posture, using your arms, or whatever. When you are sailing for so long, every detail matters, and every rigging error becomes painfully evident sooner or later.
Oh well, live, learn, and train! Next time I'll be more prepared.
Congratulations to those who finished!
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| At the winduro start |
2 comments:
Hah!, looking around for the best knot for tying harness lines I run into the 20 knot blog. Nice record of your sailing.
Dan T
Thanks dude!
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