and the breeze 'breathes'...honest...it puffs to 15, then drops to less than 10, then puffs, then drops...stuart walker probably has a technical name for this but i don't know it off the top of my head.
anyway, the conditions are perfect for a LARGE sail. lately i've been racing on percey's old 12.5m windwing with a 560 lightstick. that sail was almost untouchable with devon beating almost everyone on the formula circuit in europe. it's working brilliantly for me too.
the last slalom races had only 4 races. short races going back and forth on the lake only 4 times or so. even with such short courses, i was totally winded in each race. by the fourth race, my forearms felt like linguini. great work out with the 12.5m. the 70cm fin makes the sail feel that much bigger since it has so much lateral resistance. it's fun being totally lit when the breeze is less than 15 :-)
i had the very fortunate opportunity to talk with former world champion micah buzianis about slalom. i asked what he does for forearm conditioning. he told me he works out with dumbells supported on his legs to get a nice burn going in his forearms. he can combine that with a bosu ball or swiss ball to get a core work out too. he just wrote about his second place in korea so it was a blessing to be able to chat with him.
in one of the races i fell down during a gybe since my harness got caught in the harness line right before flipping the sail. i asked micah if this ever happens to him and what he would do to resolve it. i use dakine's formula style harness lines. micah uses fixed length neil pryde lines. he says the fixed length lines are stiffer and won't be as likely to flop back into the harness during a gybe. sounds like i may need to get some new harness lines :-)
for the four races i got a 1, 2, 2, 1.
the first race i led from start to finish. i was excited and nervous. sometimes it's more nerv wracking to be leading than to be on the chase.
second race i could not start. the starts at the event are standing in the water until the race committee says 'ready, set, go' and then everyone stands on their board and goes. most people are on 8m-10m sails with shorter fins than 70cm fins so it's easier to keep the board in shallower water and step onto the board. with a 70cm fin, i need a puff to get me up and onto the board. if the go signal is during a lull, i have the choice to wait a few moments for a puff or go to plan B, drop the sail and then up haul (which is a witch with a B with a 12.5...especially if a puf hits at the wrong time (which can make it virtually impossible to lift the sail)). so the go signal goes, everyone takes off, except me. i'm near the shore waiting for a puff to put me on the board and get me started...the puff does not come as i'm drifing down the beach trying to water start...i finally decide to up haul and chase everyone down except bruce during the race. this was a harder race, physically, than the first.
third race i get an ok start, pass everyone and am leading. then my harness line gets stuck in my harness right before i flip the sail and i go down. i try to uphaul but there is too much breeze and i can't lift the sail. so i jump back in and water start going the wrong way. back in the race i again reel everyone in accept bruce. so bruce is 3, 1, 1 and i'm 1, 2, 2...tied...and if we broke the tie there, bruce would win since he beat me more times than i beat him (he also has more bullets). thank goodness there is another race.
i start poorly and spend the whole race playing catch up. barely get kevin but i do and get the bullet. bruce has a bad one and is 4th or 5th. note to self: learn how to start from shore in zero wind.
thanks to emmett mcdonald for the nice photos
